Toronto's hotel scene heats up

PopGoesTheNews.com • An explosion of new hotel rooms is hitting Toronto in the months to come – as many as 1,500 at five different properties – breathing life into a city that got its first five-star hotel just three years ago.

The Ritz-Carlton on Wellington St.

It calls itself a world-class city but Toronto has long suffered a dearth of world-class hotels. Though it boasts the nation's biggest (the Delta Chelsea on Gerrard St.) and some spiffy historic ones (the Fairmont Royal York and Le Méridien King Edward) Canada's biggest city was infamous for not having a five-star hotel until the Hazelton Hotel opened on Yorkville Ave. in 2007. But with fewer than 80 rooms there, many of the rich and famous have had to settle for the less-luxurious – and aging – Four Seasons and Park Hyatt or the 28-room Windsor Arms. And despite the Hazelton's sister hotel SoHo Metropolitan and some charming boutique hotels like the Drake and Gladstone, hipsters in Toronto could only watch as Montreal got both Canada's only W Hotel and its only W-inspired airport property, aloft.

Things starting looking up for the city earlier this year when the classy Thompson Hotel chain chose Toronto for its first international property – the 102-room Thompson Toronto on Wellington at Bathurst. It joined two Le Germain boutique hotels (one in the Entertainment District and one in Maple Leaf Square) in adding a touch of class to the hotel scene.

Starting in February Toronto can boast of having the country's only Ritz-Carlton (Montreal's century-old Ritz-Carlton hotel, currently under renovation, is not part of the chain) when it opens on Wellington at Simcoe with 267 rooms as well as Canada's only Trump International Hotel & Tower, which will start filling its 261 rooms at Bay and Adelaide in June.

And still to come is a sparkling new Four Seasons on Bay at Yorkville with 265 rooms and the 200-room Hotel Shangri-La at the corner of University and Adelaide, which is set for a mid-2012 opening.

The new Holiday Inn on Carlton St.

It's not all high-end hotel action, though. This winter the doors will swing open on the brand new 514-room Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre that replaces the dingy Days Hotel & Conference Centre next to Maple Leaf Gardens.

With Ritz-Carlton opening, the Mormon-owned Marriott company dominates the hotel market in downtown Toronto. The Ritz-Carlton joins the Marriott-owned brands Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre on Bay and Marriott Bloor-Yorkville on Bloor, Courtyard by Marriott on Yonge, Residence Inn on Wellington, and the Renaissance at the Rogers Centre.

Close behind are Starwood Hotels (Westin Harbour Castle at the lake, the Sheraton Centre on Queen, and Le Méridien King Edward on King) and IHG (with two InterContinental hotels, two Holiday Inns and a Holiday Inn Express). Rumours are swirling that Starwood is scouting locations for a W Hotel.

Fun facts about hotels in downtown Toronto:
• Two of the most celebrity-friendly hotels, the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel and the Hazelton Hotel, are owned and managed by Toronto-based Starwood Group Inc. (no relation to Starwood Hotels).
• The Clarion Hotel on Sherbourne is a Victorian mansion that was the home of famed writer Ernest Hemingway and his wife in the early 1900s.
• The Four Seasons hotel chain was founded in – and still based in – Toronto. It is partly owned by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz.
• When the Sheraton Centre opened in 1972 it was called the Four Seasons Sheraton Centre (a partnership that lasted four years). It was the tallest hotel-only building in Canada until the 53-story Hilton Fallsview north tower opened last year in Niagara Falls, Ont.
• When it opened in 1929, the 28-floor Royal York Hotel (now a Fairmont) was the tallest building in Canada.
• The Sword's Hotel opened in 1853 across the street from Toronto Union Station. It was renamed Queen's Hotel in 1862 and demolished in 1927 to make way for construction of what is now the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
• One of the first luxury hotels in Toronto was the Rossin House at the corner of King and York St. Built in 1856 (and renamed Prince George Hotel in 1909) it had 252 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the city at the time.
• Opened in 1903, the King Edward Hotel (now under the Le Méridien brand) is the oldest hotel still operating in Toronto.
• The Ford Hotel, a 750-room budget hotel built in 1928, was infamous for criminal activity and illicit behaviour. It was demolished in 1973 to make way for the Atrium On Bay.
• The Park Plaza at Bloor and Avenue went into receivership in 1995, more than six decades after it first opened. It was taken over by the Hyatt chain and renamed the Park Hyatt. Ironically, what is now the Four Seasons across the street was originally a Hyatt Regency.
• With nearly 1,600 rooms, the Delta Chelsea Hotel on Gerrard is the largest hotel in Canada. Built in the 70s, it was intended as a co-op apartment building.
• The first Four Seasons ever was a motor inn built in 1961 on Jarvis near Carlton.

