The Shangri-La Hotel at University and Adelaide opened its doors on Friday, ready just in time for TIFF (well, nearly in time—there are still a few finishing touches to come on the health and wellness areas and guest rooms). And, after watching the tower’s progress, admiring the $5-million sculpture by Chinese artist Zhang Huan and scrounging for details on the adjacent Momofuku restaurants, we were gratified to find that the 66-storey building is as luxurious as expected. There are walls covered in raw silk, a Fazioli grand piano from Italy and several subtle Asian touches, including a Japanese garden and two large tea libraries to hold dozens of hand-picked looseleaf teas.
We toured Bosk, the hotel’s signature fine dining restaurant, and the very nearly complete Miraj-Hammam spa, which has two large private hammam rooms and a saltwater pool. We also saw the third-floor meeting rooms and luxury event spaces, each of which is named after a Toronto landmark (our favourite: Museum, which has a glass wall and 13 chandeliers). The hotel’s public spaces will be the setting for several TIFF events in the coming days (apparently, the Hong Kong-based chain had planned to use the festival as its opening party ever since it decided to open a Toronto location). The guest rooms, however, were off-limits—the hotel is not yet admitting guests, though a few lucky festival insiders are rumoured to be staying there.
Vancouver’s James K.M. Cheng was behind the building’s initial design, while the architecture firm on record is Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects. The design embraces Vancouverism, an urban design philosophy emphasizing natural light and movement between inside and outside
The Bar at Bosk, just off the lobby, has eye-catching hand-blown glass balls from Vancouver’s Bocci. The bar offers cocktails and a large whisky selection
Bosk, the Shangri-La’s signature restaurant, is run by executive chef Jean Paul Lourdes. It’s just above street level at the corner of University and Adelaide
Four large Chinese paintings by world-renowned Shanghai artist Wang Yu Shuan depict characters of the Peking Opera. Another 480 of his works can be seen throughout the hotel in guest rooms and public spaces
The company describes the lobby as “Toronto’s urban living room.” Guests are invited to lounge and enjoy a tipple around the fireplace or traditional afternoon tea during the day
The hotel boasts 202 luxury guest rooms and occupies the first 17 floors of the tower—in fact, the entire 17th storey is given over to a single luxury suite. Above the 17th floor are the private residences
The Shangri-La Hotel at University and Adelaide opened its doors on Friday, ready just in time for TIFF (well, nearly in time—there are still a few finishing touches to come on the health and wellness areas and guest rooms). And, after watching the tower’s progress, admiring the $5-million sculpture by Chinese artist Zhang Huan and scrounging for details on the adjacent Momofuku restaurants, we were gratified to find that the 66-storey building is as luxurious as expected. There are walls covered in raw silk, a Fazioli grand piano from Italy and several subtle Asian touches, including a Japanese garden and two large tea libraries to hold dozens of hand-picked looseleaf teas.
Thompson Hotel…is that you?