Club Level at the Ritz Carlton, Toronto

Many hotels of a certain calibre offer a club level/executive lounge/concierge lounge, usually something you can add-on to your room for a fee, or access is included with loyalty status, offering a reasonably quiet space, some kind of breakfast (usually continental), drinks and perhaps light snacks throughout the day, and little bites in the evening (and alcohol, outside the US).  Some will have conference rooms you can use, all usually have a small business center and wifi.

The quality and range of the offerings is vast however, sometimes just crowded tiny rooms with some stale bagels in the morning and bags of chips in the evening (like the Westin Copley Place, Boston), sometimes beautiful spaces with the best views on the property and elaborate offerings and top-notch service (like the Sheraton Grande in Sydney!), sometimes just a nice place to spend time, even if the offerings aren't great (like the Renaissance Midtown in NYC).  Some have extras like great afternoon tea service (like the Prince Gallery in Tokyo), others have a live chef station rolling sushi (like the Westin Tokyo).  Usually you can use them as a place to grab a water bottle on your way back to your room, but others absolutely forbid you from taking anything from the lounge.  You never really know what you are going to get.

The Ritz-Carlton chain is known for the club.  And unlike any other property, your loyalty, no matter how high of status, does not get you in.  You must pay extra, usually considerably more than any other property, to get in.

Let's say, I had high expectations for my first visit to a Ritz-Carlton club, in Toronto.  I expected it to be on par with the higher end of the lounges I have experienced internationally.

"The Ritz-Carlton Club® Level is a communal space designed to make your stay unforgettable in surprising and delightful ways. Whether it’s a quiet moment to work alone or a place to connect with fellow travelers and share stories, the Club Level’s unique set of personalized services and amenities will cater to your every need. Every Club Lounge offers an array of complimentary culinary presentations, personal concierge services and elegant décor intended to create an undeniable sense of belonging with your fellow travelers."

I also was worried it might be a bit too ... ritzy.  Would I need to dress nice to go in, even at breakfast?  Did I need to act proper? Would it be stuffy?  Again, the dress code, other clientele, staff personalities ... they vary widely in these settings, and I had no idea what to expect.

Club Level Welcome Letter.

I only had access for a couple days during my week long stay, but I was determined to make the most out of it.  The welcome letter told me the details, including a note about proper attire (gulp!), listed the names of all the staff members, and, the most important part to me, the hours of the "Daily Culinary Presentations":

• Breakfast: 7 to 11 a.m. 
• Live Breakfast Egg Station, Made Your Way: Saturdays & Sundays
• Lunch: 12 to 2 p.m.
• Light Snacks: 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. 
• Hors' d'oeuvres and Cocktails: 5 to 8 p.m.
• Desserts and Cordials: 8 to 10:30 p.m.

It certainly sounded far fancier than any other lounge I had visited.

"The Ritz-Carlton Club® Level redefines the luxury hotel experience, combining intimacy, comfort and exclusivity with the personalized service and attention to detail that are the hallmarks of The Ritz-Carlton. This oasis is often referred to as a hotel within a hotel in a well-appointed, relaxed lounge environment overlooking Lake Ontario and the CN Tower. "

Normally, at the Toronto Ritz-Carlton, the lounge is located on the top floor, in a dedicated space.   During my visit however, it was in a temporary location, basically just re-purposing the top Simcoe suite, on 19th floor.  The renovations to the real lounge were *supposed* to have finished the week before I visited, but ... #construction.

I visited multiple days for breakfast and lunch, and one evening for canapes and desserts.   I was not blown away.

What did stand out to me was the atmosphere - it wasn't stuffy in any way.  The first time I was greeted I was told to treat the space like "an extension of my room", and I really did quickly feel that way.  Everyone, guests and staff, were relaxed and comfortable.  In the morning, people were even in pajama pants, even though the letter had said that was explicitly not allowed.  In the evening, folks walked in and out with glasses of wine.  One afternoon, someone was celebrating a birthday party in there.  It was also never crowded.  The additional fee, and not offering access to elites, certainly kept it calm and exclusive, something I appreciated.

Another thing that stood out were the staff.  Staff were available to help you if you needed something, but otherwise you were free to just help yourself, and do your thing.  They did take the time to introduce themselves, ask my name, and learn a little about me, but otherwise let me be, unless I looked ready to engage.  All this I greatly appreciated as well.

