Checking In THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES FROM CANADA
AND AROUND THE WORLD
THE SPORTING LIFE The new Hotel X in Toronto will boast a 71,000-sq.-ft. sports club and spa, available to guests and club members. “If you see what’s going on in Liberty Village with the development of so many condos, there are so many things these people need to enhance their living experience in this area,” says Celso Thompson, director of Sales and Marketing for Hotel X, speaking
X MARKS THE SPOT
of residents in the nearby neighbourhood.
The upcoming Hotel X in Toronto expands on the vision for renewal at the city’s Exhibition Place BY HELEN CATELLIER
T
he fruitless banter over waterfront revitalization at Toronto City Hall hasn’t hampered the frenzy of construction at Exhibition Place, located west of the downtown core. The complex is a hub of sporting events, concerts, conventions and tradeshows and will host up to 13 sports competitions during the 2015 Pan Am Games. The Exhibition Place website notes that more than 5.3-million people visit the 192-acre parkland annually; and they will soon have a place to lay their heads for the first time. “This area of town needs a hotel,” says Celso Thompson, director of Sales and Marketing for the new Hotel X in Toronto, currently under construction. “With the Direct Energy Centre and Allstream Centre having so much meeting space, they need the support of a hotel to bring even more business into this area. Plus, the city is growing towards the west, so this is a great location.” It will be the first Canadian property for Princes Gate Hotel, LP, the legal entity of New York City-based management company, Library Hotel Collection. Designed by Stephen B. Jacobs Group, P.C. in New York City, the $240-million hotel’s blueprint involves a plan to incorporate natural lighting and five green roofs. The goal is to create a sustainable property and attain the highest possible LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating. “The project is positioned to get up to 61 points, which would give us a silver certification,” Thompson says. “[This] is really high and difficult to attain but translates into about a 29-per-cent savings in energy consumption for a building of that type and that size.” Overlooking Toronto’s waterfront, the property will sit adjacent to the Direct Energy Centre and connect to the Allstream Centre via a sky bridge. It will feature lavish gardens, 406 guestrooms and suites, four restaurants, six bars, two swimming pools, retail outlets, 44,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and an 11,500-sq.ft. theatre complex with three screening rooms. Nightly rates will start at $500 and will rocket to $6,000 for the two-storey presidential suite. The good news is there will be time to build anticipation for the city’s next luxury hotel, which is slated to open in December 2015.
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“There isn’t such a club right at their feet, so we’re counting on this clientele to use the facilities.” The complex will include areas for weights, cardio, physical therapy, yoga and Pilates, plus 10 squash courts, four indoor tennis courts and a 9,100-sq.ft. spa with a terrace and private gym for hotel guests.
ALL DUE RESPECT In 1840, the British army established a military post at the site of the new Hotel X in Toronto. Known as the Stanley Barracks, the seven limestone buildings stood until the early 1950s when all but the Officers’ Quarters were demolished. The historic site is being unearthed and will be integrated into the design of the hotel. The original foundation of one of the buildings, along with coins, cooking supplies, bottles and other artifacts, will honour the site’s archaeological value. OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 HOTELIER
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