The Drake Hotel takes corporate offsites, brainstorms, launches, parties and weddings, from a boardroom for 10 people to 120 guests theatre style in Drake Underground. Larger groups can book a full floor or buy out the entire hotel. The Drake stands at 1150 Queen Street West in Toronto and has 51 guest rooms spread across a Modern Wing and a Classic Wing.
Seminars and company events
The hotel sells its meeting offer under the name Business as Unusual. Room 111 is used for informal brainstorms, while Drake Underground handles full team sessions, presentations and town halls. Boardrooms start at 10 people, and every meeting space comes with full audiovisual equipment, complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and a dedicated event coordinator. A rooftop suite, connecting rooms and private dining spaces round out the offer for smaller workshops or executive dinners. Group packages are tailored to each program, and the hotel offers preferred guest room rates for meeting attendees.
Weddings and receptions
Couples hold ceremonies on the Sky Yard rooftop and move to the Lounge or Drake Underground for the celebration. A ground-floor reception space and guest rooms for getting ready complete the wedding offer. The Drake also hosts birthday parties, holiday parties and brunches, with group dining menus for 8 to 35 people.
Rooms and capacities
Drake Underground is the largest room. Recently renovated, it has a stage, two bars and capacity for up to 120 people theatre style. Sky Yard is the rooftop, used for ceremonies and warm-weather receptions. The Lounge and the Dining Room serve as reception and dinner spaces, and Room 111 and the boardrooms take smaller meetings. All these spaces are reached through the Modern Wing lobby. The hotel does not publish other capacity figures, so the special events team confirms numbers for each layout.
Accommodation
The 51 guest rooms carry the hotel's art collection into each room. Group room blocks are available for weddings, corporate offsites and buyouts, and a full buyout gives a company the whole building.
Catering
Menus are written for each event by Executive Chef Daniel Hyam, and couples or hosts can have signature cocktails created. Five food and drink venues operate in the building: The Drake Café, the Lounge, the Lobby Bar, Drake Underground and Sky Yard, so breakfast, lunch, dinner and late drinks can all stay on site.
History and setting
The Drake reopened as a hotel and cultural venue in 2004 in a Victorian-era building on West Queen West, one of the city's main gallery and design streets. Art is part of the program: the hotel shows and commissions contemporary work across its public spaces and rooms, and Drake Underground also runs as a stage for live music and talks.
Getting there
The hotel faces the 501 Queen streetcar line, which runs to downtown and Union Station in about 20 minutes. Toronto Pearson International Airport is about a 30-minute drive, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, on the waterfront, is closer still.