That all said, this is "Julie's Dining Club", so I'm not really here to talk to you about the staff or the property, although, I can say, they are at the top of their game.  The attention to detail and calibre of training is evident the moment you set foot in the door.

However, I can't say I found the lounge offerings to live up to what I was hoping for, or even to international lounge standards.  There were a few highlights (ZOMG the muffins at breakfast!), but, nothing was nearly as extensive, nor as quality, as I expected.  It is hard to know which elements of my visit that were subpar (e.g. lukewarm hot foods) were related to the strange location, and clearly, it isn't quite the same as a space designed for a lounge, rather than a suite for living.  

The Space (Temporary 19th Floor Simcoe Suite)

During my visit, the lounge was located right off the elevator on the 19th floor, the Simcoe Suite, certainly a better temporary location than other temporary lounges I've used (like the one at the Sheraton in Paris, basically just a side of the bar!).

Dining Tables.

The layout was a collection of small rooms, furnished mostly with tables for 4, with fairly comfortable chairs.  A side room had couches, and the further back room was where the buffet was set up.

Small Tables. 

A few tables for two were also scattered about.

No room had more than a handful of tables in it, which created a very private feel.  Most visits, I had an entire room to myself.

CN Tower.

The views were decent over the city, and yes, of the CN Tower.

Candy Jars!

The best part for me?  Immediately as you get out of the elevator was candy.  All day.  Every day.  Self-serve candy jars.  With little cones to fill with candy to take away.

Perhaps an attraction for the kids, mostly, but, let's just say, I couldn't walk past without filling up another cone.

The lineup was gummy bears (a soft style, but not the chew I like), gummy worms (a more firm style, still not the chew I like), little raspberries (more like fruit chews than candy), sour keys (good! I liked the sour, I liked the chew), and ... sour peaches (soooooooo good.  Really peach flavored, awesome chew, great size).

Those peaches were my main attraction, but my companion loved the keys.

Breakfast (7am-11am)

Breakfast is a standard continental, with a selection of fresh fruits, sweet pastries & homemade breads, yoghurt, cereals and granola, local charcuterie, cheeses and smoked salmon, freshly brewed Pilot coffee, Sloane teas, and selection of fresh juices, and a very small number of hot items.

Breakfast Sampling.

I found most of it fairly boring, but was beyond shocked when I discovered just how very good the muffins were.

Decaf Coffee.

Self-serve regular coffee from a carafe is available, with espresso drinks, and decaf, requiring ordering.  

The regular coffee wasn't great, the Nespresso in my room brewed far superior coffee, so I quickly learned to brew my own and bring it.

I ordered decaf one day as well, and it too wasn't very good, just tasted kinda old and stale.  Again, the Nespresso in my room yielded better results, so, I went for that instead.

Fruit, Smoked Salmon, Deli Meat.

The fruit lineup was basic whole fruits (apples, bananas, oranges), sliced melons and pineapple (quite pale looking), and some berries (not very flavorful).

I tried the smoked salmon, served with traditional accompaniments on the side, and it was fine, but a softer style than I prefer, and not very smoky.

The ham and turkey slices looked like generic deli meat, but the tomatoes were shockingly ripe, juicy, and flavorful.  Not sure how they got such great tomatoes at the end of winter, but much appreciated.

Cheese & Yogurt.

The cheese platter seems to be a signature item in the lounge, available during breakfast, lunch, and evening canapes, always with three cheeses (that did change), dried fruit, grapes, honey, and a fruit compote.

The lineup this morning was Applewood Cheddar, Brie, and Oka.  All fine but not particularly great, the later of which reminded me of munster, which I don't care for.

Individual packaged yogurts (Oikos, multiple flavors) and assembled yogurt parfaits round out the end of the buffet.

Yogurt Parfait.

"Mixed berries, granola, honeyed yoghurt."

The yogurt parfait jars looked wonderful, but I didn't care for them at all.  The composition of ingredients seemed off.

The stewed fruit compote was just too sweet and odd, way too much of it.  There was only a little scattering of equally generic granola.  The fresh berries weren't particularly good, just generic out of season berries.  