Celeb minder accused of killing friend

Tobin, right, at the MMVAs.

PopGoesTheNews.com • A doorman/security guard at a celebrity-friendly hotel in Toronto faces life in prison after being charged with killing his best friend while drunk behind the wheel.

John Joseph Tobin, 24, who was a familiar face at the front entrance of the Hazelton Hotel – and has worked as a bodyguard for some its celebrity guests – was released Christmas morning on a $100,000 bond after being arrested early Friday morning following some stunt driving at an Ottawa parking garage that killed Alex Zolpis, 24.

Tobin, the son of former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin, is charged with impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and driving over the legal limit resulting in death.

Known by friends and family as Jack, he is accused of doing "doughnuts" in a rented Dodge Ram pick-up truck on the top level of an Ottawa parking garage (pictured below) after a night of drinking with friends, reportedly at The Brig pub in the city's ByWard Market (pictured below). The grey pick-up, which was taken away on a flatbed by Ottawa Police, is registered to Enterprise in Toronto.

According to reports, Zolpis fell out of the vehicle and was pinned beneath it. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

His bail conditions include living with his parents at their home in Manotick, Ont., not going out at night and not drinking. Tobin's next court date is Jan. 27.

The Tobin family, who were in court this morning to support John, issued a statement offering their condolences to the victim's family. “Alex’s tragic death is devastating for two families. Our thoughts and prayers are with his mom and dad and his sister as they grieve for the loss of their son."

The family added: "We love Jack and will support him as he faces the many difficult days ahead." His mother Jodean wept openly this morning as she and her husband walked John to a waiting car outside the courthouse in downtown Ottawa.

At the upscale Yorkville hotel where Tobin worked, he greeted guests, hailed cabs and provided security services on the property. During the Toronto International Film Festival he also provided individual security for several stars and he worked on the security team for pop star Justin Bieber at this year's MuchMusic Video Awards.

Tobin was regularly seen parking fancy cars at the Hazelton, sources say, despite his blemished driving record. He is due in traffic court in May after allegedly driving 149 km/hour in a 100 km/hour zone on Highway 401 near Clarington. He was sentenced earlier this year for driving 75 km/hour in a 60 km/hour zone in January. He also pleaded guilty in October and November to failing to proceed on a green light at two different intersections in Toronto. A 2009 charge for speeding was dismissed.

 

Left, the Brig Pub; Right, the fatal accident scene.

Tobin, who studied political science at Halifax's Dalhousie University, was stabbed in the liver and kidney while working as a bouncer in the summer of 2007. He is currently operations manager at the Toronto office of Source Security and Investigations.

The maximum sentence Tobin faces is life in prison.

Photos by John R. Kennedy/SplashNewsOnline.com. Click on images to see full-size.

Shania Twain is engaged!

Shania and Fred in Toronto on Jan. 7.

PopGoesTheNews.com • Shania Twain is engaged to her boyfriend of more than two years, Swiss business man Frédéric Thiebaud! The Canadian singer's manager Jason Owen confirmed the news today after US Weekly broke the story.

PopGoesTheNews.com has been with the couple several times along the way – from Key West, FL to Huntsville, Ont. – and wishes them all the best!

Check out these links to some of the coverage featured on PopGoesTheNews.com and CanadianTabloid.com since their romance went public!

2010/08/29 • Shania Twain celebrates her big day

2010/01/08 • Shania Twain talks poverty and steps out with her beau

2010/01/07 • Shania Twain out with her man

2008/12/10 • Shania Twain's new relationship goes south

2008/12/11 • Shania and her man wrap up their Florida vacation

2009/08/24 • Did Shania Twain marry her Swiss beau?

Photo by John R. Kennedy / SplashNewsOnline.com.

Avril Lavigne brings Brody Jenner home for a snowy Christmas

The pair shop on Sunday.

PopGoesTheNews.com • Her divorce from rocker Deryck Whibley finalized just last month, Avril Lavigne brought a new man home for Christmas – reality show star Brody Jenner.

