The Best Boutique Hotels in Toronto, Canada

The beautiful and modern Hotel X sits over a nine acre site on the edge of Lake Ontario. This stylish spa hotel in Toronto is full of light and airy spaces, from the cathedral-like lobby, to the large windows in all the rooms and impressive glass conservatory terrace. The heated rooftop pool has everything you could wish for, including skyline views and food and drink service to your lounger. Access to the hotel’s screening room for film series is available to all guests, as is unlimited time in the on-site fitness centre.

With a plethora of luxury home comforts on offer, celeb-spot Hazelton Hotel offers immersive concepts and an escape to a world of exuberance and exclusivity. Yorkville’s main boutique hotel spot contains swanky and opulent rooms that have been especially designed by the internationally renowned design firm Yabu Pushelberg, with doubles, twins and suites to choose from. For a meal to remember, visit the hotel’s One Restaurant, where celebrity Chef Mark McEwan has created a signature dining experience.

Anyone needing to be close to the Financial District may find this grand historic hotel from 1903 convenient. Despite its modernization, the glory of this building’s lavish past is still very present through its impressive architecture and classic grand lobby. The rooms at this modern hotel in Toronto are quiet, impeccably presented and comfortable, carrying on the hotel’s admirable tradition. Royal treatment is also on offer at their on-site spa that will help soothe and pamper your stresses away.

The Westlake in Etobicoke offers 11 individually impressive suites that scream industrial boho. With brick and beams exposed in an airy space, contrasted by modern furniture, the look is truly contemporary. Based on the Airbnb concept that you check in and out online to a home that is equipped for your stay, the faceless transaction lives on. The views of the big lake are impressive and anyone who enjoys a good hike has trails to follow for days.

The Gladstone is Toronto’s oldest continually operating boutique hotel – but you wouldn’t know it. Each and every one of its 37 rooms has been designed by a local creative, infusing this 19th-century property with avant-garde visions, such as the candy-themed Surreal Gourmet, the jigsaw-plastered Puzzle Room and the Lucky Stryke suite, a step through Toronto’s queer bar scene produced by celebrity designer Tommy Smythe. Sandwiched between the artsy neighborhoods of West Queen West and Parkdale, this boutique hotel hosts a crowded calendar of exhibitions, as well as an on-site cafe open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and moody cocktail joint Melody Bar.

The Annex feels more like an Airbnb than a Toronto boutique hotel, doing away with a lot of the details that identikit chains pride themselves on. Instead of a reception desk, there’s digital check-in and a phone number to text for recommendations. Instead of room service, there’s a cafe-slash-wine bar in the lobby. And instead of trimmings such as a gym and valet parking, there are luxury Malin+Goetz skincare products, top-notch bedding and homely communal spaces. Occupying a century-old three-story building, The Annex’s 24 rooms are minimalist in design, while the contemporary photos, prints and illustrations hanging on the walls perfectly mirror the eclectic neighborhood that gives the hotel its name.

The Drake opened its doors in 1890 – roughly 100 years before a local rapper co-opted the name – before enjoying a head-to-toe makeover in 2004, adding colorful kitschy-chic design to this Victorian-era property in West Queen West. As well as sharing a moniker with Toronto’s most famous resident, The Drake has made a name for itself with its wide range of food and drink options, including legendary burgers in the Lounge, live music in the Underground bar and cocktails on the Sky Yard rooftop patio. This Toronto boutique hotel’s 19 rooms, which range from size XS to XL, all feature original artwork and an artisanal minibar, with each guest receiving a bag of popcorn upon check-in.

For decades, this Romanesque red-brick building in Toronto’s East End housed the infamous Jilly’s strip club. Although pin-up posters, brass poles and velvet curtains still hint at the property’s tawdry past, The Broadview has turned the space into a much classier affair, accelerating the gentrification of the Riverside and Leslieville neighborhoods when it opened in 2014. The 58 rooms are a throwback to a bygone era, while the three eateries – hyper-seasonal diner The Civic, the laid-back Broadview Bistro + Bar and the al fresco Rooftop – serve cocktails minus any adults-only entertainment.

The Beverley’s sleek, minimalist rooms might be on the cozy side, but with a prime Downtown location like this, you won’t be spending much time sleeping. Situated on Queen Street West in the heart of The Six, this 18-room property is one of the best boutique hotels in Toronto and is only a short stroll to the nightclub district and Downtown’s stylish shopping strip, plus the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. Mexican snack bar Carlotta is open all year, while the South Beach-style rooftop patio basks in the summer sunshine. The Beverley also happens to be one of the most affordable boutique hotels in Toronto.

An urban-loft vibe runs through The Anndore House, a 10-storey apartment block dating back to the 1950s before it was converted into one of Toronto’s hottest boutique hotels in 2018. Local designer Cecconi Simone added warm shutter blinds, vintage lighting and luxe leather furniture to the priceless original brickwork of a property that’s an icon of the gay-friendly Church and Wellesley village. A legendary jazz bar used to reside in the building – that explains the record players in each of the 113 rooms – but the ground floor now accommodates the Mediterranean-inspired Constantine restaurant as well as a retro barber shop and pint-size cafe Scarlet Door.

While contemporary design has transformed many other 19th-century landmarks into some of Toronto’s most stylish boutique hotels, The Ivy at Verity remains a time capsule of the Victorian era. Situated in an 1850s chocolate factory in the historic Queen Street East district, each of the Verity’s four rooms has a king-size Hästens bed, handcrafted Italian linen and period decor that transports you to the mid-19th century. The hotel is attached to the Verity – an exclusive women’s club with supreme spa facilities – as well as the upscale George Restaurant, which serves a selection of suitably sophisticated tasting menus.