Toronto: The Broadview

Formerly the home of Jilly’s Strip Club, this Romanesque Revival-style building constructed in 1891 as the social and retail hub of Toronto’s east end is now a dazzling 58-room boutique hotel. It anchors the Riverside and Leslieville neighbourhoods, both of which continue to gentrify at a dizzying speed.

Vibe: The Broadview Hotel is hit with creative industry business travellers who want to be close to downtown but still enjoy a local experience in a cool part of town. The history of the building is cleverly incorporated into the design and construction, the décor a mix of time periods. Each space has a different feel—modern but reflective of the 125-year story without focusing on any particular era. The lobby bar wallpaper was reproduced from the original pattern found underneath the layers of a century of wallpaper. The generous use of brass hints at the building’s tenure as a men’s club. Parts of the old fire escape that once covered the east side of the building have been repurposed into a lobby wall installation.

Rooms: Spacious rooms sport sumptuous fabrics, high thread-count bedding, custom-built dark-wood furniture, laminate flooring and marble-top tables. Thick red velvet curtains and quirky brass pole stands carry through the strip-club motif. All-marble bathrooms with contrasting matte-black finishes exude luxury. TVs stream content from your phone app, and at the opposite end of that scale, a record player and a selection of vinyl albums give guests a tactile music experience. Some rooms include a private outdoor seating nook.

F&B: The pink neon-lit circular bar of The Café + Bar off the lobby is a hit for pre-dinner or after-work drinks and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Main-floor restaurant The Civic is a destination in itself, the chefs embracing local and the menu not pricing itself out of the neighbourhood. The stunning 100-seat Rooftop is an indoor-outdoor space sporting 360-degree views of the city via an L-shaped patio, floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a pyramid skylight. A sharing menu and smart cocktail list make it a hotspot.

Extras: The 3,000-square-foot Lincoln Hall on the second floor is connected to a 1,000-square-foot outdoor terrace, which, when used together, can accommodate 270 people. The 700-square-foot Dominion Suite is available for small cocktail receptions or meetings. The private seventh-floor Tower can suit up to 30 people for drinks, and the adjacent Rooftop holds up to 240 reception guests. No gym or spa facilities available.

Off-Site: The Broadview sits on the corner of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue at the edge of downtown, just a few minutes’ drive from both the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway, Toronto’s major motorways. An entrance to the Don Valley hiking and biking trail is a five-minute walk away and the heritage Distillery District is a 20-minute walk away.

Rate: $$$
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