Canada has a new five-diamond hotel. And it’s a local success story. The American Automobile Association and Canadian Automobile Association last week quietly released their new list of top-rated hotels and restaurants in Canada and the U.S., and it gave the (relatively) new Four Seasons hotel in Toronto a coveted five-diamond rating. That brings the number of Canadian properties with five-diamond status to five in Canada: the Four Seasons in Toronto’s Yorkville area, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto downtown, the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal, the Four Seasons in Whistler, B.C. and the Shangri-La in Vancouver. Which means Ontario is the only province with Read more
Ontario
The other day I gave you some of my top travel bits from 2013. Here’s part two. Thanks again for reading! Most Canadian experience: Helping drive a team of sled dogs across a frozen lake outside Canmore, Alberta. Best Ontario Resort: The Lodge at Pine Cove, north of Parry Sound. Luxurious surroundings on a pristine stretch of the French River. Try a sunrise paddle with the mist rising off the water, or check out nearby waterfalls. Relaxation to the max. Prettiest sunrise: A glorious and clear start to the day in Santa Barbara, California, with the sun popping up over Read more
It’s Jimmy time. Yes, while many of you are gearing up for the deep freeze at the Winter Classic with the Maple Leafs or Red Wings or toasting the new year at a posh hotel in New York or Jamaica, I’m home in Toronto counting my blessings and staying close to my overtaxed radiators so I can stay warm while I type up my list of Jimmy Award winners for the year that’s about to come to a close. I was immensely lucky in this past year and was able to visit some astonishing places and do some amazing things. Read more
MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA – I’ve got a good round of golf going but I’ve left myself short on my approach shot. I line up my putt for a 20-footer that I need to make to save par. I really need to concentrate, but the loudspeaker is pounding out Jimmy Buffett’s “Boat Drinks” and the Hawaiian waterfall is rumbling and my pale blue golf ball is stuck up against a fake rock. Earlier in the day I had teed it up at Tidewater Golf Club in North Myrtle Beach, a tremendous layout with undulating greens that resemble the figure of Read more
The hotel focus in Toronto the past couple years has been on five-star hotels or five-star hope-to-be’s. We’ve seen the opening of the lovely Ritz Carlton and the Shangri-La, which I quite like, as well as the Trump and the new Four Seasons. Now comes one of the few four-star “full-service” hotels to be built in Toronto in years. Delta Hotels and Resorts unveiled its flagship hotel in the city’s South Core neighbourhood during a topping off event on Oct. 8, marking the completion of the hotel’s 46th floor. Scheduled to open in late 2014, the Delta Toronto at Southcore Read more
