Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Toronto Pearson: A Stunning, $30 Million Renovation

The food is terrific. The renovated rooms are clean and bright. And the new design gives the feel of a boutique, downtown hotel.

The 30-year-old Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Toronto Pearson Airport is undergoing a $30 million renovation, and it’s quite special.

There was nothing wrong with the old hotel, which is a mere 40 or 50 steps from Terminal 3. But it was time for a change from sturdy, wooden headboards and black leather chairs and clunky wooden desks, and they’ve pretty much gutted the entire property.

What’s here now is a sparkling, beautifully designed hotel that feels to me like a four-star boutique hotel you might find on King Street West in Toronto or Yaletown in Vancouver.

The carpeted floors in the rooms have been replaced with pale wood floors and a throw rug under the bed. The old wooden desks are now a round, black desk that you can raise up or down with the push of a button, allowing for different heights for different guests, or for someone to use it standing up. Brilliant.

Bathrooms feature a modern walk-in shower or bath with amenities by Gilchrist & Soames. The space is surrounded with neutral porcelain walls, while a light wood vanity, backlit mirror, polished chrome fixtures, and black accents complement the guest room design.

The furniture in the rooms is much lighter now, which makes the guest space seem a lot larger. General manager Douglas Brennan told me guests seem to think the rooms have been enlarged, but it’s really just the new design. The smallest rooms, by the way, are about 525 square feet, so you’re not being squeezed into a shoebox here.

You can connect your smartphone to your 55-inch TV if you want to binge-watch your favourite show. There are a gazillion plugs and outlets, including some on each side of the headboard. Many rooms have great views of Terminal 3 and the runways, which is great for airport/airplane lovers.

There’s lovely local art on display all around the hotel, and the lobby is open and modern, but still warm and inviting.

“We’ve elevated the entire experience,” Brennan told me at a media lunch on Wednesday. “Top to bottom, from back of the house to front, it’s pretty much a new hotel.”

The lobby features a number of different types of seating; big sofas, smaller chairs and cozy nooks. There are glassed-in meeting rooms off to the side, as well as small “booths” that guests can use if they need a quiet spot for a phone call or a Zoom chat. I’ve never seen them in a hotel, but they’re a great idea.

The refined lobby has been re-imagined as the “Public Square” of the hotel; an open space with high ceilings and cool lighting that invites people to join together, or be alone amongst others. Look for cool tans and soft greys and blues, punctuated by splashes of colour. Samsung art displays can show off work from local artists, or be turned into TV screens for the big game.

It’s the first Sheraton in Canada and one of the first in the world to debut the new Sheraton brand vision, reporters were told. Toronto’s Moncur Design Associates was responsible for the new look at the Sheraton Gateway.

“The transformation is nothing short of a metamorphosis,” said Jennifer Kazlauskis, Director of Sales & Marketing, Sheraton Gateway. “Our loyal guests who’ve recently returned are blown away. You can see it on their faces as they walk in. They can’t believe they’ve stepped across the terminal and into the same hotel. The difference is night and day.”

Part cocktail bar, part coffee bar serving favourite Starbucks drinks, part grab-and-go market, &More is more than a lobby restaurant. Hotel officials call it “a central pillar of the new vision with craveable food & beverage options available day and night that are locally-sourced, easy to consume while working, and accommodating of varied tastes and time schedules.”

It’s open and bright, with a wide array of seating styles. Folks can order their food and take it pretty much anywhere in the hotel, I was told.

The &More bar has six types of gin and various types of tonic, as well as six flavour enhancements, six types of tonic water and six garnish options, such as mint, grapefruit, or dried citrus fruit, so you can mix your own, personally designed G and T. They also have a signature GG and T, which stands for Gateway Gin and Tonic, featuring purple Empress Gin from British Columbia, Fitch and Leedes tonic water from South Africa, lavender syrup and a citrus garnish.

There are 484 rooms in the hotel. All have showers only, except for 22 Double Queen rooms with tubs; perfect for folks who need a good bath.

Renovations started in January, and about one-half of the rooms have been finished. Meeting rooms also are being worked on, and officials expect everything to be wrapped up in a bow by late January or early February.

The hotel is popular with folks who want to arrive at the airport without a hassle. You can check in the night before your flight, have a fine meal or a drink, and sleep comfortably knowing you’re a 30-second walk to the terminal.

The hotel also has nearly 18,000 square feet of flexible, updated meeting spaces, a fully-equipped, 24/7 Fitness Centre with views of Terminal 3, an indoor heated swimming pool and a whirlpool. There’s a dedicated Peloton studio in the works that will house a pair of bikes available to guests around the clock.

The Sheraton Club Lounge, open 24/7, is an exclusive, beautiful space for Marriott Bonvoy Elite members and Sheraton Club level guests. Guests will find updated food and beverage offerings, access to complimentary amenities, enhanced connectivity, all in an upgraded private environment that’s conveniently located off of the lobby. Look for artsy walls, lots of open space, a solarium off the back and relaxing sofas with USB and electrical outlets in case both you and your phone need a recharge.

“We’re very flexible on timing,” one hotel official said. “If you want a cocktail at 9 a.m. or breakfast at 9 p.m. you’ll get it.”

Executive Chef Pravin Kumar Bagali has conceived a diverse menu designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes. We had poke bowls in the Club Lounge on Wednesday, with a choice of salmon or tuna, with beans, julienned slices of carrot, guacamole, ponzu, pineapple salsa and other bits to add as you wish.

For lunch, I had excellent short rib with perfectly cooked broccoli and fingerling potatoes. The Cajun salmon looked tremendous. Other offerings included Jamaica jerked chicken and a vegan tofu dish.

We also had three types of chocolate desserts; all of them terrific.