A Hotel Le Germain Toronto Sports Weekend : Scotiabank Fan Zone, Great Food, Beer And Hockey Hall Of Fame

TORONTO – You’re a huge Leafs and Raptors fan but you can’t afford a ticket. And you don’t relish the idea of standing outside for two or three hours and watching the game outside in the Scotiabank Arena Fan Zone in what might be less than ideal weather.
Lucky for you, Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square has a fabulous solution. Not to mention great packages for hockey fans.
The hotel, a chic and stylish centrepiece of the South Core area for almost a decade, has several suites that overlook the Fan Zone, as well as a glassed-in viewing area called The Penalty Box. Both can be rented for game day (or other days), providing fans with a magnificent view of the fanatics outside the arena and a real sense of sporting excitement.
The Penalty Box, located on the third floor of the hotel just above the Fan Zone, can accommodate 25 people and is rented out for $1,500, including 15 dozen terrific hors d’oeuvres and a cash or host bar. That works out to $60 per person for great food and a wonderful spot to see the game.
There are comfortable, leather chairs and a large-screen TV in the suite, which has floor-to-ceiling glass for maximum viewing and sits roughly at the same height as the huge TV that fans watch when they’re outside the arena.
The hotel also has three beautiful balcony suites you can rent. They’re a sizable 940 square feet and can fit up to 10 people, with room for two folks to spend the night. The Penalty Box is glassed in but the Balcony Suites have both indoor and outside viewing so you can better hear the roar of the crowd.
If you want them to cater your meal, you can order 12 hors d’oeuvre per person for $60 for the Balcony Suiites.

Former Maple Leaf Mats Sundin talks to fans in the Scotiabank Arena Fan Zone prior to a Leafs playoff game. JIM BYERS PHOTO

The two Apartment Suites, which are truly stunning and measure out at a massive 1,500 square feet, cost $1,250 for the night and can accommodate 20 guests, two of them for an overnight stay. As with the Balcony Suites, you can order 12 hors d’oeuvre per person for $60.
Prices do not include HST, and there’s also an 18% service charge. In all cases, drinks can be purchased via a cash bar.
A group of journalists sampled the food at the Penalty Box and toured one of the Apartment Suites during a two-night stay at the hotel last weekend. The suite was modern, spacious and stylish, as are the hotel rooms. The Penalty Box atmosphere was terrific, with fabulous views. And the food was outstanding.
Corporations often book the suites during the regular season, but playoff schedules tend to come out pretty late, and that makes it tough for businesses. Which is why the hotel wants to get the word out.
“We want to let regular folks know they can book these suites,” said Paul De La Durantaye, the hotel’s general manager.
The hotel’s website says guests who choose the food option at one of the suites or at the Penalty Box can choose from the following items, all prepared in-house by the Le Germain culinary team:

Paprika dressed potato and vegetable chips
Brie and mushroom arancini with truffle aioli
Pulled pork mac and cheese
Beef sliders
Korean fried chicken skewer
Chicken Banh Mi Sliders
Hand cut fries poutine
Bison meatballs
Smoked dry rubbed chicken chops
Mini French pastries

Not so interested in catching the game? Not to worry. Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square has a number of wonderful packages, including one that includes a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame; perhaps a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

A room at the Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square. JIM BYERS PHOTO

The package includes your hotel room and two VIP tickets to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Each ticket includes general admission, a complimentary Legends program and a personal Stanley Cup photo package.
You also get valet parking, a deluxe continental breakfast in their sunny, second-floor dining area, Wi-Fi access and a flexible checkout time; leave your room whenever you like at no extra cost. Guests also get access to their well-equipped gym 24 hours a day.
Rooms at Le Germain Maple Leaf Square are chic and sexy; with lots of natural wood tones, a huge desk for getting work done and a series of beautiful, black and white portraits of Toronto athletes that hang over the beds. Rooms have Molton Brown toiletries, a Nespresso coffee maker, tons of plugs and outlets for your devices and a peek-a-boo shower that can be closed off if you’re the modest type (or left open if you like to put on a show).
Le Germain Hotels always have a fine breakfast, and Le Germain Maple Leaf Square is no exception. There was juice, fresh fruit, nice pastries, oatmeal, several types of meat and cheese, yogurt and good, strong coffee. I got a kick out of the two jars of granola, one of which was labelled “Vitality” and the other “Aphrodisiac.”
I didn’t try the granola this time, but I did manage a visit to the main floor bar one night, where I had a tremendous cocktail with tequila reposado, aperol, amaro and lime juice.
The hotel is directly across the street from the Scotiabank Arena and the Telus Building, so you can walk from Union Station and stay under cover for all but the past 20 or 30 meters. There are tons of great shops and restaurants all around, including E11even, which is connected to the hotel. The hotel also backs onto a shopping area with a large grocery store, a terrific Sport Chek outlet with tons of Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays gear, and an LCBO.
I checked the Hockey Hall of Fame Package online and found rooms for as low as $349 this month.

