Nature-inspired luxury “1 Hotel” opens in Toronto with year-round rooftop lounge

1 Hotels, the mission-driven, sustainable, luxury hospitality brand opens 1 Hotel Toronto, the sixth property in its portfolio, in partnership with Mohari Hospitality. To mark its Canadian debut, the hotel will host a ceremonial “Tree Planting” with Tree Canada whereby 2021 native trees will be planted throughout the city.

As a luxury lifestyle hotel brand inspired by nature, 1 Hotels cultivates the best of sustainable design and architecture, together with extraordinary comfort and an unrivaled level of service. 1 Hotel Toronto is Canada’s first mission-driven hotel that celebrates the beauty of Toronto’s natural environment and offers an urban oasis in the heart of the city.

With the goal of preserving the planet and minimizing its carbon footprint, 1 Hotel Toronto is powered by Ontario’s renewable energy systems and expects to divert over 85% of waste from landfills. On-site composting turns all organic wet waste into reusable soil for the 3,300 plants on property and multiple gardens.

The design of the property pays tribute to Toronto’s local environment and natural beauty through the use of raw materials and textures sourced throughout Ontario. Featuring 112 guest rooms including 21 suites with city and skyline views, room amenities include heated floors, plants, organic cotton linens, yoga mats, and customized organic bath products. An in-room water filtration system along with tumblers and carafes made from reclaimed wine bottles reduces the need for single use-plastics. The hotel’s in-room dining menu allows guests to eat mindfully with a selection of dishes that celebrate Ontario-grown ingredients. Other guest amenities include a rooftop pool and The Field House fitness facility. Indoor and outdoor venues allow a versatile setting for meetings and celebrations.

1 Hotel Toronto’s design balances refined elements with a comfortably curated atmosphere, inspired by the creativity and craftsmanship of local artists, builders, chefs, and the surrounding community. As a mission-driven brand, 1 Hotel Toronto seeks to make a meaningful impact in the way that people travel, eat, live and work.

Drawing inspiration from the beauty that surrounds it, 1 Hotel Toronto mirrors the muted shades of blue from the lake and contrasting colours of the passing seasons. The hotel purposefully reuses existing structural and reclaimed materials gathered from the local community, including timber, driftwood, local limestone, and native plants. The guest rooms were designed to resemble a lakeside escape, while the hotel’s corridor carpets mimic the sandy beach as you near closer to the water. Floor-to-ceiling windows let the natural light in and frame the sweeping city views, and 100% organic linens make for the perfect sleep.

The hotel will offer five dining concepts each with distinct experiences. 1 Kitchen Toronto is the property’s indoor and outdoor all-day restaurant boasting a menu that features cold-pressed juices, plant-based dishes and sustainably harvested fish and proteins. At Flora Lounge, visitors can enjoy cocktails and light bites in the lobby. The Garden Pavilion is the onsite organic garden as well as outdoor venue. Sprouting soon will be Harriet’s Toronto and Casa Madera.

Centrally located in downtown Toronto at 550 Wellington Street West, visit www.1hotels.com/toronto to learn more and to book your getaway, please call 416-640-7778.

Harriet’s – Now Open

Harriet’s Toronto, the city’s newest all-season rooftop destination. This is the first Canadian location, and offers touches of 1 Hotel Toronto’s nature-inspired ethos can be seen throughout the elevated indoor/outdoor lounge’s decor and food and beverage program. Backdropped by picturesque views of the city skyline, enjoy small plates, an open concept sushi bar and a refined cocktail and bottle service program.

Inspired by the refined decadence of a 1920’s supper club, Harriet’s pairs panoramic views of the Toronto skyline with exceptional service. An impressive cocktail program and high caliber bottle service offerings solidify Harriet’s as the ideal venue for sunset cocktails and late-night revelry. Small plates and expertly-made Japanese dishes developed by 1 Hotel Toronto Executive Chef Derek Powers Jr. can be enjoyed within the intimate setting. A bountiful weekend brunch menu will make Harriet’s a popular daytime destination as well. Special programming includes intimate live music and DJ performances that will bring a new level of entertainment to the city.

Harriet’s at 1 Hotel Toronto, 550 Wellington Street West, 16th Floor
Entrance and check in is located on the North-side of 1 Kitchen Toronto

Reservations can be made here.

Dinner and cocktail service: Wednesday to Saturday | 5:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Weekend brunch service: Saturday | 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM  and Sunday | 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Other Dining Options

Flora Lounge

Located in the heart of the hotel, Flora Lounge, the hotel’s welcoming lobby bar, is a richly designed space where guests can enjoy light bites paired with delicious cocktails. Flora’s menu features a variety of small plates like the 100 km Board featuring Ontario cheeses, cured meats, crostini, and house-made jams – all ingredients sourced within 100 km of the hotel.

