Ritz Carlton Toronto

Back in November 2010 when I was visiting Toronto, I was informed by a close friend of mine, that he would be getting married in 2011. Upon asking when he told me February!! Since I would be returning to Toronto I thought I would check out a couple hotels I haven't stayed at yet -- the first being the Windsor Arms, which I have written a report already -- and the second, the new Ritz Carlton Toronto IF it opens in time for my visit. After some back and forth, and some concern that the hotel may not open in time, I finally got the great news from the Sales Manager that the hotel would indeed open on 16 February 2011.

I was booked into a Deluxe City view room at a special STARS agent rate for one night. I was also able to complete a site inspection of the property and enjoy lunch at TOCA, the signature restaurant of the RC.

I arrived by taxi and as soon as we pulled up to the hotel entrance a doorman opened the taxi door while bellmen quickly removed my luggage from the trunk of the car. I was given the claim tag and was shown to the revolving doors. Inside the Lobby, Jonathan, the Sales Manager, was waiting for me and escorted me to the elevators.

Initial impressions were fantastic. The Lobby looks and feels like a proper hotel lobby and the photos on the RC website do not do it justice. The lobby has ample seating areas and is a soaring space which is so rare in many hotel lobbies. As you enter the hotel, to the left is TOCA Bar, and the staircase to TOCA the restaurant. Walking deeper into the lobby on the left is the Front Desk and straightahead is DEQ bar and lounge. To the right of the lobby is a staircase leading to the PATH, Toronto's underground city.

Just beyond the Front Desk are the elevators. The lobby is well staffed and each staff member I passed all greeted me by name. In the elevator I was informed that I had been upgraded to a Club Lake view room and that was why the Club Manager had joined up on the elevator ride up.

The Club Lounge is on the top floor of the hotel facing Lake Ontario and the CN Tower. Check in was efficient and the service there was top notch. The Lounge is fairly large but despite its size I can see it being crowded at peak "meal" times when the hotel is at capacity. There is complimentary Wi-Fi in the Lounge as well as computer stations with printers. There is ample seating and a great selection of food presentations throughout the day. Unfortunately, due to the wedding I did not have the chance to really try out the Club meal presentations except for the bedtime chocolates which were quite tasty.

Staff did not have any issues with my asking to take some refreshments to my room. Since I had an early morning departure they were very concerned that I would miss my breakfast so they tirelessly worked to have a small cooler bag filled with breakfast goodies (hard boiled eggs, croissants, jam, assorted berries which were airport security friendly) ready for me at checkout early the next morning. I even e-mailed the Club my speech I was to give at the wedding and they had it printed and delivered to my room. I think if staying here the Club level is the way to go.

All of the rooms are the same size -- the only difference is the view. My room had a view of Lake Ontario and the CN Tower. While not the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower, the CN Tower is still nice to look at especially at night as it does have some colored lighting.

The room is about 400-450 sq ft, enough for a single traveller on business or a couple for a weekend stay. As you enter the room there is along the wall a built in closet, some drawers and a granite topped counter which is where part of the minibar installation is. Under the counter is the fridge portion of the minibar. On the other side is the large bathroom with separate WC, dual vanities with thede rigeurtv in mirror, shaving mirror, separate shower stall and soaking tub. Disappointingly, the toiletries even in a Club room are generic Ritz Carlton brand. The bathroom has been well thought out with a shaving mirror in the shower for the men. However, there was no trash bin to be found anywhere in the bathroom. The shower pressure was very disappointing and I did not feel like I had an invigorating shower. If you like a gentle sprinkling of water for a shower then you will enjoy, at least, the shower I had.

The main room featured a comfortable king bed with a bench along the front, a large flatscreen TV, an arm chair with ottoman, and a work desk with ergonomic chair. The colour scheme is muted with pastels, golds, tans and taupes -- it reminded me a lot of the Ritz Carlton Central Park. The lighting is controlled by a somewhat complex set of buttons which allow you to control the precise level of lighting in the room. One problem was at the work desk, at night, there is no overhead lighting and the small lamp is not bright enough to be able to work. All in all it is a very comfortable room -- nothing terribly exciting about it but it does its job well.

The RC has dedicated a lot of space for the Spa, Fitness Centre, Pool and associated facilities. The Spa features a bespoke product line from a Canadian firm -- continuing on the theme of locally sourced, and as much as possible organic. Unfortunately, I cannot decipher what I scribbled on my notepad so I will have to find out which company the Spa uses.

Treatments pricing is a little on the high side but the facility is gorgeous. There is a men's, women's and co-ed lounges to relax pre-or post treatment. The men's lounge is darker with a flat panel tv and comfy seating while the ladies side is lighter and equipped with, so I am told, chaise longues. The co-ed lounge is a beautiful space with comfy arm chairs, divans, and large ottomans to which couple's can relax. The space is like a glasshouse with white sheers providing privacy while letting in a lot of natural light. This is the place I would prefer to relax before a treatment here.

The treatment rooms are located around the periphery of the building but inward facing. The rooms seem to be well insulated from sound and most are equipped with showers. There are some treatment rooms which are connecting to accommodate families or groups of friends. Some have an outer door that closes which then adjoins a manicure room with a treatment room for seamless treatments and privacy. The Spa does charge hotel guests $50 per day to use the Spa facilities (steam room, sauna, relaxation lounges) but access the Pool and Fitness centre are free.

