ALT Hotel GM, Nicholas Lazarou
Rooms at ALT are very techno savvy!
One of the hotel's small meeting rooms
Airport hotels aren’t known for their, um, vibe.
The main selling feature seems to be bland convenience. After all, when the majority of your guests just want a place to crash for 1 night, what’s the point in supplying a raft of services and facilities?
Well, there’s a new entrant in the YYZ hotel collection which has huge personality, lots of attitude and promises to be a great way to kick off (or conclude) a holiday. It’s the ALT Hotel, part of the très cool YUL-based Groupe Germain.
“We do not have a pool. We do have a pool table,” is the message writ large on the doors of 1 of the elevators. In fact, the hotel isn’t ashamed to admit what it doesn’t have. So, no pool, no bellmen, “but lots of helpful staff.” You pay for parking and the resto is self-serve, albeit with a delicious looking selection of healthy and ethnic foods.
On the other hand, it has a lot to recommend it. There is complimentary Wi-Fi throughout. You can check yourself in if you want, just like at the airport (a 1st in Canada). Oh, and the manager wears jeans.
The ALT group (currently in Brossard and Ste-Foy, QC and looking to open next spring at YHZ) positions itself as the little sister of the Hotel Saint Germain. The YYZ property has 153 rooms, each with higher than average 9’3” ceilings and lots of natural light. Rooms feature the Lutron key card system – you need to put your room key card in a special slot to activate the electricity in the room, which turns off when you leave with the card.
Other nods to greenery include large refillable soap and shampoo containers; energy efficient lighting and the whole place is geothermically heated and cooled.
But what may set the ALT aside more than anything is its policy on room rates: $149 (commissionable), every room, every day of the year. The only exception is a stopover rate which includes parking - $199 for 1 wk., $259 for 2. The hotel is located steps from the free monorail to both YYZ Terminals. Though clients may be tempted just to stay on site and enjoy the vibe!
The ALT Hotel is now open!
