Off the Beaten Track

Sure, on paper Dundas and Jarvis is not the most "fashionable" address, but the astute business traveller checking into the Hilton Garden Inn Toronto/City Centre will enjoy a newly-renovated guestroom (Jacuzzi suites are especially popular), a reasonably priced hot buffet breakfast, inexpensive parking, and complimentary shuttle service throughout the downtown core. The spacious lobby will soon include a licensed lounge, and there's a Casey's restaurant onsite serving lunch and dinner with private rooms available to groups. Three meeting rooms in the hotel accommodate up to 80 people classroom.

New Heights in Team-Building

How's this for a Team-Building activity? The CN Tower's Edgewalk will take participants on a "hands-free" walk outside the tower's main pod 1,168 ft. – 116 stories – above the ground.

Groups of six to eight at a time will be lead by a trained Edgewalk guides while being attached to an overhead rail via a trolley and harness system.

The entire experience will run 1.5 hours, with the walk itself lasting 20 to 30 minutes.

Tickets go on sale starting June 1st.

The Trumping of Toronto

Expect the new Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto to exude an air of Old Hollyood glamour, with a "Champaign and Caviar" colour scheme and luxe finishings throughout....but patience, dahling. This kind of attention to detail takes time.

Assistant Director of Sales Carla Olivier holds an artist's rendition of the Grand Staircase joining the two meeting room floors.

Plans and pictures of the meeting space located on the 9th and 10th floors. The 3,155 sq. ft. Grand Salon, and 3,737 sq. ft. Grand Ballroom - each divisable by three - will offer ample pre-function space.

Nearly half of the hotel's 261 guestooms will be one- or two-bedroom suites featuring fireplaces, separate powder rooms, and sofa beds along with such "standard" amenities as 42" flat-screen TVs, in-mirror bathroom televisions, deep soaking tubs with separate rainfall or hand-held shower, and European style wet bars.

There will be a signature restaurant and bar on the 31st floor, as well as the Destination Lounge in the lobby. The Spa at Trump will occupy 18,000 sq.ft, and fitness facilities will include steam baths, sauna, and indoor swimming pool.

No date has been announced for the opening - which is sure to be grand.

You're the Boss

One of Canadian Outback Adventure's most popular new team-building acitivities is called "Cake Boss". Loosely based on the television show of the same name it allows participants to get down and sticky with icing and fondant to achieve a wide variety of goals and objectives.  The above entry is a confectionary depiction of one of Canadian Outback's other successful events, the Olympic Challenge.

Hot Hot Hot!

Congratulations to the Thompson Toronto for being the only Canadian hotel to make it on Conde Nast Traveler's 15th Annual Hot List of new hotels.

Other "hot" properties in North America include:

• the exciting new Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, with almost 3,000 guestrooms and already famous Chandelier Bar.

• the luxurious Rosewood San Miguel de Allende in historic central Mexico.
 
• the JW Marriott Chicago - an architectural masterpiece repurposed with $396 million in restorations

• the Waikiki Edition in Honolulu - designed by Ian Schrager in partnership with Marriott.

 
•  Starwood's funkiest brand in Texas's funkiest city: the W Hotel Austin

• Andaz 5th Avenue - representing Hyatt's foray into the lifestyle/business hotel
  concept.

 
See the full list of 124 hot new hotels and resorts worldwide here.

Free Wi-Fi Everywhere (!)

I seem to spend a lot of time at airports. Luckily most of them, like Toronto's Pearson, offer complimentary and hassle-free Internet service - but seriously?  Is this really necessary?

Into the Swing of Things

A sure sign that Spring has Sprung?  It was wall-to-wall GOLF in the travel section of the Globe and Mail today.

Although golfing in England was the cover story, four North American resorts were cited for having the "most mojo" - and not just for their courses.

The Torrey Pines Hilton - La Jolla, California, where Globe sports editor Tom Maloney suggests taking "a break from golf to hike the bluffs down to Black's Beach."

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge - Jasper National Park, Alberta. According to golf travel writer Brian Kendall: "The only thing missing from this iconic Canadian setting is a red-coated mountie standing on guard at the first tee." 

Half Moon Bay Ritz Carlton - Half Moon Bay, California. "Sit on the cliffs at sunset watching the ocean, sipping a find Napa cab..." suggests hockey writer and golfer Bruce Dowbiggin.

Fox Harb'r - Wallace, Nova Scotia. John Marcheson, editor of Golfcanada.ca recommends "indulging in one of the signature spa treatments". The Spa at Fox Harb'r also offers a Men's Executive Menu of services such as Sports Pedicures and Man-icures, as well as a wide range of therepeutic massages.

All of the above resorts have meeting facilities of course, offering an environment in which to focus clearly on agenda items before any much-needed R&R.