Technological advances are often crucial for event planners to have a marketing edge. Here are new and recently renovated Toronto venues that have stayed on top of upgrades and improved offerings for tech-savvy guests. The hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
Since August, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto has introduced high-tech features to make meetings and events more accessible. The hotel has 15 meeting and event spaces that amount to more than 20,000 square feet—spaces include the 7,400-square-foot Ritz-Carlton Ballroom that seats 500 and the 3,053-square-foot Wellington Room that seats 200. One of the features recently added was the Chime App, a Marriott-branded meeting services application which connects meeting and event planners with hotel staff in real time. The hotel also installed electric charging stations used for mobile devices with customizable screens to play videos. Event spaces include the hotel's restaurants such as Toca and the Ritz Bar.
After close to a full year of renovations, Rebel opened its doors in the former Sound Academy spot in October. The versatile 45,000-square-foot event space was designed by Studio Munge. With a multitude of high-tech sound and lighting fixtures, the main room boasts a 65-foot stage with a 72-foot LED video wall that has floating LED panels. Throughout the venue, a custom-built and installed sound system from Germany’s own D&B Audiotechnik ensures that sound quality is not augmented. The venue boasts four distinct event spaces including the 5,750-square-foot Solarium, which is located on the second floor and seats as many as 300 and holds 1,000 for cocktails. There are also two as-yet-unnamed rooms that can hold 150 for cocktails.
The former International Plaza Hotel will join the Marriott International portfolio to rebrand as the Delta Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre in March 2017. The hotel, which has undergone an extensive multi-million dollar renovation, will showcase more than 60,000 square feet of flexible function space and 27 meeting rooms, including the 14,850-square-foot Plaza Ballroom that seats 2,000 and the 4,900-square-foot International Foyer that seats 300. In meeting spaces, custom high-end audiovisual equipment is available, including LCD projectors, streaming services through televisions, and removable staging.
The Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel underwent a massive multi-million dollar renovation that was completed in October. The hotel has added video conferencing features to its 20,000 square feet of event space, and Netflix streaming was added to guest rooms. The hotel also introduced the meeting services in-hotel app called Red Coat Direct. Also renovated was the Grand Ballroom that has almost 8,000 square feet of space, which can accommodate parties of as many as 500 seated or 850 for cocktail receptions. With 11 other flexible meeting rooms besides the Grand Ballroom, space can be customized for a wide variety of events.Â
Chase Hospitality Group's latest venture, Planta, opened in September in Yorkville. With more than 5,000 square feet of space, the restaurant, headed by chef David Lee, offers a holistic approach to plant-based cuisine. Inside, the restaurant's skylights brighten up the 165-seat dining room, which has interiors handled entirely by East Studio and Steven Salm. On the walls, Candice Kaye has custom-designed wallpaper featuring green leafy plants, while Tisha Miles painted a leaf mural on the wall. While full buyouts are available, the restaurant does offer one private dining area that seats 32. Currently, Planta has its offerings available for purchase online via UberEats and Foodora.
In September, the $15 million buildout was completed for Vaughan’s new Civic Centre Resource Library. Throughout the the 36,000-square-foot building, several rooms and creative spaces are available for the community to book, including the 968-square-foot Program Room that seats 60 and has a soundproof wall; the 505-square-foot Multi-Purpose Room that seats 12; and the high-tech digital media lab called the Create It! Space. The lab features three distinct creation spaces with semi-professional equipment on hand including 3-D printers. The spaces also have a workstation equipped with creative software, a green room with photography and videography equipment, and a music/control room containing music production equipment, software, and musical instruments. Free Wi-Fi is offered with specific iPad and notebook kiosks throughout the library.
In July, Fran’s Restaurant debuted Upper Deck by Fran’s, which takes over the upper level of Fran’s flagship College Street location. Spread out over two floors, the 3,800-square-foot space—which seats 114 on each level—has an all-season patio with a retractable roof, communal picnic tables, and a custom mural of the subway station created by artist Paul Glyn-Williams. Serving up classic Americana food, the venue has two bars. Each floor is outfitted with several large HD televisions, and the menu is available on Foodora.
Calii Love opened its doors on King West in October, offering a taste of Hawaii with its poke bowls and smoothie bowls. Led by chef Joe Friday, the 3,400-square-foot space was built by Type-D Living to create a refined and minimalistic look. With a lively teal exterior and tiled art scattered neatly on the front door step that reads “Aloha,” guests are treated to a unique surfboard wall art done by Sarah Skrlj. The space is divided into two main sections including the main lower level that seats 65 and the upper-level private event space that holds 80 for cocktails. The restaurant has its full menu available to order online via Foodora and Ritual.
Touted as one of Toronto’s first eSports bars, Good Game Bar opened in midtown in July. With 2,000 square feet of space, the bar has two floors that offer space for the video game and LAN-style experience. The first floor seats 50, and the second floor seats 30. Big-screen televisions line the walls, displaying the unique streaming capabilities of Twitch.tv, an online platform that streams eSports tournaments. With full buyouts available, the space also offers video streaming from its primary laptops.
