Update July 2017: The Adelaide Hotel Toronto was formerly a Trump Hotel. The property is no longer affiliated with the Trump name and is currently using the name Adelaide Hotel Toronto. References to the original name have now been removed from this review. Contact information will be updated as soon as it is available.
Let’s get this out of the way up front—the Adelaide has possibly the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. Add to that a remote to control the curtains and the lights, a smart mirror in the bathroom, and a minibar to rival a gourmet snack shop, and this hotel is top-shelf in the lap of luxury living.
The hotel wants you to be able to entertain guests like it’s your very own building and not just a short-term stay. To that end, residence are also available for purchase within the building—but both the hotel and the condos have separate elevator banks and lobbies.
A black and white colour scheme is echoed throughout every space in the hotel. The staff refers to it as “champagne and caviar,” with the purpose of leaving out a lot of colour so the guests will come in and change the feel of the space based on the shades they wear.
Everything was immaculate and luxurious, from the marble floors to the black crystal chandeliers, to the cherry blossom motif sprinkled throughout the hotel. Guests are welcome to use the full spa and fitness centre as well as an infinity lap pool. The restaurant had just closed for renovations when I arrived for my stay, so I didn’t get to eat there—but based on the extraordinary flavour of the dreamsicle truffle left at my bedside for my arrival, I can only imagine that the food is divine.
From US$470 per night
– Bedside remote to control lighting and curtains
– Comprehensive spa and fitness centre
– Bathroom has a smart mirror with an embedded TV that defogs itself
– Can be a little difficult to get to due to one-way streets and road closures during rush hour
– Your car can only stay up front for ten minutes or less, so if you have a lot to unload, it may cause some issues
Jennifer Billock
Review Team
The Westin oozes style even as you enter the lobby. As you make your way past the grand atrium and along wide, quiet corridors, you can guess that your room is going to be impressive. My deluxe suite didn’t disappoint and had views over the resort and the Arabian Gulf beyond, a separate living room, a dressing room, and a bathroom with a fantastically deep tub as well as a separate shower cubicle. The Westin’s signature ‘Heavenly bed’ lived up to its billing and if there wasn’t so much to discover at the resort I may well have had difficulty leaving it.
The resort has three pools, including a lap pool and covered children’s pool. Junior guests are very well taken care of with a complimentary kids’ club seven days per week, beach games and special menus as well as a babysitting service.
Adults are kept occupied with a wide range of water sports, being pampered in the Heavenly Spa, or simply lazing on the very nice beach.
The hotel has great restaurants too. I had a delicious lunch in Bussola, the Italian restaurant, and Bubbilicious, the Friday brunch, is one of the most popular brunches in a city bursting with options. There are even acrobats, a petting zoo and kids’ corner to keep children entertained while adults savour brunch.
The Westin goes above and beyond to ensure not just the wellbeing of guests but of the planet and children too. They have a fantastic initiative where you can forego housekeeping for a day (or more) and they will donate $6 to UNICEF for environmental and educational work with children.
It’s a great hotel for all the family with lots to offer business guests too.
– Prices from $330, Deluxe Suite from $770
– Large resort with lots to do and guests can use all the facilities of the sister hotel next door
– Great choice of restaurants
– Convenient location (with a tram service coming soon)
– The hotel is great for families which means it may not be ideal if you want a quiet break and don’t have children
Steve & Candice
Review Team
I was welcomed to Lumeria by a handful of Surinam cherries, picked for me by the concierge as he walked me to my corner room, overlooking the sugarcane slope down to the deepening sunset and the twinkling lights of Maui’s western shore. Those who visit this holistic health resort call it a magical place. They come up with all sorts of reasons for this magic, which the ambience can hardly contradict–a harmonious vibration in the earth, they say, or a commitment to purity in the comforts they provide, or a an intentional consciousness brought to every encounter. Even the most skeptical will be struck by what owner Xorin Balbes calls their ethic of living from the heart.
Built in a former convalescent home, Lumeria is far more than the sum of its twenty rooms, community dining room, and collection of yoga studios and treatment hales.
The grounds are a tastefully tamed jungle of edible plants and native flora in which colored lanterns hide, making themselves known only about he time that evening meditation starts. At the back of the property, a saltwater infinity pool faces the ocean, offering a peaceful view along with the soothing properties that are known to tranquilize and even help certain skin disorders. At the other side is the whispering pine forest, where Lumeria’s repeat guests…of which there are many…recommend midnight meditation sessions while gazing up into the immanent stars.
A verdant courtyard, anchored by a spacious yoga platform, is surrounded with garden furniture discreetly screened by trees hung with stained glass lanterns. The lobby’s central parlor is a study in calming opulence, part Balinese temple and part New Age elemental. The rooms are decorated in elegant minimalism, with four-poster teak beds spread in snowy linen, slate-tiled bathrooms stocked with Aveda products, and a stone-floor shower.
With locally crafted meals, classes, and meditation and yoga sessions all included, the Lumeria experience is a one-of-a-kind retreat that will surprise, delight and rejuvenate both new visitors to the island and those looking for something more.
From US299+ per night
– Calm, secluded atmosphere
– Warm, nurturing ambience
– Wonderful food
– Full slate of health and wellness classes
– Some might not take to the overall atmosphere of spirituality
Chelsea Batten
Review Team
Situated at the furthest reaches of the man-made palm shaped island, the Palm Jumeirah, Anantara the Palm is a little bit of Thailand in Dubai. Water is everywhere: from the warm waters of the Arabian Gulf which lap the resort, to the three huge lagoon pools spread throughout the property and the infinity pool by the beach.
Built in Thai style with on-demand tuk tuks to ferry guests around the resort, Anantara merges Thai architecture with traditional Arabian hospitality – including a unique welcome in the lobby from the hotel’s resident falconer. He is in the lobby every day greeting guests with his stunning Peregrine falcon perched on his arm. To see this beautiful bird, the emblem of the UAE, and the get the chance to hold her and take photos was a huge thrill.
There are a variety of rooms from those with direct access to the lagoon pools, to villas with private infinity pools right on the beach. I was staying in one of the Middle East’s first over water bungalows (the only others being at the yet to open sister resort, Anantara Banana Island, in Qatar). With lots of wood and warm, earthy colours contrasting with the blue of the surrounding sea, the villa was private, large (106m²) and had with a bathroom bigger than many hotel rooms, complete with a huge bathtub built for two. There was also a balcony with shaded double day bed and sun loungers. With glass panel on floor giving views of any passing sea life this villa was luxury defined and truly romantic. Perfect for honeymooners or a getaway a deux.
There is plenty to do at the resort from a variety of water sports to a wonderful spa, to a gym and tennis courts. The on-site restaurants are excellent and I was particularly impressed with Bushman’s, the Australian restaurant which, despite specialising in meat and seafood, still managed to delight my vegetarian palate. And who knew so many types of salt existed?! The salt guru will give you samples and stories and advise on the best salt to accompany your meal.
The resort is ideal for those looking for a get-away-from-it all break. The city is a cab ride away if you need it but you may well find that you really don’t want to leave this beautiful resort at all.
– Prices from $450 for a Lagoon View Room); $1500 for an Overwater Villa
– The sheer romance of the resort but particularly the over water villas
– Very good food
– Abundance of water everywhere
– The beautiful falcon in the lobby.
– The resort is quite a distance from Dubai’s attractions so not ideal if you plan to be out exploring the city every day.
Steve & Candice
Review Team