27 Fun Facts About Toronto's Famous Chelsea Hotel
Published December 1st, 2023
All photography via Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, unless otherwise noted.
Chelsea Hotel, exterior
The famed Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, comes with plenty of fun facts and figures and here, we’ll take you through 27 of them.
Number of rooms: 1590
Number of parking spots: 556
Number of electric vehicle chargers: 2
Number of staff to date: 570
Total square footage: 1, 170, 000 sqft.
How many renovations has the Chelsea gone through? 5
Number of elevators: 21
The Chelsea Inn, 1976
Let’s dig into the naming history of the hotel:
It’s changed four times and always had “Chelsea” in the name
It started as Delta Chelsea Inn, then Delta Chelsea, then Eaton Chelsea, and finally as it is known now, Chelsea Hotel, Toronto
The current owner is Dr. K. S. Lo
Chelsea Hotel Exterior
More fun facts!
How many washing machines does the Chelsea use? 8 washing machines, distributed as follows:
1 washer at 150 lbs
1 washer at 200 lbs
1 washer at 60 lbs
3 washers at 70 lbs each
2 washers at 400 pounds each
How many dryers does the Chelsea use? 7 dryers distributed as follows:
5 dryers at 75 lbs each
2 dryers at 100 lbs each
Have any TV shows been filmed at the Chelsea? Yep!
A TV series called "The Border" was filmed at Chelsea, as well as commercials and music videos
How many event spaces are there? 32 total event and meeting spaces
How versatile are the venue spaces? The Chelsea offers a variety of very versatile venue spaces, from pub-style (Monarchs Pub) to grand ballrooms, to an outdoor patio (Market Garden patio)
Are wedding packages offered? Yes - Check them out here.
Elm Street Bar & Lounge
How many dining options/restaurants are available? Three:
Market Garden Restaurant (open for breakfast and dinner)
Express|o Coffee and Wine Bar (open from 6AM - 11PM daily)
Elm Street Bar & Lounge (open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
Image via Sick Kids Foundation
How does the Chelsea give back to the community? In a variety of ways:
SickKids - They donate every year through an annual Golf Tournament. Since 2013, $1 million has been raised, and they also put on a yearly 10K run raising money for Campfire Circle for kids with cancer
Daily Bread Foodbank - In 2022, they implemented a $1/stay which raised $15,000 over and above the food donations they contributed (about 2000 lbs of food), and will be doing the same for 2023.
Hope Air -They participated in Haul for Hope and raised $4000 by pulling an airplane.
One Bedroom Suite
How many different types of rooms/suites are there? There are six different types of rooms/suites:
Chelsea rooms
Executive rooms
Studio Kitchenettes
One bedroom suites
Family Fun suites
Specialty suites
Is there a marked 13th floor on the elevator buttons pad? Not a chance!
The old postbox near the Yonge Entrance – it was retired from the post office after 125 years of service
Even More Fun Facts:
Chelsea Hotel, Toronto is both the largest hotel in Canada and the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth
They have “house bunnies” who take up residence in the Kids Centre
They have the only indoor waterslide in downtown Toronto
It was initially built to be a Ryerson residence around 1973
The first expansion in 1990 saw the addition of 600 rooms to the existing 997 rooms, giving the hotel a total of 1597
The grandfather clock in the lobby is the original clock which has been in the hotel since day one
There is an old postbox near the Yonge Entrance – it was retired from the post office after 125 years of service
Click here to book your stay at Chelsea Hotel, Toronto.