The Stanley Cup can be found in a beautiful room at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. JIM BYERS PHOTO

The hotel gave us a sample tour of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and it was outstanding. They don’t solicit material, so everything you see is donated.
The Stanley Cup, which you can pose with, is the obvious draw. But the other key NHL trophies also are on display, including the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) and the Art Ross Trophy (regular season points leader). I spot one trophy (sorry, I can’t remember which) with the name Robert Orr on it and raise an eyebrow. Robert?
“Yeah,” said our guide. “People sometimes ask, is Robert Orr related to Bobby. I have to tell them, um, yes, it’s the same person.”
There’s plenty on hand for folks who love Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe. In fact, they have a Howe-Wayne Gretzky exhibit going now, called 9 and 99.
But the hall also realizes that a lot of kids today probably recognize Gretzky as the guy hawking shirts you can wear untucked, and not as one of the great hockey players of all time. So they’re careful to have up-to-the-minute displays on current players that youngsters want to emulate.
You’ll also find displays on international hockey and women’s hockey, which is great to see. I also loved the goalie masks (some painted with wild colours or even the Statue of Liberty) and the small display of hockey kitsch, such as Wayne Gretzky lunchboxes and items from the movie “Slap Shot.”
Even if you’re not a big hockey fan, you can learn about Canada from a stroll through the HHOF. And the architecture is outstanding in the old Bank of Montreal building where the Stanley Cup is displayed.

The Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada has a number of cool sharks you can check out. It’s a three-minute walk from Hotel Germain Toronto Maple Leaf Square. JIM BYERS PHOTO

Tourism Toronto gave us passes so I also was able to enjoy the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, which has amazing displays of live sharks, turtles, waving jellyfish and millions of colourful fish. One of the great features is a moving sidewalk that takes you inside a glass tunnel, where you’re surrounded by sea creatures. Having a meter-long shark pass by a few inches over your head is a pretty cool feeling, I must say.
Just around the corner from the Hockey Hall of Fame and inside the Brookfield Place development is the marvellous Truefitt and Hill barber shop, where I was able to sneak in on a Saturday morning for one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had. The Toronto shop was the first Truefitt and Hill outside London. Truefitt and Hill also is known as the official barber for His Royal Highness Prince Philip, so that’s pretty cool. Others in our group went for a straight razor shave and a beard trim.
The shop has wonderful merchandise, including razors and razor stands and terrific shave creams and after shave products that smell divine.
This being a bit of a sports weekend, we also got to take in an exciting Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre, which remains a great place to watch a ballgame and a stadium where you never have to worry about the weather.

Try your hand at axe-throwing at BATL in Toronto. JIM BYERS PHOTO

We even spent a couple hours learning to throw an axe at BATL, an indoor spot in the Portlands area where they have a popular axe-throwing league. They have large axes you can throw, but they’re pretty heavy and awkward. Much better are the smaller ones most folks use, which are more like a hatchet. You toss them at a circular target painted on a piece of wood and get points for being closest to the bulls-eye. I finished in the middle of our nine-person competition but at least made a game of it in the playoffs and had a couple bulls-eye’s along the way.
Our coach for the day told us it’s all about technique, not brute strength. Men often come in with their girlfriends or wives and have their lunch handed to them. And that has to be fun to watch.
There was, of course, tons of food and more than a little beer consumed on our sports weekend.
At CRAFT Beer Market on Yonge Street, they have 160 beers on tap; roughly three-quarters of them from Ontario. I loved the Left Field Laser Show, especially. You might not expect great food at a craft beer palace but they do a great job. Everyone in our group raved about their lunch and the variety on the menu, which includes wonderful fish tacos and fresh bowls filled with chicken or other proteins and plenty of good-for-you veggies. Some of the money they make from their special offer beers goes to support local charities, which is wonderful.

Craft Beer Market Toronto has great food and 160 beers on tap, most of them from Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO

At E11even Restaurant, which is adjacent to Le Germain and can be reached via the hotel lobby, I enjoyed a tremendous steak with parmesan/truffle fries, fresh salads and a magnificent serving of ocean wise ahi tuna tartare, served with fresh shallots, ginger, soy, avocado and wontons.
The Real Sports Bar and Grill might be the best place in Toronto to watch the big game, as some of the TV’s appear to be the size of a house. They do a nice job with the menu, too, going far beyond the usual sports fare. I had a good-sized pork-belly burrito that came with a mountain of French Fries, with a Granville Island amber beer from British Columbia on the side.
Our last meal was at Pick 6ix Sports, which is partly owned by T.O. sports fan extraordinaire and part-time musician Drake. It opened as an Asian place but didn’t do so well, they’ve turned it into an upscale sports bar with big TV’s, red-felt pool tables and tons of black and gold marble. It’s a great place to watch a game, right on Yonge at Wellington, and they do a great job in the kitchen. I took a chance and ordered the Korean bibimbap bowl, which was fantastic; lots of veggies, plenty of sticky rice and a nice amount of grilled short rib.
As if that wasn’t enough, we also took in a great and informative tour at Steam Whistle Brewing, where we learned how they make their famous Canadian Pilsener and where we got to sample a can, it being at least 60 or 70 seconds after 11 a.m. It’s a fun tour, and you get to check out their event spaces (where TravelPulse Canada will have our second annual Readers’ Choice Awards on May 17). They’re adding a new beer garden soon, so be sure to check that out.

My staycation in Toronto was paid for by Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square and Tourism Toronto. Neither party approved of this story or saw it prior to publication.

Comments or complaints? Drop me a line: jim@jimbyerstravel.com