Hyatt hotel lovers have a stylish new property to check out in Mississauga.
The Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga opened just more than a week ago on Hurontario Street, just a couple blocks south of Highway 401. It’s a beautiful property, and the first Hyatt Place hotel in Ontario.
My wife and I stayed the night this week and found it extremely enjoyable, as well as clean and safe.
You walk into the lobby and are immediately met with a bright, wide-open space with beautiful art on the walls, a colourful set of golden yellow chairs and pretty pink orchids.
There are tons of nice touches, such as a set of wavy, metallic screens hanging overhead near the front desk and a small business centre with suspended bits of polished, petrified wood and little nooks with big-screen TV sets.
The Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga lobby. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There’s a good-sized indoor pool (currently limited to seven people at a time) and a fine-looking fitness centre with the latest equipment (currently limited to three people at a time). Instead of leaving one of the walls blank in the gym, which is open 24 hours, there’s a cool mural. It’s a little thing, but a nice touch.
All rooms are set up with either a king bed or two queens, and there’s a sleek, L-shaped couch in the corner (Hyatt calls them “cozy corners”) that’s also a sofa bed, meaning all rooms can sleep four or even five people without a problem.
Our room had nice blinds to block out the morning sun and a wonderful TV set, plus a mini-fridge, lots of desk space and a large bathroom with a roomy shower. I wouldn’t mind some USB plugs for iPhones and such, but there were tons of outlets in good places for plugging in my laptop and phone charger.
The food and beverage options are limited for now, but they serve a nice breakfast with hot and cold items, including breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, pastries and more. There’s no liquor license yet but they have a Starbucks and the front desk staffers also are trained baristas. They also offer wraps, sandwiches, chips, granola bars and other goodies. I was told a Tandoori oven is on the way and that they’ll assess their food and beverage options as they go.
Oh, it’s also pet-friendly, so feel free to bring along Fido or Fifi.
A spacious room at the Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Perhaps the most striking thing about the hotel is the attached ballroom space, called the Luxe Convention Centre. It’s a wonderful bit of architecture, with marble floors and gleaming marble walls in a spacious atrium. There’s a ton of great light and unusual, overhead light fixtures that look a little like bronze flowers.
They have 6,000 square feet of meeting space that can be divided into four rooms, and they have all the bells and whistles you need to put on a great event. Of course, social-distancing is the rule for now.
It’s likely to be a popular spot for weddings, too, and they’ve already got a couple booked. There is some availability next summer, but weekends are already booked for July, 2021, said general manager Celso Thompson.
In addition to the convention space, they have a few small meeting rooms inside the hotel proper, as well as a nice patio for al fresco dining and a wooden gazebo-like structure that can be used for weddings or other functions.
The Luxe Convention Centre is attached to the Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The hotel has 123 rooms, so it’s not too big. Rooms range from 235 square feet to 400 for the disabled access rooms (they have 13 of them). There’s also free Wi-Fi, and free parking (a nice bonus).
The hotel was built with corporate travellers in mind, but Thompson said families are enjoying the extra space and the sofa beds.
Health and safety are, of course, major concerns for arriving guests. There’s a plexiglas shield between front desk workers and guests, and I spotted a number of hand sanitizing units scattered about, as well as social-distancing signs in elevators and other areas.
A handout given to guests says the hotel is “committed to upholding the highest standards of cleanliness in an effort to ensure you enjoy a healthy, safe and comfortable environment. Guided by its purposes of care, Hyatt recently announced a multi-layered Global Care and Cleanliness Commitment.”
Thompson said he’s taken a two-day training course operated by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, and that someone who’s taken the course is on duty at the hotel at all times.
“I want us to be who we are,” said Thompson, who was recently at Hotel X on the Toronto waterfront. “I don’t have a spa, but this is a solid little hotel. It’s a solid, solid, solid, three-diamond hotel.”
Javaid Akhtar (L) and his son, Sheheryar Javaid. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There’s also a good story behind the hotel. Businessman Javaid Akhtar, who’s the owner, was staying at a nearby property 10 or 11 years ago and saw the land where the Hyatt is now. He purchased the lot in 2014 and began building a few years ago. There were, as is often the case with construction, a few snags along the way, and Akhtar asked his son, Sheheryar Javaid, to lend a hand.
Sheheryar has a widely varied resume that includes work in finance and teaching both yoga and improvisational acting. He’s an energetic young man and seemingly a quick learner, and he was able to help his Dad get things under control.
Javaid Akhtar is CEO of Destination at Mississauga Inc., which owns the hotel. Sheheryar Javaid is the company’s project director.
Tiny Resort Bubbles for Hawai’i?
The Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui.
The governor of Hawai’i, David Ige, is talking about creating some kind of “resort bubble” that would make it more tempting for visitors to enjoy his state’s tourism offerings.
Ige this week spoke with government officials for the major islands of Oahu, Maui, Kaua’i and Hawai’i Big Island and suggested they could come up with some kind of individual plans for their island.
It’s not clear how it would work, but there’s talk of folks being required to wear electronic tracking gear. It sounds like visitors would be allowed to use the beach at their resort, but it isn’t clear if they’d be able to wander from one hotel to another.
If I was able to use the beach and wander freely around the resort, I can think of a few places in Hawaii that would be just fine. The Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawai’i Big Island is a huge resort with its own championship golf course, and that wouldn’t be too tough for two weeks. The Travaasa Hana on Maui has enormous grounds and a small. pitch-and-putt golf course, so that could definitely work. The Four Seasons Lana’i also is a gem, as is the Grand Hyatt on Kaua’i and the Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui.