The yogurt itself was a very small portion of fairly standard slightly thick tart greek yogurt.

I did like the white chocolate shard sticking out, but I'll admit, this is not normal in a healthy yogurt, granola, and fruit parfait.

Cereal, Toppings, Juice.

The most common juices (orange, grapefruit) were available to self-serve but a sign indicated that others were available on request.  Again, likely in the larger lounge they have more just out?

Cereal was Kellogg's cereals in mini boxes, plus skim and 2% milk, again with a sign saying soy, almond, and lactose free just need to be asked for, plus a bowl of granola, and different seeds and dried fruits to mix in (to ... yogurt? oatmeal?)

Bagels, English Muffins, Toast, Baguette.

Breakfast breads are available to toast your own, with a classic toaster on the side.

The baguette was particularly fresh, good crust, really soft interior.  Perhaps locally made?

Peanut Butter / Jam / Cream Cheese / Butter.

Toppings for toast included little jars of jam (strawberry, orange marmalade, and raspberry, all Greaves brand, a local artisan jam), mini jars of peanut butter, three types of cream cheese (plain, lite, herb), and butter.

I liked the butter quite a bit.  I used it on many of my muffins.

Pastries.

The baked goods lineup is where I first headed, as I do love my baked goods.  It was fairly standard: croissants, fruit danishes, cinnamon rolls, and muffins.  They all looked fairly average.  However ... the muffins turned out to be fabulous.  Actually fabulous.  To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.  These are muffins I'd actually purchase.

I did not try the danishes or cinnamon rolls, which really surprised my companion.  The muffins were just too good!

Chocolate Chunk Muffin, Blueberry Streusel Muffin.

The first morning, I grabbed two muffins, one clearly studded with chocolate chunks (I was craving chocolate), and one that had a color that indicated it might be blueberry (it was).  I had zero expectations for these muffins, but I was blown away.

Both muffins had crispy tops.  I really love crispy top muffins.  Check!

They were not dry, not stale, not too sweet, not cake-like, just reasonably moist, fresh tasting, good texture.  Check!

The chocolate chunk one was loaded with really sizable chunks of decent quality chocolate, and I quite enjoyed the chocolate and even the fairly plain base.  I quickly finished it alongside my coffee.

The blueberry streusel was also quite good, again very moist, with decent blueberry flavor, and interesting texture from the streusel on top.  Again not too sweet, not a fake taste like Costco muffins ... even though I do love those for what they are.  Even better with some butter on it, or dunked into sugar (this is something I grew up doing, with blueberry or corn muffins, and I have no idea why, as I've never sen people outside my family do this).

Bran Muffin.

At lunch that day, they still have muffins left, so I grabbed a bran muffin, which seemed like a nice hearty compliment to a light salad based lunch.

Like the others, it was fabulous.  Amazingly crispy top, which even though it looks a little burnt certainly wasn't, and moist interior.  Very hearty style, a bran muffin after all, with a few raisins (juicy, plump, and not so many of them that I minded), and I think some carrot?  Great texture, slightly sweet, and not too unhealthy tasting.

Even better with a little blueberry compote, and I'm sure standard fruit jam would work well too.

Gluten-Free Section.

Gluten-free diners are accommodated for with plain sliced bread and muffins, under a glass dome, with dedicated serving tongs.

Gluten-Free Lemon Muffin.

My final morning, after trying all the other muffins (they didn't change, same three awesome muffins daily), I decided to give the gluten-free one a try.  It looked like a corn muffin, always a favorite of mine.

It turned out not to be corn, but lemon instead.  Which, if you read my blog regularly, you know I don't care for (at least in my desserts and baked goods).  So clearly, what positive am I going to say about a gluten-free lemon muffin?

Um ... I loved it too?

It had a strange moisture to it, the texture was really odd, but I enjoyed it.  It had a hearty style too, almost like it had whole grains or something, but, balanced by the lemon.  Yeah, an odd muffin, yeah gluten-free and strange, but it really worked for me.  I liked the lemon flavor even.  I don't understand.

Even better with butter, and, uh, yeah, dunked in sugar.

I was shocked by how much I loved this.

Chocolate Croissant.

