F&W Free Preview All You Coastal Living Cooking Light Food and Wine tab Health myRecipes Southern Living Sunset

Travel

Drake Hotel

Print
1150 Queen St. W.
Toronto , Ontario
(866) 372-5386

COST: $

<p>Toronto's West Queen West is a neighborhood in flux, where appliance stores, art galleries, and places like Camera, a screening-room bar owned by filmmaker Atom Egoyan, exist cheek by jowl. In 2001, when Canadian entrepreneur Jeff Stober first walked into the Drake Hotel, a former flophouse on a gritty stretch, he saw its potential and set about fashioning a hub for the area's creative types. The style of the 19 rooms is beyond eclectic: floral wallpaper, sock dolls crafted by a local artist, transparent ottomans with visible springs, ladders leading up to an overhead storage space. Downstairs, the dining-room walls are covered in trippy flocked Rorschach blots, and the lounge has leather booths and red velvet banquettes. The hotel employs an in-house curator who arranges shows in the lobby exhibition space and manages an artist-in-residence program. Permanent art displays are peppered throughout the building, from a light installation made from bicycle parts in the café to a Bums and Chests piece made from postcards in a men's lavatory.</p>

AS FEATURED IN...

From Travel + Leisure , APR 2007

We're talking over cappuccinos at the Drake Hotel, a former flophouse on a grungy stretch of Queen Street West, that Stober turned into a hub of art, design, music, and hospitality....MORE>>

– Raul Barreneche Toronto&#8217;s Time

From Travel + Leisure , FEB 2005

The 19-room Drake Hotel combines urban elegance with a dose of the avant-garde....MORE>>

50 Romantic Places

From Travel + Leisure , JUN 2004

The multimillion-dollar renovation of the Drake Hotel is the talk of the town's fashionistas. Besides the restaurant and yoga studio, the smoky bar scene is a must-see....MORE>>

T+L Reports: Oh, Canada!

Last updated April 2007

food
The Dish Twice weekly chef recipes made easy, weekly meal planners.

wine
The Wine List Weekly pairings, best bottles to buy and the latest news.

daily
F&W Daily One sensational dish served fresh every day.
American Express Publishing ("AEP") may use your email address to send you account updates and offers that may interest you. To learn more about the ways we may use your email address and about your privacy choices, read the AEP Privacy Statement.
How we use your email address

MARKETPLACE

View Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statement of American Express Publishing Corporation.

Users of this site agree to be bound by the terms of the American Express Publishing
Corporation Website Terms and Conditions.

Copyright © 1997 - 2012 American Express Publishing Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
3.44-ci