New Delta Hits The SoCo

with Martha Chapman

I did not realize that here in Toronto we have a whole new neighbourhood. Dubbed SoCo (“south of the core”) it’s the former depressing industrial wasteland between the “real” downtown, starting say at Union Station, and Lake Ontario. It’s now home to the Air Canada Centre, the Ripley’s Aquarium, PricewaterhouseCoopers tower - and the brand new Delta Hotel.

Opened just 3 weeks ago, the Delta is the 1st hotel in this new neighbourhood and is surrounded by attractions, office towers and condos (some 15,000 people live in the immediate vicinity). “It’s very much turning into a meeting place,” Jennifer Worden, the property’s Director of Sales & Marketing told me. “You can walk to the Harbourfront events and entertainment centre, we’re a great spot for a bite to eat after an event at the ACC – and many of our rooms have views of those brave people doing the CN Tower Edgewalk.”

With all the nearby entertainment, and the fact that thanks to Toronto’s underground city you can walk indoors to the subway at Union Station and right up through the Eaton Centre from the Delta, it’s sure to be a hit with families, just as its predecessor the massive Delta Chelsea – now the Eaton Chelsea – proved to be.

But the corporate traveller is going to be well served, with a covered walkway to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and free WiFi in all guest rooms plus excellent cellphone reception, even below ground. The hotel is an official Pan Am Games 2015 property and has already booked some impressive conferences for pharma, finance and consulting firms – and the American Psychiatric Association.

Sustainable initiatives include support of local businesses (beer from the Steamwhistle brewery, a block away, is on tap); there is virtually no paper in the rooms as all promotions and information are accessible via your TV and all of the art throughout the hotel is by Canadian artists. The Delta is a nice new addition to SoCo for sure!