Toronto Welcomes New Five Star Hotel!

Move over Trump Tower there is another player in town! The Shangri-La Hotel has added itself to the mix of new five star luxury hotels to be built in Toronto. It joins the likes of the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, the aforementioned Trump Tower and the Hazelton. For a city that thinks of itself as world class, the arrival of these stars would seem to confirm it.

We're talking five stars, to be exact. Though none of these establishments is open yet -- all are in various stages of construction or planning -- this wave of luxury ends a long drought for Toronto. It is one of the few cities of its size and stature without a five-star hotel. Not even the long-standing Four Seasons Yorkville, the city's most popular address for visiting celebrities and business titans, has that ranking.

The Shangri-La, announced this month, will go up on University Avenue, Toronto's grand boulevard, across from the new opera house and close to the financial district. Set to open in 2011, it will bring 220 luxury hotel rooms to the city, a first-rate spa, shops, lounges and restaurants.