New Hotel Review: Thompson Hotel Toronto

Chic, stylish and oh-so-New York cool. These are some of the adjectives that cooed to me upon first glance of the Thompson. It has an understated elegance, so understated in fact, that one can almost skip right past it. But in a city of brash and neon signage, this can be a good thing. Its silver and glass box-like exterior frames its gorgeous dark wood, retro-inspired main floor lobby and bar is mostly black and white with hints of burnt orange. The 152 square-foot black and white mural of Toronto’s skyline as interpreted and hand-painted by Barcelona-based artist, Javier Marsical, is the ‘wow’ factor of this bar that stretches almost half the block.

Originally opened in June 2010, near the trendy King West neighborhood at the corner of Bathurst and Wellington, the 16 floor, 102 room, Thompson Hotel joins a growing list of luxury hotels. Le Germain, the Soho Met, the Gladstone and the Drake are all helping Toronto shed its frumpy image. The Thompson was designed by local firm Architects Alliance and the interior design was conceived by New York’s Studio Gaia. Although the Thompson Toronto is too large to call itself a boutique hotel, it’s rooms, each have a distinct personality (no cookie-cutter rooms for the chic and fabulous, dah-ling) and there’s a clear fashion-forward, personalized, local-inspired flavour to the overall hotel. Howard Johnson, this is not. And we couldn’t be happier.

The Rooms:

in the rooms are in keeping with the hotel’s overall aesthetic – sleek use of dark woods and metals, white beds and sheets with accents of burnt orange found in chairs and pillows. We particularly like the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the city. The rooms start at $170 for the standard “King Superior” room and up to $4500 for the penthouse suite.

The Food:

Just as the Thompson takes its design seriously, so too does it to eating – there are three restaurants to enjoy. The main restaurant, Scarpetta, is upscale Italian, described as equal parts ‘rustic and refined’. It is headed by chef, Scott Conant, an import from the original Scarpetta restaurant in Manhattan. It’s signature dishes are spaghetti with tomato and basil, creamy polenta with fricasse of truffled mushrooms and chocolate cake with burnt orange (lovin’ that colour scheme) caramel gelato and espresso sauce.

Wabora is its modern Japanese restaurant. Owner Minsoo Kim is another import, this time from his first Wabora restaurant in Bracebridge, Ont. The menu features more than 60 types of rolls, some grilled meats and an extensive seafood menu. Its contemporary feel comes from its limestone countertops and original artwork by Shawn Westlaken and Young Moon-Kim. It also has one of the only Robata grills in the city which burn bincho, a rare and highly-sought after white charcoal that burns longer and more evenly than its black counterparts.

The Counter, its 24-hour relaxed, diner-style restaurant that looks out onto Bathurst Street, features everything from breakfast staples to post-bar, late night cravings: hamburgers, turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, mac and cheese.  It’s the place to get comfort food at a comfortable price.

The Extras:

There’s an inviting roof-top pool and bar with panoramic views of the city skyline and the CN Tower. It’s perfect for tanning by day and sipping (though not cheap $17) martinis at night. Unfortunately, just like the cost of its martinis it isn’t readily available to everyone – the roof top patio is only accessible to guests of the hotel and neighboring Thompson condo owners. The hotel also features a state-of-the-art 40 seat screening room. La Dolce Vita, anyone?

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