Hours of Operation:
Daily | 2pm – 1am

1 Kitchen Toronto

1 Kitchen, the hotel’s signature restaurant, is led by nature. Its goal is to create an experience as close to dining by a farm or coastline in downtown Toronto with direct relationships to its beloved purveyors from the land and sea. The menu is produce-led, peppered with artful pickling, fermenting and smoking. Its commitment to preserving the beauty and bounty of nature generates zero waste by composting all organics and recycling or upcycling everything we touch.

And then there’s the bar, where cold-pressed juices form the base of 1 Kitchen’s Canadian cocktails. The ever-evolving wine list highlights unique and iconic selections, many biodynamic or organic. There is also a rotating local craft beer on tap and Bluestone Lane coffee. Light-filled and open, 1 Kitchen has a built-in feeling updated for today, in a glass-walled conservatory-like space with a vaulted wood ceiling and curved trusses hung with greenery. It’s a place that’s comfortable by nature, where you can eat mindfully and eat well, listen to live music, and savor the flavors that come straight from the garden.

Hours of Operation:
Sunday – Thursday | 7am – 9pm
Friday – Saturday | 7am – 10pm

In-Room Dining

1 Hotel Toronto’s in-room dining menu offers a delicious selection of dishes featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Available to order:
Sunday – Thursday | 7am – 9pm
Friday – Saturday | 7am – 10pm

Lobby Marketplace

Farm-fresh fruits are available daily for guests and members of the Toronto community.

Garden Pavilion

Located on the east side of the property and using compost generated from hotel food and beverage operations, the Hotel’s lush garden supplies all kitchens with a variety of fresh herbs and vegetables, and also serves as a unique event space that can seat up to 40 guests

Casa Madera (Opening Soon)

Casa Madera is the hotel’s destination for coastal cuisine influenced by Mexico and the Mediterranean. This is the first Canadian outpost by The Madera Group, known for its unrivaled immersive dining experience. Casa Madera will engage all five senses with its seafood-driven menu, specially curated cocktail program and nightly entertainment featuring performance artists and live music. Inspired by life’s core elements – earth, air, fire and water – and guided by sustainable practices, Casa Madera is a natural fit for the dynamic city of Toronto. Just like 1 Hotel Toronto, Casa Madera focuses on local purveyors and seasonal availability to guide their inclusive food and beverage programs that cater to all preferences.

Just The Facts

• In-room water filtration system along with tumblers and carafe made from reclaimed wine bottles reduces the need for single use-plastics

• Chalkboards in rooms as an alternative to pads of paper

• Minimum of 50% of mini bar items are local to reduce emissions

• Minimal collateral (mini bar list, laundry list on hotel app)

• Guestroom glassware is made of used and re-purposed glass

• Hangers made from recycled materials and reusable laundry bags

• Recycling receptacles in all guest rooms

• Large amenity bottles are refillable to reduce plastic waste.

• Educational moments on sustainability (quotes on hangers, laundry bags).

• Energy saving smart thermostats used throughout the hotel

• Bedding and terry 100% organic cotton

• Toilet paper and facial tissue are biodegradable

• Rooftop Pool: Overlooking the iconic Toronto skyline, take in the view from the Hotel’s redesigned pool deck. Night or day, it is the perfect place to unwind with an expertly made cocktail and light bites.

• The Field House: Fitness facility featuring state-of-the-art weight training and cardio equipment, including Peloton bikes for personalized experiences. Personal training is also available upon request.

• Goodthings: Take 1 Hotels home. Explore the lobby vitrine, which features a selection of 1 Hotel products and gifts, including signature scented candles and cozy robes. The retail space features a curated selection of goods from innovative Canadian brands and local artisans.

• 1 Hotel Toronto is dedicated to the quest for zero-waste which is very much in tune with the city of Toronto’s mission and mentality. The property expects to be diverting over 85% of waste from landfills

• On-site composting turns all organic wet waste into reusable soil to be used in over 3,300 plants located throughout the hotel and garden

• Partnership with Toronto-based Green For Life to recycle all paper, plastic, glass and hazardous waste

• Alliance with GreenPlanet to convert 100% of kitchen oil and grease into biofuel

• Sustainable laundering services rely on environmentally friendly products and eliminate harmful chemicals from the process

• Apex ecosure dishwashing systems reduces water use by 60% and reduces energy use by 70% vs most commercial dishwashers

Culinary

• The Hotel’s onsite seasonal Garden Pavilion supplies all on-property restaurants and grows a selection of crops including 100% organic herbs, fruits, lettuces, edible flowers, peppers, onions, beans and specially hybridized pollinator perennials and shrubs

• The Garden Pavilion is also home to a “Bee Hotel” designed to attract native bees and pollinators by building a habitat uniquely designed for their nesting preferences

• Fresh pressed juice is made to order on-site, with ingredients from the Garden Pavilion and recipes and ingredients developed to promote the wellness and nutrition of our guests (ginger, carrots, berries, etc.)

