Clubbing at the Ritz in Toronto

The Toronto Ritz-Carlton opened three years ago across from Roy Thomson Hall, and soon began racking up awards for its five-star, five-diamond AAA/CAA service.

Once I got a look at the spa, my corner suite and the Club lounge on the 20th floor, I started to think I had made too many plans that involved leaving the premises.

The Club level of accommodation is the Ritzs hotel within a hotel, an upgrade with the biggest perk being access to the lounge, where complimentary food is on offer all day. Which means theres a rotating selection of upscale nibblies and kid-friendly snacks laid out from early till late.

It starts with a breakfast buffet, which morphs into lunchtime sandwiches and salads, which progresses to snacks, then hors doeuvres and cocktails, and finally, at 8 p.m., desserts and cordials.

The Club bar is open all day, fully stocked with premium liquor, and the space is like a comfortable living room, with a nook for board games, a TV corner and a computer with printer.

Solo business travellers were there to grab a bite without the chore of eating out alone. Families passed through. For both kinds of travellers, the appeal is simple: A good bite on the go makes life that much easier no matter who you are and why youre in Toronto.

The Club lounge has a dazzling view of Lake Ontario and the CN Tower, which I admired over a glass of wine and bocconcini and cherry tomatoes shortly after check-in. Perfectly shaped macarons, carefully stacked in jars, were some of the best I have tasted.

My three nieces, who were the reason for my Toronto visit, loved the lounge most of all for its unlimited sugar rush: jars packed with chocolate bars, plates of cookies, a hot-chocolate machine, and a chocolate fondue.

They would have sprinted from one to the other had I not given them my stink eye and laid down the cardinal rule: Walk. Do. Not. Run.

A little boy having lunch a few tables away with his parents said it best: This is the life.

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Clubbing at the Ritz in Toronto