@movernie
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel is an iconic and historical hotel that is located at the heart of the downtown Toronto. Its amazing location is situated across the Union Station which is accessible by TTC Public Transit, GO Train & Buses, Porter Airlines shuttle bus stop, taxis, Uber, Lyft or by foot.
This historic hotel receives renovation in numerous sections around the hotel, giving it a refreshing new look while maintaining its iconic style and theme. The recent transformation includes updating the new lobby that maximize its space a little bit more with its new Clockwork Bar, new reception/check-in area, new carpet, decor and a new restaurant, bar and pastry called Reign.
Moreover, Fairmont Royal York has introduced an unique and new experience called “Fairmont Gold“. It’s like a hotel within a hotel. At Fairmont Gold, it’s a boutique hotel that provides a more upscale luxurious experience for guests who are looking for and are willing to pay more for such prestige experience.
MoKenny and I are super excited and honoured to be invited by Fairmont Royal York Hotel to experience this “Fairmont Gold” experience. During this Fairmont Gold experience, we will be staying at the Fairmont Gold Suite (the biggest room from the 3 available room layouts), plus checking out the Fairmont Gold Lounge and dining at the new restaurant called Reign.
We are excited to share our experience with you during our stay at the Fairmont Gold. Special thank you to Fairmont Gold for having us.
The Fairmont Gold Lounge serves 2 main functions. It serves as a check-in centre for the Fairmont Gold guests. The 2nd function is for the Fairmont Gold guests to enjoy its complimentary breakfast (morning); canapes (early afternoon) and dessert (late afternoon). If guests wants to work or read newspaper/magazines, this is a great spot to work or relax.
Floors 13-18 are completely renovated, decorated and transformed into Fairmont Gold rooms. All 3 aforementioned room layouts are available from the 13-18 floors.
How to access to the Fairmont Gold Lounge & Check-in/Check-out:
- There are many entrances to get into the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. So, use whichever way that you like. For example, we dropped our car for overnight parking, so the valet is located on the east side of the hotel, so we have to walk from east side to the west side, pass through the Clockwork bar in the lobby and find the elevators. If you are taking the Porter Airlines shuttle bus, you will most likely coming from the west side of the hotel, you head east and go to the lobby and find the elevator.
. - While you are at the lobby, you may spot a big reception area. That’s for regular check-in for the Fairmont hotel rooms. Don’t check-in there, instead, take the special express Fairmont Gold elevator located in the elevator area to get yourself up to the 18th floor.
. - There are 10 elevators in total, but there is only 1 express elevator that takes you to the Fairmont Gold Lounge, which is where you check-in. The express elevator is the first elevator located on the east side of the elevator section. The wait is very short since this express elevator is only serving Fairmont Gold guests. If anyone who is not staying at the Fairmont Gold, they can’t access their regular rooms from this express Fairmont Gold elevator.
- Once the elevator opens, you will see a nice lobby with new carpet. As you walked through the glass doors, the friendly staff await you to check-in. Our check-in experience was fast and smooth. It didn’t take long as the staff asked for my name and my credit card for incidental purposes (the norm for hotels). After a few minutes, we got our access key and the staff gave us a run down on the amenities, services that Fairmont Gold provides. He even offered to take us for a tour at the Fairmont Lounge but we thanked him for the offer but we figured we will be ok exploring the lounge at a later time.
- Our Fairmont Gold Suite was located on the 15th floor. Lots of space at the lobby and on the hallway. Our Fairmont Gold Suite is the biggest of the 3 layouts available at the Fairmont Gold. It has a 540 square feet of space, which includes a foyer with a bar area, followed by a living room that includes a big sofa, dining table and a flat screen TV on the wall. As we moved further into the room, we have a bedroom, a closet and a big bathroom with 2 sinks, a bathtub, a shower stall and a toilet room with a door.
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Click here as we take you for a tour of this Fairmont Gold Suite located at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
. - After unpacking at your room, you can roam around the hotel. You can go back to the 18th floor and enjoy some canapes or dessert at the Fairmont Gold Lounge. Or you can go the ground floor and take another elevator to take you to the “H” section to the gym and the swimming pool.
. - In addition to the all-new Fairmont Gold experience, Fairmont also opened its new restaurant, bar, bakery at Reign. Reign serves Canadian food items prepared in a French style. You can dine in the restaurant. Or….if you would like to just grab a few drinks, you can chill at the Reign Bar, located outside the Reign Restaurant. The Reign Bar is a great spot for people watching as you can see the lobby of the hotel. I was told by the staff that every Tuesday and Saturday, there will be live piano music at the Reign Bar (please check the website for the most updated schedule).
- Clockwork Bar is located at the lobby of the Fairmont Royal Hotel, it’s another great place for people watching, grab a few cocktails and chill with your friends or business clients. It’s a great place with a good decor, design and vibe. Although I didn’t experience the Clockwork Bar yet but it feels like people are travelling back in time in the Great Gatsby style.
MoVernie News: With all these new renovations and transformations to the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, many peeps may wonder what happen to the iconic and popular Library Bar? No worries! Before all of these changes were made, the management seek its customers for feedback and many people love the Library Bar. Therefore, the Library Bar remains at its location within the hotel and it will remain there. My favourite cocktail at the Library Bar is the old fashioned. So, I am super glad I can continue to grab this drink at the Library Bar.
Fairmont Gold (13th – 18th Floor)
Address: 100 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3
Phone: (416) 368-2511
The Fairmont Gold experience was provided by the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.