• The hotel’s Honey Farm was specially designed for an urban setting by Montreal-based apiarists Alvéole

• All restaurant kitchens adhere to stringent compost and zero-waste practices

• The hotel’s culinary team takes pride in their relationships with the local farmers, purveyors who supply their kitchens with high-quality, sustainably-made products. Farmers across Ontario provide us with quality, fresh produce so our guests can savor the seasons while the hotel works to preserve the environment by purchasing local

• Local partners include:

  • Cookstown Greens – Thornton, Ontario

  • Unionville Mushrooms – Stouffville, Ontario

  • Forno Cultura Breads – Toronto, Ontario

  • The New Farm Produce – Creemore, Ontario

  • Ahrens Family Farm – Peterborough, Ontario

  • Sheldon Creek Dairy – Loretto, Ontario

  • Homestead Farm Dairy – Newmarket, Ontario

  • Nolan Angus Beef – Grey Highlands, Ontario

Nature-Inspired Design

• The design material palette takes inspiration from the muted colors of the lake and the contrasting colors of the passing seasons and features reclaimed timber, native plants, board-formed concrete, and local marble

• Throughout the entire urban oasis, the design pays tribute to Toronto’s local environment and natural beauty through the use of an earth tone color palette, raw materials, and textures. All design choices and materials are used purposefully and thoughtfully with an emphasis on using existing structural and reclaimed materials sourced throughout Ontario

• Extensive use of location and regional sourced materials including hand-selected limestone and granite from local quarries

• An Eramosa stone wall with wood-like striations, which was carved out of glacial activity along nearby Eramosa River, serves as the backdrop to the reception desk and is also used in the lobby lounge’s fireplace

• Elm wood from a dismantled barn in Blyth Ontario now serves as shelving and flooring in the lobby and guest room corridors

• Local woodworking studio Just Be Woodsy transformed fallen Toronto trees into over 1,000 pieces of hand-crafted one-of-a-kind furnishings throughout public and private spaces such as dining tables, grazing boards, host desks and side tables

• Approximately 3,300 plants are cultivated by International Landscaping throughout the interior and exterior of the hotel

• Native trees throughout the hotel such as Armstrong Maple, River Birch and Eastern Red Bud. These native species, which thrive in the local climate, tend to use less water in native soil and support local ecosystems.

• Floor to ceiling windows provide maximum light in the day, decreasing the use of energy for lighting

1 Hotel Toronto Partners

Emphasis on working with sustainable, like-minded partners wherever possible is seen across all hotel operations and aims to encourage guests to discover a deep connection to nature and the importance of preserving it.

International Landscaping
Rockwell Group worked closely with Toronto-based International Landscaping on the hotel’s interior and exterior landscaping.

Just Be Woodsy
Just Be Woodsy is a Toronto-based woodworking studio with exclusive rights to collecting and reclaiming the city’s fallen trees. To encourage others to rethink the way material is sourced, they transform these trees into beautiful furnishings. Their artistic talent and craftsmanship are on display throughout the property from the custom-made 1 Hotel Toronto sign that greets each guest upon arrival, to the wooden side tables in each guest room that are engraved with the tree’s provenance.

Kloth Studio Uniforms
Hotel team members are also outfitted in uniforms by Kloth Studio, a design-driven manufacturer of brand bespoke uniforms. Kloth is working towards a 100% renewable production cycle where they only use recycled and sustainably sourced materials. They’ve partnered with Better Cotton Initiative: a program that makes global cotton production better for the people who produce it, for the environment it grows in, and for the sector’s future, and are consistently evolving and finding ways to reduce waste within their factories such as packaging, hazardous chemicals, and leftover textiles.

Misha Nonoo
1 Hotel Toronto has collaborated with sustainable fashion designer, Misha Nonoo, to produce a collection of custom uniforms. This is the first time the hospitality brand has partnered with a fashion brand. With minimal environmental impact top-of-mind, Misha Nonoo has designed 18 uniforms utilizing zero-waste practices, including on-demand creation and zero-waste knit production and plastic-free shipping.

Moss & Lam
Toronto-based art studio was commissioned by the Hotel to create a hand-made art installation. Intricately designed out of paper to mimic loon feathers, the piece hangs above the lobby’s front desk.

Timberlost
Lauren Wilson is a Toronto-based floral designer and founder of Timberlost. Her work is focused on exploring parallels and mimicry of natural landscapes and seeks to renew the intricate authenticity of nature in the constructed medium. Using flowers, flora and moss foraged throughout Ontario, Lauren created a bespoke installation behind the bar at Flora Lounge, located in the hotel lobby. Her custom piece grounds the observer in the natural world’s intimacy and beauty while providing a showstopping backdrop to the Flora experience.

Second Harvest
In an effort to connect and support the local community, 1 Hotel Toronto’s culinary team prepares and donates meals to individuals across Toronto experiencing food insecurity.