Toronto Ace Hotel Toronto | 44.8m | 13s | Carbon Hospitality | Shim-Sutcliffe

ADRM · Oct 28, 2019

I've stayed at a few Aces, and one thing each of those does extremely well is provide a lively program at the ground level. In NYC and London, it's almost like a pseudo-public co-working space, with yuppie millennials hovered over their Macbooks at a communal table whilst sipping too-bitter espresso; in Pittsburgh, it's a delicious laid back restaurant spilling out into the lobby seating and check-in areas; in Palm Springs it's a literal bustling swim club.

In the way they've both designed and programmed each of those spaces, they've been able to strike the right balance to have an unusually lively ground level experience, which is of course lovely. I'm excited for them to bring that here, and I like that you'll in fairly short order be able to spill out from that experience to the Waterworks Food Hall, revitalized St. Andrew's Park, and the ever-bustling King St. (soon-ish to be even more so with the impending arrival of BIG KW).

smably · Oct 28, 2019

And if we're lucky, a redesigned and partially pedestrianized Brant Street too.

MetroMan · Oct 28, 2019

ADRM said:
I've stayed at a few Aces, and one thing each of those does extremely well is provide a lively program at the ground level. In NYC and London, it's almost like a pseudo-public co-working space, with yuppie millennials hovered over their Macbooks at a communal table whilst sipping too-bitter espresso; in Pittsburgh, it's a delicious laid back restaurant spilling out into the lobby seating and check-in areas; in Palm Springs it's a literal bustling swim club.

In the way they've both designed and programmed each of those spaces, they've been able to strike the right balance to have an unusually lively ground level experience, which is of course lovely. I'm excited for them to bring that here, and I like that you'll in fairly short order be able to spill out from that experience to the Waterworks Food Hall, revitalized St. Andrew's Park, and the ever-bustling King St. (soon-ish to be even more so with the impending arrival of BIG KW).

This is what makes me so excited about this. I live across the street! I work from home most days and have been searching for a good spot to spend an hour or so a day getting out of my home office and out in the world. I sometimes go to Shangri-La, other times Impact Kitchen.If Ace has some good teas on the menu and the occasional live music, I've totally found my new hangout spot, 22 seconds from my front door.

Dane · Oct 29, 2019

while I think the outside of this building is a tad bit boxy, i love the red, i love the high quality curtain wall glass windows, i like the multi-direction brick laying. and i'm THRILLED about the opening of an ACE in toronto. Ace isn't a stuffy/traditional 5 star like a ritz, 4 seasons or mandarin oriental.. the rooms are often small and have bunkbeds, but the public spaces and restaurants are always amazing. Ace nomad in new york has 2 phenomenal restaurants and a great coffee shop, the ace in LA has one of the coolest most exciting lobbies and rooftops. I'm SO excited for toronto to have something like this, and with the Thompson Toronto closing, this will be the new cool spot.

(also - cuddos to an american brand for selecting a local architect)

neuhaus · Oct 29, 2019

I stayed at the Ace in New Orleans and I had a great time. Not your typical boutique hotel. They like to emphasize the local culture, and in Nawlin‘s deeply rooted history in music, they offer free awesome music concerts and dance classes in their music hall multiple times a week. That location also has an excellent roof top pool, restaurant and lounge that often has a DJ during the day. The rooms were outfitted with vintage turntables with a nice selection of 70’s, 80’s and jazz/blues vinyl (in addition to the built in speakers which you can pipe in the cool music playing throughout the hotel at a flick of a switch), and the rooms had a cool moody vintage feel to them, though the all-black bathrooms (including black toilets) didn’t appeal to the clean-freak like me.
Yes, it was a hipster haven, but it was done so well and didn’t feel pretentious and not too played up.

Looks like they messed up on the colour placement of the spandrel panels on the upper two floors of the west facade in addition to the two mismatched window panels, but I‘m sure that will be fixed.

Red Mars · Nov 1, 2019

Nov 1, 2019

DavidCapizzano · Nov 1, 2019

I can see this being used as a location for some sci-fi show or movie that films in Toronto. I am getting mega Dune / 5th Element / Star Wars vibes from that lobby structure.