See inside the swankiest hotel suite in the building that used to be Jilly’s strip club
What: The Broadview Hotel
Where: Queen and Broadview
Opened in: July 2017
Price: $495 per night for the 700-square-foot Dominion Suite
Operator: Crescent Hotels and Resorts
For decades, this stunner of a Romanesque building was hidden beneath sun-bleached billboards advertising “Girls, Girls, Girls.” When the place finally sold to Streetcar Developments in 2014, the property formerly known as Jilly’s strip club was barely able to hold up its own weight. An extensive renovation began with a new skeleton to support the 128-year-old bricks and mortar.
The interiors are by DesignAgency. While the lobby could double as a film noir set, the rest of the hotel irreverently mixes and matches styles from different eras. The sunny café is a postmodern mishmash of neon lights, mid-century-modern furniture and ’70s floral prints.
The sixth-floor Dominion Suite, the Broadview’s most lavish room, has arched windows that rise from the floor. The decor blends Victorian features, like pink floral wallpaper, with Moulin Rouge lasciviousness.
By the Eurotop king bed, a brass pole conjures images of the building’s strip-club past. (Management says that although the pole is sturdily installed, it’s mainly for decoration—not for amateur floor routines.)
The double-wide soaker tub tucked into a window-facing bedroom alcove suggests that this is a suite for bringing your Pretty Woman fantasies to life. Just make sure to draw the curtains, unless you’re really serious about recapturing the building’s exhibitionist past.
The all-white bathroom, with its matte-black fixtures and floor tiles, nicely contrasts with the dark wood in the rest of the Dominion Suite:
Behind the reception desk, there are illuminated vitrines used for rotating historical displays. The current one consists of vintage toys made by Toronto’s Reliable Toy Company:
ERA Architects weren’t permitted to make many changes to the heritage exteriors of the Broadview, but they were able to add a glass-encased seventh storey with a wraparound patio that has some of the best views of the Toronto skyline in the city. From the eastern vantage, cocktail-sipping guests can watch the sun slip behind the skyscrapers as they snack on ceviche. Hotel guests get priority when it comes to booking the much-coveted seats:
The double-wide soaker tub tucked into a window-facing bedroom alcove suggests that this is a suite for bringing your Pretty Woman fantasies to life. Just make sure to draw the curtains, unless you’re really serious about recapturing the building’s exhibitionist past.
The all-white bathroom, with its matte-black fixtures and floor tiles, nicely contrasts with the dark wood in the rest of the Dominion Suite:
Behind the reception desk, there are illuminated vitrines used for rotating historical displays. The current one consists of vintage toys made by Toronto’s Reliable Toy Company:
ERA Architects weren’t permitted to make many changes to the heritage exteriors of the Broadview, but they were able to add a glass-encased seventh storey with a wraparound patio that has some of the best views of the Toronto skyline in the city. From the eastern vantage, cocktail-sipping guests can watch the sun slip behind the skyscrapers as they snack on ceviche. Hotel guests get priority when it comes to booking the much-coveted seats:
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