The couple arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport last Saturday on a flight from L.A. and breezed through the crowded terminal unrecognized with Lavigne's sister-in-law Amie, who was there to greet them. Lavigne kept the hood of her parka up and Jenner sported sunglasses and a hooded jacket.

While waiting for their ride outside Lavigne sat down on the sidewalk, rolled up her pants and examined her right knee, which appeared to be injured. She quickly stood up and was beaming when her brother Matt pulled up in a Dodge pick-up truck. With their luggage – and a large shopping bag Lavigne was carrying – in the back of the truck (sharing space with a snowblower), the group piled in and hit the road.

Driving east on Highway 401 towards Lavigne's hometown of Napanee (about 2.5 hours from Toronto) the group stopped three times – once at a Tim Horton's in Bowmanville, once to use the washrooms at a service centre in Brighton and once on the shoulder of the busy highway so Jenner could take over driving. Before arriving at the home of Lavigne's parents Jean-Claude and Judy, the travelers stopped at an LCBO to pick up a few bottles of booze.

The night was spent relaxing and catching up with family, and Jenner was clearly welcomed with open arms.

Lavigne, 26, and Jenner, 27, have been dating for about a year. He previously spent more than a year with another Canadian – Playboy Playmate Jayde Nicole, who also brought him home to Ontario to meet her family. Jenner's other conquests include Nicole Richie, Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari. The star of The Hills, The Princes of Malibu and Bromance is the step-son of Canadian producer David Foster and a half-brother to the Kardashian sisters.

Lavigne's marriage to Whibley, the lead singer of Canadian rock band Sum 41, ended in 2009 after a little more than three years. It was finalized last month. The two remain close, though, and Whibley has produced tracks for her upcoming album Goodbye Lullaby.

Last July, paparazzi photos of Lavigne and Jenner on a beach showed what looks like tattoos of each other's names.

• SEE PHOTOS OF AVRIL AND BRODY AT CanadianTabloid.com

On their first full day at the Lavigne family home, the couple slept in and emerged only after 2:00 pm for a quick trip in a silver minivan to two different strip malls in Kingston where they picked up some gifts at a bed-and-bath store and a hobby shop.

Later, Jenner posted a photo of footprints in the snow on his Twitter with the message: "In Canada...Finally feels like Christmas." But he and Lavigne won't be waking up on Christmas Day in Canada – they'll be back in L.A. before Santa comes.

Photo by John K/Todd G/SplashNewsOnline.com. Click on image to see full size.

Canadian woman featured on the new season of 'The Bachelor'

Keltie Colleen

PopGoesTheNews.com • A Canadian woman is among those vying for the affection of Brad Womack on the new season of The Bachelor – but you will have to tune in early to see her.

Dancer/choreographer Keltie Colleen of Sherwood Park, Alberta (just east of Edmonton) is one of 20 women (out of 30) who make the cut in the premiere episode (airing Jan. 3 on ABC and Citytv) but is one of three eliminated in the rose ceremony at the end of episode two. Colleen's scenes for The Bachelor were taped in late September.

The 28-year-old, who lives in California and once dated Panic At The Disco guitarist Ryan Ross, has a long list of stage, film and television credits. She has also danced in and choreographed a number of music videos. Colleen has written a book, Rockettes, Rockstars & Rockbottom, and maintains a motivational blog.

On ABC's official website for The Bachelor, Colleen describes herself as a "book nerd" and reveals she has five tattoos on her ribs, wrist, finger and back.

Womack, 38, is making a return visit to the popular reality show. On the November 2007 finale he made Bachelor history by declining to choose any of the bachelorettes. This season he reportedly picks Chantal O'Brien, a 28-year-old from Mercer Island, WA who was previously married to Seattle-based rock singer Jason Vena. The finale, taped in South Africa, airs in March.

UPDATE 03/14 • Womack picked Emily in the season finale, not Chantal.

Photo courtesy of ABC.

'Dream House' stars return to Toronto

PopGoesTheNews.com • Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are coming back to Toronto in March to shoot new scenes for their thriller Dream House.

According to director Jim Sheridan, test screenings revealed that additional scenes are needed to help explain the plot to audiences. The reshoots were scheduled for this month but are delayed because all three stars are busy working on other projects.

Dream House, which is set in Connecticut, takes place during a snow storm. Craig plays a New York publishing executive who moves his wife (Weisz) and daughters to a small town, only to find out that a mother and her two children were murdered in their home.

