The Fairmont Royal York, Toronto’s Grand Dame

I remember coming into Toronto for baseball games as a kid and looking out from the Gardiner Expressway toward the famous Royal York Hotel.  I imagined what celebrities were staying at the most elegant building in the city. The Queen herself has stayed at the Royal York along with The Dalai Llama, various world leaders, Playboy playmates and rock legends!

Clearly, Everyone whose Anyone Stays at the Royal York

Year’s later, when Dave and I lived at Harbourfront, we walked through it’s lobby many a time as we took a short cut to “The Path,” Toronto’s famous underground city where we’d make our way to the Eaton Centre in the winter months. Eventually we started working in the film business, and every so often we’d shot a movie at the Royal York in one of their grand ballrooms or luxurious suites. The stars of the movies would be staying here during the duration of filming, while we would come and go to set, getting a glimpse of life of the rich and famous.

I always wondered what it would be like to stay there. 

Well, this holiday season, we had the chance to stay at the Royal York, and guess what? Ordinary every day people stay here right alongside the rich and the richer.

Deb Showing off our Travel Pro Luggage

It felt so decadent to be walking to the elevators rather than walking straight through to the subway. We waited for the lift alongside a well to do couple and said to ourselves, “yep we belong here.”  We had our brand new TravelPro Luggage in hand rather than our usual backpacks and instead of jeans or trekking pants we were dressed up, I even had on high heels and Dave wore a smart jacket. We played our part well.

Our Welcome Platter

We entered our suite to a welcoming bottle wine and their signature cheese where we immediately relaxed on the fluffy duvet on our king size bed while being careful to not spill our  red wine on the crisp white sheets.

Can’t we just stay here forever?

It was a nice touch to have our media contact give us a quick call to make sure that everything was ok with our arrival.

Is it Ok? I’m staying in the Royal York Man!

Unfortunately we had a jam packed schedule during our overnight stay in Toronto and had to leave for our CTV appearance first thing in the morning, but if we did have the time to enjoy the Fairmont, we would have taken advantage of everything it had to offer.

The Library Bar, Courtesy of Royal York

Instead, we only had the chance to enjoy our room and a final late night cocktail at the Library Bar. The Royal York is everything that you would expect from a Grand Old Hotel, luxurious and opulent. The suite we stayed in seemed a little bit dated and the bathroom could use an overhaul, but the furniture had been upgraded along with two flat screen TV’s which was a nice contrast to the antique style of floral printed sofas and drapes.

While the rooms may be small due to the hotels age, the lobby, pool, meeting and ballrooms are absolutely posh. It is fit for a Queen and that is exactly what the Royal York is, The Grand Dame of Toronto.

For more information on staying at the Fairmont when visiting Toronto, visit the Fairmont.com