I tried the chocolate croissant the second day, after the success of the muffins, but it was just a generic hotel quality croissant.  Decently crispy, mediocre dark chocolate inside, but nothing particularly special, not buttery.

Chicken Sausage / Bacon.

The hot food lineup included two proteins, sausage and bacon, the same both days.  I tried the bacon, and it was quite good, crispy but not dried out.

Potatoes / Scrambled Eggs.

The only other hot offerings were roasted small potatoes and very dried out scrambled eggs.  I avoided both.

On weekends, in the real lounge, they have an egg chef preparing eggs to order, but, alas, not available in the temporary space.

Pancakes.

Pancakes (and oatmeal) are available by request only, and I asked about them.  I was told, "yes, we have pancakes, we can bring to your table."  I asked for one, but got a platter of three.

The pancakes came sprinkled with powdered sugar, with a pot of maple syrup on the side.

The pancakes were ... um ... lukewarm.  Not light and fluffy.  Clearly premade and sitting in a warmer.  They weren't bad exactly, but they certainly weren't good, and had no real flavor, no buttermilk tang or anything.

I added berries, candied nuts, and plenty of butter (and syrup), and they were better, but not being warm nor fresh really limited ow good I could make them.  Also, um, no whipped cream!

Kudos for offering pancakes though, and again, I wonder if this is just different in the temporary space?  And yes, real maple syrup, no question.

Lunch (12pm-2pm)

The lunch lineup is a very light offering, with sandwiches, a single soup, 2 small plated pre-made salads, plain mixed greens, charcuterie, nuts, cheese, chips, and bread.  Nothing particularly exciting, but the first time I've ever seen a lunch offering in a lounge.

I visited two times, and the sandwich lineup seems to follow the same format daily: one wrap, one foccacia, one roll or baguette.  One veggie, one seafood, one white meat.

Day One (Friday)

I had no idea what to expect the first day I visited during lunch, since no other lounge I've been in has offered lunch. 

Sandwiches, Charcuterie, Olives.

The sandwich lineup the first day had nothing to offer me: a Chicken Ceasar Wrap, Smoked Salmon with Dill Cream Cheese on Baguette, and Pesto Bocconcini on Foccaccia, as I dislike chicken, didn't really care for the smoked salmon at breakfast, and avoid pesto (pine nut syndrome!), so I didn't try any.

I also didn't try the olives, three kinds, which also were available during afternoon snack time, and in the evening.

The charcuterie selection featured pepperoni, huge slices, so I eagerly snatched one of those up, but it was ... just pepperoni.

Salad Pots.

The salad offering came in little tiny mason jars, just simple mixed greens and a shred of colorful carrot in each.  This was cute plating, but rather impractical, and I had to dump it out onto my plate to eat it anyway.  Also, the jars were too small to contain more than 1-2 forkfuls, so I felt a bit silly as my jars added up quickly.

Maple Walnut Dressing / Blood Orange Dressing / Oil & Vinegar / Seeds.

I brought my own dressing (left over from my poke bowl from Rolltation a few days prior, too good to throw out!), and my own mix-ins (left over from Kid Lee a few days prior - review coming soon!), so I didn't try any of the dressings or seeds.

Veggies & Dip.

Next came veggies (baby carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers), and dips (hummus, ranch, blue cheese dressing).

I added some colorful baby carrot sticks to my salad as well, and tried the tomatoes (just standard grape tomatoes, not in season), and tried the ranch and blue cheese, but I preferred my own dressings.

Plated Salads / Chips.

The selection is rounded out by two composed salads (Green bean & Sweet potato or Quinoa), neither of which I wanted, and garlic and smoked paprika chips which were fine, crispy kettle style, but I didn't particularly taste garlic nor paprika, although they certainly were orange.

Day Two (Saturday)

The sandwich lineup the next day was considerably better, and I immediately changed my plans of just stopping by to grab a drink and a few nuts before heading out to a real lunch.

I still did not try the composed mini salads though, one was a greek salad, and I forget the other.

Sandwiches: Shrimp, Egg Salad, Turkey.

I didn't try the turkey sandwich on foccacia, but it looked like it had a bunch of other things in it, some great spreads perhaps.  I had a bite of the egg salad that fell out of my companion's sandwich, and it was ... egg salad.  I didn't care for the hearty hard bread either.