The nice thing about the RC facilities is that there are separate changing rooms for the pool area to preserve the tranquility of the Spa change rooms. The pool is quite large and also has a lot of natural light. It has an architectural feature a la Peninsula Hong Kong as it does have some structural columns as a part of the pool. There is also a jacuzzi at the far end of the pool.

An additional feature is that there is a yoga room where the hotel, through a dedicated staff member, will be offering yoga classes and other yoga related events. When not in use, guests are free to use the room for meditation and stretching. The fitness centre is well equipped and is of a good size.

The hotel features 2 main F%B outlets -- TOCA and DEQ, both with their own bars which also serve a small selection of food.

DEQ is a lobby lounge at the rear of the hotel which opens up onto a large terrace in warmer weather where patrons can enjoy woodfired pizza and al fresco dining. Lounge seating is quite comfortable and well spaced out. There is a charcuterie station where an ex-Four Seasons chef works with a local Niagara producer to make organic and sulfate/slfite free cured meats. In fact, the day I checked out of the hotel, the Chef was going to Niagara to work on some bespoke cures which will be exclusive to the Ritz Carlton.

TOCA is the signature restaurant in the hotel and is focused on local, and as much as possibe organic and sustainable products, focusing on the ingredients and keeping preparations simpler. In this regard, Toronto appears to be somewhat behind the times as this is "old news" in Vancouver and many other locales.

There are two highlights in the restaurant. The first appeals to cheese lovers as they have a cheese cave where the restaurant ages a wide variety of Canadian cheeses and some international selections. Every day the restaurant features the cheese platter of the day and guests are invited to come into the cave and have each cheese explained to them by what I jokingly refer to as the cheeselier. To make it inclusive of families the restaurant also has a selection of aged "babybel" cheeses for the kids.

The other highlight is the chef's table in the kitchen. The table, which can seat 8, starts at $2000 for the table, be it for 2 diners or 8. The fee goes towards food and beverage and the menu is totally customizable. If a guest wants to spend NO more than the minimum $2000 the restaurant will work with the guests to make that happen.

The menu is compact and well balanced. My host had the terrine which featured some larges pieces of foie gras while I started with simple salad. The restaurant took my mushroom allergy very seriously always guiding me in my choices to avoid "hidden" mushrroms like those used in stocks or chopped up finely in one dish. We both had the turkey and lobster pie which was fantastic and very volumous. A mini soup tureen (for individual portions) was filled with a lovely turkey and lobster stew topped with puff pastry to form a large flaky dome. I ended with the creme brulee which was decent but a little bit cloying.

Service was fantastic as one would expect when being hosted by the hotel. I asked for still water at room temperature in the Club Lounge when I checked in and the server at the restaurant knew to offer me room temperature still water during our meal. The chef came out to chat with us and it was a very enjoyable, and tasty, lunch. Pricing is what you would expect at a 5 star hotel in a major city.

The TOCA Bar features custom made cocktails using unique ingredients. It also has a built in raw bar. I arrived back at the hotel at 10:15pm and the TOCA Bar was very busy and had a very nice vibe to it.

I did not have a chance to order from In Room Dining but it featured the usual suspects at the usual high-ish prices with the annoying room service order fee.

The hotel is quite polished for being only open a week but some issues of being new still emerge. For example, the Front Desk did not know whether in room internet was complimentary when staying on the Club floor. The Guest Relations team member did not know how I could check my messages (even though I did, I wanted to test them).

I had left some laundry I was to take home in the hotel laundry bag in my room before I rushed out for my wedding. Upon my return I couldn't find the laundry bag but did find all of my laundry laundered and either hanging in the closet or in a box at the foot of the bed. I had not filled out the laundry form and it is clear the housekeeper decided to have these items laundered for me. I was not charged for this but if I were I think it would have been a little awkward for me. While I applaud the initiative it can be awkward depeding upon the clientele.

The Gentleman who took my wake up call request offered to have some juice, tea or coffee and pastries sent up to the room. While I figured this would entail a cost it was offered and presented in a way in which some people may think it was complimentary especially due to an early morning departure and being on the Club Floor. A word of caution who may think it is complimentary.

I truly think that this hotel can be amongst the top in North America IF and ONLY IF they can maintain the service levels when I was there. Of course, they had their best "A" game on during my stay and I am certain they were taking a particularly keen interest on me and my requests. The hotel was at 80% the following week and after that they were sold out. It would be interesting to see the hotel when stretched to its limits. Still, I think this is a very fine choice as it is fairly convenient to a lot of tourist and business locations. If one wants a change from Yorkville, this would be the place. I would happily return here but I HIGHLY recommend paying for the Club.

The hotel has been invited to join Virtuoso so let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. I think they have a good chance as the only Virtuoso properties in Toronto currently are the Fairmont Royal York and the Park Hyatt, not the best representatives of Virtuoso and the city. If accepted, the amenities will be daily continental breakfast, $100 CAD hotel credit, and upgrade if available at check-in. From what I uderstand there would be no upgades to the Club level.