The movie was scheduled to hit theatres in February but, as previously reported here, the reshoots have bumped the release date to next September. According to a source involved in the production, the titular house (pictured) that was constructed in an Oakville park and subsequently torched will be rebuilt for the new scenes.

Toronto artist in the spotlight thanks to The Situation

PopGoesTheNews.com • Toronto artist Celeste Gillis is getting some international publicity thanks to Jersey Shore star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino – and she didn't have to get into a hot tub with him.

Gillis, who studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design, painted portraits of Sorrentino and his reality show co-star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and is selling signed poster-size prints on her website for $45. She says she contacted Sorrentino through Facebook to let him know about the art and offered to sell him a print or trade one for a link to her website. "Any exposure helps," she wrote to him.

Sorrentino posted the image on his Wall and commented: "Painting is pretty cool." But, according to gossip website TMZ, Gillis is "ballistic" because he didn't pay her or give her some publicity. The alleged snub, however, is now giving her publicity.

Painting courtesy CelesteGillis.com.

Tricky among hundreds stuck in blizzard

PopGoesTheNews.com • British trip-hop star Tricky was among hundreds of people left stranded on an Ontario highway yesterday when a raging snowstorm hit.

The musician (pictured) and his band were on their way to a gig in Chicago after performing at Toronto's Mod Club on Sunday night when their bus – as well as dozens of tractor trailers and cars – got stuck in snow drifts on Highway 402 near Sarnia. 

Nearby homeowner John Prins ventured out early Monday morning and offered food and shelter to the trapped motorists, convincing about 30 people to come to his house. Among those who took him up on his offer of a warm place to hang out and a hot meal were Tricky and his entourage. "They told me they were surviving on Jack Daniels," Prins told CBC.

Tricky rewarded the Prins family with T-shirts and a CD. "I had no clue who Tricky was," Prins said. "He certainly didn't get any special recognition. We didn't even take any pictures of him. It was only afterwards I found out this guy was significant."

The storm forced Tricky to cancel his show in Chicago as well as Tuesday night's gig in Minneapolis. His next scheduled concert is Dec. 17 in Seattle.

Is Shane West rockin' Fefe Dobson?

PopGoesTheNews.com • He chases Maggie Q on the hit action series Nikita every week but in real life it looks like Shane West may have snagged Canadian rock star Fefe Dobson. Rumors are swirling in Toronto – where Nikita is shot – that West, 32, and Dobson, 25, have been an item for more than a month.

"They're definitely close," claims a source who spotted the pair at a bash last month for Cee-Lo. "They weren't trying to hide anything."

If the whispers of a romance are true, it's a good match. West, whose real name is Shannon Snaith, has Cajun French ancestry and Dobson has some Native/French in her background. Both also have punk rock in their blood – West is lead singer of punk band Jonny Was and Dobson started her music career performing punk thrash.

But sources say West isn't interested in settling down. "Shane has had a good time in Toronto. He likes to party and he's messed around with a lot of different girls," says someone involved with the show. "Let's just say his black Jeep has had its share of female passengers."

West is best known for his roles on the TV series ER and the movie A Walk to Remember. Dobson, who has a new album, Joy, has enjoyed a successful music career for about seven years. She was previously romantically linked to Canadian actor Michael Seater (18 To Life) and ex-Much host Devon Soltendieck.

Photo by Robin Waters / www.maxamusent.com

Dean McDermott in Canada to play a jilted spouse

PopGoesTheNews.com • Dean McDermott, who walked out on wife Mary Jo Eustace after falling in love with Tori Spelling, was back in Canada this week to play a man who's wife walks out on him. 

McDermott, 44, spent two days in Sault Ste. Marie to shoot his scenes in the feature film Ecstasy. It was the Toronto-born actor's first visit to his native land in several years.

The movie, which stars Vancouver's Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) and Scottish actor Adam Sinclair (Mile High), is shooting in Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto until just before Christmas. It's an adaptation of Irvine Welsh's 1996 book about a woman who leaves her husband to get lost in the '90s rave culture. Although set in Edinburgh, the $5 million flick is being made in – and subsidized by – Ontario because UK funding agencies ruled the film was not Scottish enough.

Welsh, best known for penning Trainspotting, flew to the set from Chicago earlier this week to shoot a cameo in the film. Toronto director Rob Heydon (Go Further) is calling the shots on Ecstasy, which is due in cinemas next year.

