A pair of luxury hotels in Toronto and New York City are the newest properties to receive the AAA Diamond Program’s highest designation. The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto and Waldorf Astoria in New York City have earned AAA Five Diamonds for their stunning surroundings, thoughtful amenities, and unparalleled service, the Canadian Automobile Association and the American Automobile Association announced. I haven’t been to the recently renovated Waldorf in Manhattan, but I’ve stayed at the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto’s trendy Yorkville district a couple of times, and dined there on several occasions. It’s an elegant property that definitely worthy of Five-Diamond Read more
Hazelton Hotel
Victoria, British Columbia has been named the world’s best city in this year’s Conde Nast Travellers’ Readers Choice Awards, while Canada owned the top three picks for world’s friendliest cities. Victoria was third in the friendly category, while Edmonton came second and Calgary was first. Dublin, Ireland was fourth and Quebec City fifth, giving Canada four of the top five spots. I might push for St. John’s or Saskatoon or Regina as the friendliest city in the country if I had a vote, but I suspect Conde Nast readers aren’t as familiar with them as they are with the winning Read more
Eight Canadian hotels have been honoured with five-star ratings from the Forbes Travel Guide, and four are in Toronto. Two Canadian hotel spas also were awarded five-star ratings. Forbes today announced five-star ratings for The Ritz-Carlton Toronto, The Four Seasons Toronto, The Shangri-La Toronto and the Hazelton Hotel in the city’s Yorkville district. The Four Seasons Toronto spa also got a five-star spa rating. In Vancouver, five-star ratings went to the Shangri-La, The Fairmont Pacific Rim and the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. The Four Seasons Montreal was the lone entry for Quebec, although the hotel spa also received five stars. The Read more
The new Forbes hotel, spa and restaurant rankings contain good news for travellers in Canada and for Canadian properties. The Forbes people today put out a “sneak peek” of their 2021 ratings. As part of the 2021 awards selection, six hotels and spas from Toronto-based Four Seasons were awarded new five-star ratings, adding to the existing 2020 award winners. A total of 46 Four Seasons hotels and resorts, 13 spas and two restaurants have received the five-star designation. Three Four Seasons properties received a new five-star designation this year, including Four Seasons Hotel Montreal and Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia Comcast Read more
One of Canada’s top hotels. Decadent lobster on what might be the city’s best patio. And a killer room overlooking bustling Yorkville. Sometimes a staycation is the best type of getaway, and I had a great one on Friday and Saturday. My wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary last week and were invited to stay the night and dine at the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville. The hotel was recently renovated and has a bright, fresh and, to my mind, more youthful look to it than I remember. The lobby is stylish and sleek and welcoming, and the rooms Read more
