[ON LOCATION] LISA SIMUNDSON
Landing in Toronto is probably one of the city’s greatest attractions. Coming in over Lake Ontario, the skyline is hidden from view until suddenly there it is—tall, gleaming skyscrapers, including the famed CN Tower, fronting the shoreline.
Via Porter Airlines or Air Canada, the experience is open to groups arriving at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (an alternative to Toronto Pearson airport), which is set on an offshore island nearly close enough to touch the mainland, but not quite—arriving visitors must take a ferry or walk underground through an 850-ft pedestrian tunnel.
The walk continues throughout vast but walkable Toronto, capital of the province of Ontario, as Prevue was given the inside tour of hotels, offsite venues and dining experiences that never failed to surprise and delight while showcasing the city’s commitment to group business.
The Toronto Convention Centre—with 442,000 sf of exhibit space, 77 meeting rooms, multi-purpose ballrooms and a state-of-the-art theater—was not on the itinerary, but myriad other meeting and event locales were.
Our host hotel, the 600-room Hilton Toronto, checks in with more than 35,000 sf of meeting space and 25 meeting rooms, all on their own floor and accessed on a descending escalator ride that definitely creates a sense of arrival.
“It’s all self-contained, and our groups usually use the whole space,” says Rebecca Slongo, the hotel’s Director of Events. “It’s the ‘big fish’ effect when they take over the entire floor.” With meeting rooms lining the perimeter, the spacious center floor has hosted trade shows with 40 exhibitors, Slongo says.
Directly upstairs from the meeting space is the lobby bar and newly opened signature restaurant, Frenchy, offering private dining and “classical French cuisine with a playful twist,” says Carrie Wong, Complex Marketing Manager for the Hilton Toronto, the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale and the Hilton Airport Hotel & Suites. We all enjoyed entrees avec frites, the skinny, crunchy fries usually reserved for steak but served with omelettes, chicken and fish here.
Our tour of Toronto’s convention properties continued at the 259-room Four Seasons Hotel, set in the artsy, upscale neighborhood of Yorkville and offering 14,300 sf of meeting and event space. “Meetings and events are a huge part of our business, and Four Seasons looks for interesting neighborhoods like Yorkville,” says Robert Whalen, Director of Sales. “Right now, it’s incentive season, and we can privatize things like our spa and presidential suite for incentives.”
From the Four Seasons, we headed east—figuratively, that is—to a brand based in Hong Kong: Shangri-La, where event spaces are enclosed by floor-to-ceiling windows flooded with natural light and overlooking the cityscape. Some interesting tidbits about the Shangri-La: They have their own onsite beehive and serve fresh honey in the restaurants. They also have a “Tea Wall” of hand-painted tea jars and offer an afternoon tea service. In addition, event space includes a 42-seat private screening room, which has attracted a long list of dignitaries and celebrities though, unfortunately, no names were disclosed during the tour.
Beyond the meeting space of the convention center, arenas and hotels, Toronto’s offsite venues offer non-traditional alternatives with built-in relaxation and teambuilding opportunities.
We visited Ballroom Bowl Yorkville and were—dare we say—bowled over. This subterranean entertainment center is open to the public for bowling but also makes a great place for groups to play and meet.
“We can do buyouts for up to 280 people,” says Alison Parks, Corporate Sales Manager, who says many groups gravitate to the High Roller VIP area with its own two dedicated lanes. Food stations, passed hors d’oeuvres and “great cocktails and mocktails” are available, as are AV capabilities featuring the group’s company logo and messaging. In addition, the Kingpin Lounge holds 50-60 people for private functions.
One of the city’s newest venues (opened 2020) is set on one of its oldest streets—Yonge Street, established in the 1700s and called the world’s longest street as it stretches north from the shores of Lake Ontario for 31 miles. It is on the lakeside end of the street that you’ll find Lighthouse Art Space, set in the old Toronto Star building and now housing immersive art galleries that transform into event spaces with custom digital projections and installations for your group. Space includes multiple galleries and a black box theater, with full buyouts also available.
Immersive digital projections also are the hallmark of Illuminarium Toronto, located in the city’s historic Distillery District—once a 19th-century whiskey distillery whose cobblestone streets are lined with indie restaurants, bars and boutiques.
“There’s a new way to do old school events. Planners are blown away by the customization we offer,” says Illuminarium’s Event Director Jade Sebek. Indeed, spanning 7,000 sf of wall and floor space, cutting-edge visual, audio and projection technology can transport your group to places like a Japanese night market, an interstellar nebula, the streets of Paris or a luminous reef below the ocean’s surface. Or they can be immersed in their own corporate environment, Sebek says. “It’s all custom content and projection. We’re paperless.”
With an onsite bar and preferred caterers available, Sebek says Illuminarium can host up to 250 in rounds.
Also in the Distillery District are a host of shops, pubs and restaurants, including one we sampled, Madrina, where a new patio menu features traditional and new-style tapas—we tried the savory Spanish potato omelette and Catalan chicken lettuce wraps drizzled in luscious romesco sauce. For groups, a Chef’s Tasting menu includes 10 courses, with optional beverage pairings.
Here’s a great choice for groups: the Waterworks Food Hall set in the urban neighborhood of King West. This marketplace of dining choices features individual food and drink (and ice cream) stalls, with four private event spaces totaling 12,000 sf.
A variety of group gathering spots are offered at Black + Blue within walking distance of many downtown hotels, including the Hilton and neighboring Sheraton Centre Toronto. In addition to an outdoor garden area, fully weatherized with its own entrance for groups, the restaurant offers a number of private dining rooms, including one we shared with reps from Destination Toronto and a team from HelmsBriscoe, who were scouting locations for an upcoming meeting.
Black + Blue welcomes patrons to the “Golden Age of Steak,” and it’s no mere boast. The tenderloin we sampled was among the best anyone in the group had ever tasted. As the wine was uncorked and the side dishes passed around family-style—including impossibly creamy mashed potatoes—the atmosphere of conviviality and well-being shared by those at the table is exactly what you’d want a group dining experience to be.
destinationtoronto.com/meetings; hilton.com; fourseasons.com/toronto/meetings-and-events; shangri-la.com/toronto/shangrila/meetings-events; theballroombowl.ca/yorkville; lighthouseartspace.com/private-events; illuminarium.com/toronto/private-events