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The lap of luxury
The Hazelton Hotel Is Aiming To Be The Poshest Place In Town When It Opens Its Doors This Week. What Does This Mean For Guests? Maryam Siddiqi Investigates
Maryam Siddiqi
National Post
Saturday, August 04, 2007
New York has the Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles has the Hotel Bel-Air, and on Tuesday, Toronto will have the Hazelton -- the city's first five-star hotel. It's only the beginning for the highest of the high-end inns: There are four more such properties scheduled to open in the city within the next four years.
(Technically, the Hazelton, which sits across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville, can be awarded a star designation by Mobil only after it has opened, but the property has been designed with five stars in mind.)
Its 77 guest rooms, which start at $405 nightly for 500 square feet and run up to $5,000 for a 4,200-square-foot suite, are crammed with opulence. Everything from the heated marble slabs in the bathrooms (the largest in the city) to the number of hangers in each room's closet has been carefully deliberated and decided on. So just how many hangers does a five-star closet hold? We dissect the Hazelton -- from suites to guest services -- to discern what exactly makes a five-star so shiny.
Reception
When Klaus Tenter first heard about the Hazelton eight years ago, he thought, "Oh, we don't need another hotel in the neighbourhood." Three years later, Peter Cohen and Bruce Greenberg, the property's owners, talked the former Four Seasons executive out of retirement and into the president's offices of the new venture.
"At the end of the day, it's the customer judging the hotel based on services," says Tenter, who was an executive with the Four Seasons for 30 years. "Should the pillow be flat or round? Feathers or foam? I want to know their birthday and anniversary, so we can send an amenity on those days," he explains. Tenter also aspires to have the doormen greet guests with their room key as a way of personalizing and speeding up the check-in process.
ONE
One is actually the third restaurant for chef Mark McEwan, who has already conquered uptown (North 44) and downtown (Bymark). The 250-seat restaurant, which features a private dining area for 80 people and an outdoor patio for 70, also serves as the hotel's 24-hour room service provider. There's no need to settle for a soggy sandwich at 3 a.m. here: Guests can choose from barbecue rib ravioli with miso seared scallops, crab falafel with tahini, chili and coriander or seared foie gras with split-pit peaches.
SILVER PRIVATE SCREENING ROOM
The Hazelton's signature offering is this private cinema, which seats 25. Designed by Christopher Hansen of Beverly Hills' Simply Home Entertainment (read: movie theatre designer to the stars!), the room is equipped with $2-million worth of technology, custom Italian leather seating, 16-foot ceilings and mohair-lined walls for soundproofing. Don't worry about upsizing your popcorn: Mark McEwan's team at One caters for this room as well. The theatre is booked through the film festival, hosting five to seven screenings per day. It's $600 for a two-hour minimum; $2,400 is the all-day rate (eight hours), and there's no Hot Ticket Tuesdays.
SUITES
Guests will be swathed in lush Italian linen from Mascioni (the bedding will be washed three or four times before being put in rooms) and have Bulgari toiletries for use in the oversized soaking tub or separate rain shower. At least one 42" LCD HDTV will be available (those in the executive and luxury suites get an additional set in the washroom). No need to raise much more than your finger for anything else in the room. A control panel near the bed allows guests to open the curtains, for example, at the touch of a button. Press a button on this control panel as well to inform housekeeping that you're not to be disturbed. But if you need more than the 22 hangers provided, you'll have to ask.
SPA
The Hazelton's health club aims to make sweat luxurious. A private elevator will whisk guests to a lap pool decorated with imported mosaic tiles fromItalianfirmBisazza, or time can be spent in one of the spa's four treatment rooms -- the Hazelton is the city's exclusive provider of Valmont, a Swiss skin-care line. The hotel will also offer personalized stretch programs for those needing a break during business meetings.