Westin Harbour Castle Hotel

The Westin Harbour Castle

The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel is a large, modern hotel located on 1 Harbour Square, next to the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Westin Hotels chain.

The hotel is located along the Yonge Street slip and shares space with the, semi-retired iconic island ferry Trillium and is adjacent to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.

History

The hotel was originally built in 1975 as the Harbour Castle Hilton by the Campeau Corporation. The hotel was part of the first wave of revitalizing Harbourfront from industrial to residential and commercial district. It was the first Hilton hotel to locate in the city. The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel has also been used for several ceremonies, including the presenting of the 32nd Genie Awards.

Li Ki-Shing bought the Hotel at the time for an undisclosed sum.

Changing banners

As part of a property swap in 1987, Hilton Hotels exchanged the property for the Westin Hotel on University Avenue. The Harbour Castle became a part of the Westin Hotels chain, and the old Westin became the Hilton Toronto.

Westin Hotels required that the owner Li Ka-Shing renovate the hotel. A major renovation embarked on in 1989 by the owner.

The twin-towered 34-storey building sits along Toronto Harbour and now offers 977 rooms after a renovation in 2007. The hotel features two restaurants, Mizzen and Toula. Toula, a rooftop restaurant located on the southeast tower, once revolved, but this ceased in 2001. The restaurant offers a view of the lake and can see Rochester, New York on a good day.

A convention centre building is attached to the hotel on the northside and accessible from an elevated glass walkway. The convention centre offers 31 rooms, including the 2,300 square feet (210 m²) Grand Metro Ballroom. The hotel is also connected to Harbour Square condos with a glass walkway.

External links

• The Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto - Official Site