Take that, every other lobby! — Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
The Ritz-Carlton may be exiting its toddler years as a luxury hotel in Toronto. But we assume it never went through the terrible twos. And if there were any opening bumps, they are definitely all smoothed out.
Upon arriving, you are greeted at the cab with efficiency and kindness. We had to politely decline to surrender our carry-on bag for the mere reason that we didn’t want to feel completely useless.
We soon got over that, as this is a hotel that hires people who make you feel as good as your mother would when you have a cold. We may even prefer The Ritz. (But don’t tell our mothers that.)
Sweet surrender in the Simcoe Suite — Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
To say that the rooms are spacious is an understatement: with 450 to 2415 square feet, in many cases you are living larger than you would in an apartment in the city.
Beds have handcrafted Italian 400-thread-count Frette linens. That may sound pretentious, but the thing is, you can feel it. We know because we could only get the “good” part of “good night” out before we fell into a relaxed slumber.
The bathrooms are outfitted with every toiletry that you forgot, from shaving cream and a razor to toothpaste and deep conditioner. Portuguese marble stone walls and heated flooring make it extremely easy to spend a little too much time in the bathroom.
This is made even worse when you discover the television custom-designed into the vanity mirror. A television in the mirror is the best possible chance we may have to floss on a regular basis!
You can opt to go with the Club Level service, and travel to the 20th floor with your keycard. Offerings from the scrumptious restaurants are plated, tapas style, from quinoa salad to potstickers to macaroons.
It goes down quite nicely with a flute of champagne and a view of Toronto gridlock that you will conquer once you come down from heaven.
The Ritz-Carlton clubhouse — Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Heaven is lower than we thought, because 15 floors down is the fitness center that drop kicks all other hotel fitness centers. (In our version of heaven, there is some healthy drop kicking.). LCD touchscreen televisions allow you to pretend you are working out while you catch up on your favorite shows.
It is bright and spacious, so unlike those hotel basement gyms that make you wonder why you travel in the first place.
Care to go for a swim? — Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
After a workout, it is only suitable to “work in” at the accompanying spa. We aren’t going to lie and say that the treatments are affordable. They are a splurge, but The Ritz-Carlton recognizes that and exhausts every opportunity to make you into a pampered idiot.
You may think it over the top to be led directly to your locker and then placed on a heated bed where you are scrubbed with exclusive exfoliants . . . Wait, what where we saying?
So you may enter The Ritz as an intelligent member of society. The kind that reads the paper and has an opinion. The Ritz will do their best to charm the brains right out of you.
Stupid sure feels good from time to time!
You don't even need to get a spa treatment to feel the effects of this urban oasis — Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