McDermott left Eustace, with whom he has a son, in late 2005 after having an affair with Spelling on the Ottawa set of the Lifetime movie Mind Over Murder. They were engaged on Christmas Eve and married the following spring.

Celine Dion shows off her twins

PopGoesTheNews.com • Proud new mama Celine Dion says her life is "extraordinary" since adding fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson to her family. The Canadian superstar and her husband René Angélil welcomed the boys six weeks ago – brothers to nine-year-old René-Charles.

"I nurse both babies at the same time," she told Hello! Canada in an interview for next week's issue, on newsstands Thursday. "I'm in my pajamas until lunchtime and there's no time to shower!"

Dion, 42, admits being a mom to twins is hard work. "I don't know how women do it. Every day René asks, 'Did you sleep well?' I'm like, 'You must be kidding! There is no sleep!'" The singer also opens up about the problems she and her husband had conceiving and the advice her mother (who raised 14 children) gave her.

Nelson and Eddy, born Oct. 23 via C-section at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, now weigh eight pounds and seven-pounds-six-ounces respectively – and have already developed unique personalities. "Nelson is Angélil, Eddy is Dion," the singer said.

Nelson was named in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela and Eddy is named for the late Algerian songwriter Eddy Marnay (who wrote some of Dion's early songs).

According to Hello! Canada, Dion did her own make-up for the photo shoot at her home on Jupiter Island in Palm Beach, Florida. The magazine published 20 pages of photos of the family.

Related posts...

12/01 • Hospital workers disciplined for Celine Dion leaks

10/20 • Celine Dion talks about twins

Tim Hortons keeps the maple leaf off Quebec mugs

PopGoesTheNews.com • Canada's most popular coffee chain believes Quebec is a separate and distinct society. Tim Hortons is selling two versions of its holiday mug this season – one with a maple leaf that is available at its outlets in every province and territory except Quebec and one without a maple leaf that is only available in Quebec.

The mug sold outside la belle province (pictured, left) features iconic Canadian images like Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge, Alberta's Rocky Mountains and Toronto's CN Tower as well as three maple leaves blowing in the sky. According to a description on the Tim Hortons English Canada website, the mug "showcases hand-drawn images of famous Canadian landmarks from West to East."

The Quebec version of the mug (pictured, right) features distinctly Quebec images like the Chateau Frontenac and Olympic Stadium. On its French website, Tim Hortons boasts that the mug has hand-drawn images of "famous landscapes of Quebec."

A spokesperson for Tim Hortons insists the company isn't making any kind of political statement and that the decision to design a separate mug for Quebec is nothing more than good marketing. 

Indeed, it's not the first company to keep the maple leaf away from the eyes of Quebec consumers. Labatt, the formerly Canadian beer company owned by Belgium's InBev, replaced the maple leaf on bottles of Labatt Blue sold in Quebec with a wheat sheaf. American-owned Molson (which was founded in Montreal and still bases its Canadian operations there) does not sell Molson Canadian in the province.

Tim Hortons was founded in 1964 and, despite being owned by the American parent company of Wendy's from 1995 to 2009, is seen as being uniquely Canadian. In addition to operating more than 3,000 locations in Canada and nearly 600 in the U.S. its products are sold in Ireland and Scotland.

Hospital workers disciplined for Celine Dion leaks

PopGoesTheNews.com • Hospital workers who secretly fed information about Celine Dion and the birth of her twins to the media last month have been disciplined.

According to a source at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida – near the Canadian singer's sprawling estate on Jupiter Island – more than half a dozen employees were reprimanded by their employer Tenet Healthcare after an internal investigation discovered that Dion's medical records were accessed by individuals for non-professional reasons and that details about her stay at the hospital were made public.

Employees had reportedly been warned that divulging information about Dion violates federal Health Information Privacy regulations. A source says no one was terminated for the breaches but several employees received suspensions and now have reprimands in their personnel files.

Dion was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 17 and her entourage occupied four rooms at The Birthplace, a newly renovated birthing centre at the hospital. The singer's private room was outfitted with a larger bed (complete with custom linens) and amenities like a microwave oven and fridge. Dion had round-the-clock nursing care and security – including a guard stationed outside her window. Twins Eddy and Nelson were delivered via C-section on Oct. 23.

Related posts...
10/20 • Celine Dion talks about twins
06/24 • Official criticized for approving Celine Dion's water park is out of a job