Introducing: Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. We take a photographic tour of Toronto’s newest hotel

Introducing: Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. We take a photographic tour of Toronto’s newest hotel

The latest in the city’s rash of new hotels is a second location of Le Germain, this one at Maple Leaf Square. The boîte brings Euro chic to the $500-million Maple Leaf complex, a fandom sanctuary of sporty condos, bars and retail slipped into the no-man’s land between the waterfront and the downtown core.
Like its predecessor, Le Germain’s sequel is a sleek, streamlined affair cast in glass, metal and concrete. Minimalist luxe decor is dotted with arty accents, like light bands embedded in the floor and lobby walls. The industrial tone is warmed up with mood-enhancing details: flowing South Beach–style drapes in the lobby, photographs of flexing pro athletes in the suites, and glass rain shower booths in the washrooms.

The Germain brand is known for its European pretensions, and this new outpost layers that signature savoir-faire with sports-fan shout-outs befitting the hockey HQ across the street. In the lobby bar, pro-league action plays on monster 52-inch screens. Upstairs, the MVP Zone features furnishings and meeting areas with names like “penalty box” (think box seats with Artemide Italian chandeliers). The hotel also boasts a custom light installation dubbed The Knot that will complement the square’s standout light sculpture, Canopy, for a bizarre mash-up of ambience somewhere between Nuit Blanche and game seven of the Stanley Cup final.

Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square, 75 Bremner Blvd. (at York St.), 416-649-7575, germainmapleleafsquare.com.