Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific?s leading luxury hotel group, signed an agreement with Vancouver?s Westbank and Peterson Group to manage the 202-room five-star Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto opening 2012. The hotel will be Shangri-La?s second property in Canada following the debut of the Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver in 2009 by the same development team.
Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto will be located on University Avenue at Adelaide Street within walking distance of central downtown office buildings, theatres, performance venues plus the vibrant Bloor Yorkville shopping and dining area. Toronto City Hall, the Provincial Parliament Buildings, CN Tower,? Metro Toronto Convention Center, Air Canada Centre and Rogers Center are all within easy reach.
The hotel will occupy the first 17 floors of the C$430 million 65-storey tower.? Its guestrooms will be among the most spacious in the city and decorated in a contemporary style with Asian highlights. Luxury condominium residences will be located on the upper levels of the tower.
Guests entering the hotel through an elegant vaulted forecourt will be welcomed into a spacious three-storey glass atrium lobby offering streetscape views.? The heart of the hotel will be its lobby lounge ? an ?urban living room? with a sidewalk cafe nestled in the shadow of the boulevard trees overlooking University Avenue.? Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea service will be followed by tapas and evening entertainment in the relaxed yet refined lounge.
The street-level club-style bar will lead to a mezzanine level feature restaurant overlooking University Avenue, the new Opera House and Queen?s Park and direct views towards City Hall. It will be open for lunch and dinner, pre- and post-theatre.
Level 5 features a Wellness Floor including a 25-meter glass enclosed lap pool with a vitality tub, extensive gym, yoga studio and CHI, The Spa ? Shangri-La?s signature spa brand ? offering a range of Asian inspired treatments and day spa services. Each of the 10 private CHI treatment rooms with one double treatment suite will provide a ?spa within a spa? atmosphere, offering guests the luxury of time and space.
The hotel?s function rooms, on the third floor, will open onto a landscaped terrace as well as overlook the historic Bishop?s Block to the southwest. The ballroom will seat 150 and three smaller rooms will seat 12 to 50 persons.? All function rooms will offer floor-to-ceiling windows and an elegant pre-function foyer.? A screening room/theatre seating 30 guests will provide a venue for screenings or executive presentations that require dramatic special effects.
?We are delighted to announce our second project in Canada with Westbank and Peterson,? said Greg Dogan, Shangri-La?s president and chief executive officer.? ?Our Canadian properties will offer travelers Shangri-La?s renowned Asian-style hospitality complemented by luxurious guestrooms, fine dining, and state-of-the-art facilities.?
Ian Gillespie, president of Westbank, added, ?The Shangri-La in Vancouver and in Toronto both have ideal locations, and each property will undoubtedly become one of their respective city?s leading deluxe hotels under Shangri-La?s award-winning management.?
Westbank is Canada?s pre-eminent luxury residential developer. The company was founded in 1992 and emerged as a leader in the development of retail shopping centres. Today, emphasis is on selecting key urban spaces to develop environmentally sensitive mixed-use/residential properties, defined by world-class design, amenities, landscape architecture and compelling public art. Westbank is currently developing or has completed over 11 million square feet of real estate exceeding $3.7 billion in cost with new properties in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and Dallas.
Peterson Group is a leading private real estate and manufacturing company with offices in Vancouver and Hong Kong. The company is recognized among its peers for bringing a proven, progressive and entrepreneurial approach to signature developments and acquisitions as well as to ventures in the manufacturing sector. Peterson Group’s North American real estate portfolio totals over 5.4 million square feet and is comprised of large, mixed-use developments including retail, office, residential and institutional properties.