Toronto’s 8 Most Romantic Hotels for a Weekend of Reconnecting

The popular Bisha Hotel Toronto on busy Blue Jays Way in Toronto’s entertainment district exudes sex appeal with its luxe textures, dramatic lighting, and high-gloss surfaces. The extremely detailed design and its undercurrent of high-style glamour permeates from the thick double doors to the rooftop pool on the 44th floor directly off the airy KOST restaurant.

Textured leather and velvet walls, natural stone, shiny floors and doors, lacquered wood, Warhol prints—the public areas are an interior designer’s dream. A gallery vibe carries on up into the 96 bright rooms, with art hung salon-style on white walls, swirl-patterned dark carpeting, leather headboards, Art Deco-inspired armoires and glossy lamps. The soaker tubs suit two to a T. Lenny Kravitz designed the dark and seductive rooms on the seventh floor for those looking for a dash of rock-and-roll.

Mister C’s Lounge on the main floor creates an ambiance for intimate chats with its low-slung furniture, velvet-flock wallcoverings and gas fireplace.Internationally renowned Chef Akira Back lends his talents his eponymous restaurant on the second floor. The flight of gilded stairs to the entrance will certainly get you in the mood for the sensual Japanese and Korean cuisine.

Stepping into the Kimpton Saint George off busy Bloor Street West is like walking into an oasis of calm. And while this has a lot to do with the warm and inviting service, it’s the intimate and informal style of the décor that softens people up. The wooden archways and pastoral murals in the lobby lead guests into a living-room like lounge, replete with natural tones and rich textures. It’s the kind of lobby you might actually want to hang out in and read the paper. Colours inspired by nature permeate throughout the 188 spacious rooms: rich browns, dark greens and orangey-rusts, all echoing a woodland painting. Find sculptural furnishings, luxury linens, cheeky art in the closet of all places, and a record player with a selection of Canadian vinyl to amplify the mood.

If you’re feeling peckish and it’s not quite dinnertime, the hotel does a nice Happy Hour with free wine and snacks for all guests. And when the time comes, breakfast downstairs at the Fortunate Fox is substantial and delectable, and while you may be moved to linger, you’ve got shopping to do: The hotel anchors one end of the Mink Mile, Toronto’s strip of high-end shopping.

With the largest rooms in the city, starting at 50 sqm, the very first St. Regis  in Canada (previously The Adelaide) can be your new playground-away-from-home in the Toronto city centre. Rooms possess a sleek, modern-traditional sexiness punched up with an icing of glam to stimulate the senses. 124 of the 258 rooms have gas fireplaces, living areas, and wet bars. High drama comes in the form of tufted leather headboards, studded leather chairs, high-gloss lamps, dark patterned carpets, velvet furniture and crystal chandeliers.

When you manage to tire of your luxurious room, take in the Champagne sabering (lopping off the cork with a sword) in the lobby every day at 5 p.m., a St. Regis ritual, then head up to the 31st floor to drink in the romantic opulence of LOUIX LOUIS. The striking Grand Bar has an extensive spirit list and an outdoor secret garden, while the restaurant comes through with classic American cuisine. But first, maybe a quick pampering in the spa and/or a refreshing swim in the salt-water pool on the 32nd floor? Be warned: The all-encompassing view of both east and west downtown will hold your attention for longer than you might expect. Plus you can watch the planes taking off and landing at Toronto Island Airport.

With its black brick exterior and dark foyer, The Anndore House has an air of mystery, like you’re walking into a secret club. What appears at first to be a large glass-topped island counter is actually an intimate front desk, ringed with gold-trimmed glass cases of boutique-hotel amenities and trinkets, artwork hung salon-style, a skylight letting in natural light.

The 113 rooms have a cheeky, loft-style vibe, designed by a different firm than the public areas, exhibiting a marked contrast. Expect industrial-style lighting, blond wood cupboards, grey walls and flooring, and a retro touch, complete with portable record player.