But, I ... loved the shrimp wrap.  More than any other sandwich in recent memory, really.  I was confused and surprised.

The wrap was grilled, with grill marks on the outside, which was actually kinda nice.  I found myself eating the wrap, which I expected to discard.

The grill flavor was found throughout, in a way that I just adored.  The shrimp and even the lettuce seemed to have been grilled, with such an incredible smoky quality to it all.  The shrimp were well cooked, not rubbery, although one of mine was not deveined.  The shrimp and lettuce was, uh, very very generously dressed (ok, way over-dressed, but I liked it), with a mayo based sauce, so creamy, and I think must have had some kind of grill like seasoning to it.  The smoky grilled lettuce was odd, for sure, soggy and soft, but not in a bad way.  So hard to describe.  But I really did love it.  

I eagerly took a second one.

Evening Canapes & Cocktails (5pm-8pm)

I returned again for evening canapes, looking forward to these offerings, expecting something fairly awesome, given how many people rave about the lounge, and, given the high bar set by places like the Sheraton Grand in Sydney 

I was fairly amazed at how mediocre the offerings were, only slightly better than any other domestic lounge, and certainly average for an international lounge.  The weakest of the meal periods, by far.

Drinks.

The drinks weren't particularly extensive, simple canned soft drinks, a couple red and white wines (all screw top, and the whites weren't chilled ....), and basic liquor.  You could help yourself, or ask staff to make drinks, they didn't seem to care either way, and encouraged me to just help myself.  I appreciated the relaxed service.

That said, when I asked about the wine, "Is there a red that is less tannic?" and "Are the whites both dry?", none of the staff knew, they all just said "they taste like wine to us ..."

Evening Buffet.

The evening buffet is self-serve, with three pre-plated cold items in the center, a cheese board on one side, and veggies and dip, pre-made salad, chips and olives on the other.  Two hot items were on the side.  I appreciate that everything was labelled, as I'm allergic to several things, including ... the watermelon front and center!

The front item here is the "Watermelon Feta with Balsamic", which looked like it had avocado puree too? Another thing I'm allergic to!  I mentioned my allergy and was assured that the kitchen works hard to not cross contaminate.  I tried the other two plated dishes, and was not pleased.

Pork Chorizo.

The pork chorizo was fine, a slice of mediocre pork chorizo, good for some protein.  But it was served on top of what I think was a fennel slaw, that was way, way, way, way overdressed with some kind of mustard dressing.  Just, drenched.

However, the teardrop tomatoes on top were actually fabulous, quite flavorful.

Shrimp Mango Rolls.

I was excited to see a seafood option, even if shrimp, and something light, rice paper rolls.

However, these were not good.

The filling was mostly mushy vermicelli, with way too much mango, making them cloying sweet, particularly given that the bottom of the cup was very low end overly sugary sweet chili sauce, and this whole thing was just a big mushy sweet mess.

I did not like.

Pepper, Fennel, w/ Basil Vinegar.

The single salad was a composed salad, with a slew of ingredients, but featuring lots of slices of bell peppers.

The tomatoes were just standard cherry tomatoes, not as glorious as the teardrops, but I liked the fresh herbs on top, the shredded yellow beats, and the flavor from the fennel.  I didn't care for the large quantity of bell peppers, just never my veggie of choice, and I wished it didn't have the vinaigrette on it.

Back side of buffet: chips, olives, veggies.

The back side of the buffet wasn't exciting to me, just baby carrots with ranch, 3 kinds of olives, and the same chips from lunch.  I skipped everything from here.

Cheese Platter / Snack Mixes.

The cheese lineup was fairly mediocre, featuring avonlea (a mild cheddar), cape vessey (gah! goat cheese!), and brie (not particularly ripe).  I tried them all, but none were notable.

The platter also had simple dried fruit (apples, cranberries, apricots), grapes, honey, and what turned out to be marvelous glazed nuts.  On the side was an assortment of standard crackers, and jars of mixed nuts and snack mix.

Glazed Nuts, Compote, Avonlea, Snack Mix.

The glazed nuts I really loved, and may have taken nearly all of them.  I particularly liked the pecans and brazil nuts, but all had great sweet coating, and some spicing.  They had them at lunch the next day as well, and I took them all then too.  Definitely star of the night.

