ACE Hotel Toronto Opens Its Doors and Welcomes Inaugural Guests

Ace Hotel has opened its first property in Canada, located in Toronto's historic Garment District. Designed by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, the 123-room hotel is a new ground-up project with robust and solid architecture that conveys timelessness and feels effortlessly at home among its surroundings. Shim-Sutcliffe Architects is led by Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe, who are recipients of numerous awards including the 2021 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Gold Medal, the nation’s highest honour for architecture.

The building’s red brick facade recalls the important role bricks pressed from Don Valley clay played in forming the city’s visual identity, and guests entering the lobby catch a glimpse of Horizon Line, a three-story site-specific art installation abstractly representing Lake Ontario’s glittering waters, designed by A. Howard Sutcliffe. A rhythmic series of soaring, poured-in-place, concrete structural arches rise from the semi-subterranean restaurant to a level above.

At its heart, Ace Toronto is a civic space built for gathering and trading in words, intimacies, and bright ideas. The Lobby, clad in the red oak lining and inspired in form by a wooden tray, is suspended by slender steel rods from these massive supports and offers guests a variety of viewpoints and scales within the impressive space. With a sun-dappled seating area replete with vintage and custom Atelier Ace furnishings, and views overlooking the neighbourhood green space St. Andrew’s Playground Park, The Lobby is rich with texture and warmth, offering space for life to take place.

Guest suites are conceived as cosy urban cabins, with Douglas fir panelling, copper accents, custom Shim-Sutcliffe lighting and side tables, and deep-set window benches built into the structure offering connection to the city’s shifting seasons and light. Considered material, constructed time, tremendous shifts of scale, and sensitivity to place coalesce at Ace Hotel Toronto, bringing a future-facing structure and unprecedented creative centre to the city.

Anchoring the ground floor is Alder, a seasonal wood-fired restaurant from critically acclaimed chef Patrick Kriss, which will open for dinner service on August 9. Chef Patrick also helms the menus for The Lobby and the hotel’s rooftop bar and lounge, Evangeline, which is opening later this year. Ace Hotel Toronto is within walking distance of famed music venues, galleries, bars, and restaurants, joining an area long defined by many of the independently-minded and community-focused institutions that form the city’s cultural backbone.

Brad Wilson, CEO of Atelier Ace / Ace Hotel Group, said, “Long a leading global light for its forward-thinking approach to city-making and design, Toronto is a city that embraces originality and is rooted in the same open-to-all philosophy that founded Ace. We could not be more proud to open Ace Hotel Toronto — the architectural magnificence of Shim- Sutcliffe Architects’ work has created a bona fide wonder. They have built an inherently civic space that respects the neighbourhood’s storied past while nurturing its future. Likewise, Chef Patrick Kriss has worked in tandem with our team to create something exceptional at Alder, a restaurant with an honest reverence of seasons and quality. It is with great gratitude to the gifts of friends near and far that we welcome all to finally fill this remarkable space.”

Ace Toronto's original art program features pieces by nearly 40 artists, the majority of whom share ties to the city. The far-reaching works enrich the hotel’s public and private spaces and the glow of humanity. With its unique blend of art, culture, and hospitality, Ace Hotel Toronto promises to offer guests an unforgettable experience.