TIFF sends star-studden Toronto Ritz-Carlton hotel to the front of the line

Four Seasons' loss is the Ritz-Carlton's gain.

Not only did Yorkville in general get hammered when the Toronto International Film Festival pulled up stakes for the Lightbox down in the Entertainment District, so did the area's hotels. The Four Seasons, which, in fairness, has seen better days and is being replaced with a new one down the road, is no longer at the epicentre of the kissy-kissy set. Ditto for the Hyatt at University and Bloor and its famous rooftop lounge; still one of the great places for a drink in this city.

A story in USA Today's Travel section, which quotes a piece in something called TheWrap.com out of Hollywood, says the recently opened Ritz-Carlton on Wellington is stealing the show.

Apparently George Clooney and Glenn Close and Ryan Gosling have been dashing about the lobby of late, watched by legions of fans no doubt.

Writing at TheWrap.com, reporter Sharon Waxman started a recent story with the words, "It’s midnight in Toronto and there’s a whole new power landscape on the back patio of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It never used to be here, but all of a sudden it’s the place where Glenn Close is snuggling up to her daughter at the post-premiere of her movie, “Albert Nobbs,” with director Rodrigo Garcia.

Outside, the entire senior management of Summit Entertainment – Robbie Friedman, Patrick Wachsberger, Erik Feig et al – is having a drink but there’s no tables left so they have to stand."

Aw, poor babies.

Just for fun, I went on the Ritz-Carlton website and seemingly found a room for tonight for $650. It sounds like a lot, but if you're a big movie fan it might be worth it.

Anyway, it's fun to watch things shift around. Which is the point of cities, really. Neighborhoods rise up from nowhere like Yorkville and become ultra-chic, then grow into middle age and watch the trendy types flock to more exciting bars and restaurants.

Not that Yorkville is doing all that badly. Reports indicate the stars aren't around, but I was at Hemingway's a couple weeks ago and the place was hopping. I'm sure the restaurants will survive, too. Maybe they could drop their prices a little, too? Nah, never happen...