The snack mix was a bartender's blend mix (e.g. the kind with sesame twigs, cheesy corn sticks, candied peanuts, etc), and I eagerly took a generous serving, as I tend to love this kind of stuff.  However, this one didn't have any real winning components, and even the candied nuts in it paled in comparison to the glazed nuts from the cheese board.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce.

The "hot" items were under heat lamps, which ... didn't do their job very well.  I wonder if in the real lounge they have better heating elements?

The spring rolls were decently crispy, and actually contained a really generous amount of shrimp, but they weren't hot, barely warm, and the plum sauce, much like the sweet chili with the fresh rolls, was cloyingly sweet.

Spanikopita with Sour Cream.

I did not bother trying the spanokopita, but I found it odd that they came with sour cream on the side, not a combination I've seen before.

Desserts (8-10:30pm)

And finally, at 8pm, the savory food is cleared away, and ... dessert is brought out.  I was so excited for this, as I love desserts, and it was described as a whole room of dessert!

I also moved on to port at this time, trying both offerings.  Both were fine, perfect to pair with the desserts, but not particularly notable.

Dessert Spread..

The desserts made me happy.

I actually really enjoyed my selections, but, it was not nearly as extensive as I was expecting.  Maybe when its in the real lounge it is more generous?

Dessert Buffet.

The dessert buffet basically had one of every category: one mini cake, one pudding, one cookie, plus a fondue station, chunks of excellent dark chocolate, and mini biscotti.

The chocolate and biscotti I recognized as they were part of my welcome amenity, and both were quite good.  I particularly impressed with the quality of the dark chocolate.

Side note: Why is the biscotti not offered in the afternoon alongside coffee and tea?  Or even with breakfast?   It was nice to have for an evening thing, but I'd gladly have it with my coffee earlier in the day.  Same with the chocolate.

Fondue-Ish Station.

I think this was supposed to be like a chocolate fondue station.  Except ... there is no heat source.  Again, maybe different in the real space>

It was a cute setup, but the not very fresh nor ripe looking fruit (melons, pineapple), and the generic marshmallows and chunks of rice crispy treat weren't particularly inspired.  Still, I skewered a marshmallow, dunked it in mediocre chocolate, and tried to enjoy.

Not really a hit.

Little Cakes.

The single cake-like offering, dense, not fresh tasting, little cakes, with a decent enough raspberry cream on top, and a raspberry.  At least I liked the cream.

Cookies.

The cookie offering (in addition to the regular cookies that are out all day), little amaretto cookies.  I skipped.

Chocolate Stuffed Donuts!

And then ... donuts!

I knew these immediately.  I first had them in Lisbon I think, and adored them, and enjoy them regularly in Sydney at the Sheraton Grand Hyde Park.  They aren't fresh baked, ship frozen, are mass produced, but ... I love them.

They aren't fresh, and the outer shell kinda peals off in this strange way, but I love it, particularly all the powdered sugar on the exterior.  They are soft and fluffy, and generally filled with interesting things (chocolate pudding, jelly, etc).

These were all chocolate pudding filled, not bars of hard chocolate like morning croissants, but actual pudding.  I loved them, and honestly, devoured multiple in 1-2 bites each.

Side note: why not offer these at breakfast, or afternoon time?  I mean, I loved them, but donuts not coming out until 8pm is a sad thing!

Vanilla Panna Cotta.

Given how mediocre most of the desserts were, I didn't have a lot of hope for the single pudding offering, but it looked like panna cotta, and for that I was excited.  I do love a good panna cotta ...

The verdict?  Wow, I was pleasantly surprised.  It was really quite excellent panna cotta.

Creamy, thick, rich base, loaded with vanilla bean.  Perfect texture, firm but not jelly-like.  Great flavor from the vanilla bean.  Honestly, textbook quality panna cotta.

The fruit on top (blueberries, raspberry, blackberry) were all fresh and delicious, and seemed higher quality than the same berries served at breakfast.  And of course I adore the white chocolate shard on top.

I really truly enjoyed this, and added the raspberry cream from the little cake to it, and was beyond pleased.  I wanted a second one, but it really was a full size item, and, uh, those 2 donut holes were starting to kick in too.  I wished I was there a second night to get another!