The New York Times nails The Drake and The Gladstone

The New York Times‘s style magazine, T, pays homage to West Queen West with a high-praise profile of the Drake and Gladstone hotels. Unlike the paper’s last Hogtown treatment, which got more than a few locals scoffing and giggling, Jody Rosen’s piece presents an accurate and intimate view of the colourful characters that have turned these two former flophouses into Toronto’s cultural headquarters.

While the article pays tribute to both boutique hotels, it also mentions the unspoken rivalry between the two. The Drake’s more sexed-up party atmosphere contrasts with the Gladstone’s community-focused initiatives. The moral of the story may be this: visitors, beware an embarrassment of choice, but Torontonians don’t have to choose. Two hotbeds are always better than one.

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