Toronto turns into one big premiere every September. Streets close for red carpets, ticket lines wrap the block, and for 10 days, one of the world’s biggest film festivals takes over downtown. This year’s the 51st edition, and one Yorkville hotel wants to be part of the show, not just a bed between screenings.
If you’re staying at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, you’re already a few blocks from most of the action. This year, the hotel built out its own festival lineup: a new cocktail menu, a couple of festival-only spa treatments, even a pop-up designer handbag collection. Most of it runs through Sept. 20, basically the length of the festival.
The Cocktail That Comes With a Car
Here’s the one everyone’s talking about: d|bar‘s new Final Cut XO Sazerac. It’s $1,000, you can only order one per night, and it comes with a ride to your next stop in the hotel’s Rolls-Royce house car. There’s no reservation list. You just walk up and ask for it.
More Ways to Mark the Festival
Cocktail aside, you’ve got options all week. The hotel kicks off its social calendar on Sept. 8 with a party at d|bar and a new photo exhibit made with TIFF, right in the lobby. Then on Sept. 12, it hosts the invite-only Road to the 84th Golden Globes for the third year running.
Here’s the rest of what’s on through Sept. 20:
- Café Boulud added a caviar course and Japanese A5 Wagyu to its five-course tasting menu.
- Le Café rolled out a popcorn iced latte and a maple-salted popcorn cookie for the festival window.
- Want a movie night in? The room-service package pairs bar snacks and truffle fries with a bottle of Champagne, plus a caviar upgrade if you want to go further.
- The spa added two new treatments this month. One’s a post-event facial, the other’s a manicure-pedicure combo. Both end with a drink on the Cloud 9 Terrace and a few take-home gifts.
- Zero Collective is also bringing its rotating handbag collection to the hotel, rare, hard-to-find designer pieces available for a premiere or red carpet night. It’s one more festival extra you don’t have to leave the property for.
If you’re in Toronto for TIFF, or just looking for an excuse to be, this is a week where you don’t need a ticket to get in on it. Grab a drink at d|bar, book a facial between screenings, or skip the theater altogether and let the hotel be the whole show.