Constantine is a huge draw, partitioned from the hotel by a long wall of shelving displaying white ceramics. The reservation list is always full, the whole town drawn to Chef Craig Harding’s Italian-slash-Mediterranean fare. The 50-seat cocktail bar mixes a mean drink, with a menu chock-full of exotic ingredients like Moroccan syrup, coconut-infused Campari and cachaçca, all thrown back by the hip local condo crowd and diners arriving early for their dinner reservations.

Just east of the city centre in Riverside, The Broadview anchors the new, cool part of town—away from the crowd, but starting a new one as the east end continues to trend. The décor scheme is a mix of eras symbolizing the heritage building’s many incarnations, modern but managing to cleverly span several decades at the same time.

The 58 sumptuous rooms reflect the hotel’s former life as a strip club: lots of brass and red velvet, marble tables, a pole light fixture, sexy matte-black bathroom fixtures, a portable record player and a selection of vintage vinyl. Maybe that’s just the inspiration you were looking for. If so, get your groove on. Then pop up to the glass-cube rooftop lounge on the top floor and find a comfy seat for a lingering tête-à-tête or book into the tufted, red-leather seats at Civic, the main dining room and whisper away.

A cultural hub on Queen Street West where all the cool people hang out could be just the place to snuggle up for the weekend. Nineteen quirky rooms are compact but cozy, informal and original, with a pod-hotel functionality and local mixed-media art and photography. Amusing décor elements lend a distinct retro vibe. Clincher: The Drake prides itself on being the first hotel in North America to offer intimate sex-shop accoutrements in the mini bar, including condoms and lubricant, a blindfold, and a pleasure feather.

Art is absolutely everywhere you look in the entire hotel—along the hallways, across the stairwells, on the ceiling, outside, and even in the public washrooms. The lounge on the main floor sports some of the most talented mixologists in the city, tantalizing locals and visitors alike with a cocktail list that goes beyond mere ingenuity. At the Café, the amazing kitchen makes practically everything in-house, from the bread to the charcuterie to the pasta. Breakfast is so sublime you will want to wring every last second out of the experience, tucking into house-smoked salmon, house-made sausage, and the creamiest brown-butter hollandaise you will ever taste.

Some international luxury brands have a way of feeling cookie-cutter, like they arrived in a kit and merely assembled. Not so with this urban retreat on University Avenue. The Shangri-La shimmers with a refined Chinese elegance right down to the smallest detail, oozing the type of sophistication that draws an urbane and creative international clientele. Its stylish 202 rooms are awash in muted tones, gorgeous cabinetry, marble everything, patterned glassware, soft night lights and larger bottles in the minibar.

The pool is the most stunning in town, with an infrared sauna and terry-lined mini cabanas ringing the poolside, built into the wall, complete with TVs. The hotel is close to all the big downtown retailers, the Instagram-worthy City Hall and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. There’s nothing quite like a glass of bubbly in the Lobby Lounge before a night at the ballet. And after your late night, refuel with the full Chinese Dim Sum for breakfast.

Canadiana reigns at Le Germain Hotel Toronto Mercer on an extremely quiet and unassuming Mercer Street, ironically located in the epicentre of Toronto’s downtown action—live theater, excellent fine and casual dining, shopping, cinema, major league sports, it’s all here. Formerly a hat factory, the hotel yields Quebec-tinged rustic chic; all natural textures, stylish patterns and folksy whimsy. Victor Restaurant Bar is cozy and delicious with a North American bar-and-grill feel. Expect things like butter roasted scallops, braised short rib and quite possibly one of the best burgers in town.

In the rooms, mood lighting keeps skin tone flattering, felt walls dampen the sound, a sleek, molded vanity sexes up the bathroom and a little Bose stereo supports your personal playlist. But here’s the kicker: There’s no set checkout time if you book online, so you can leave whenever you want.