Royal tour

Landmark Picton hotel set to open in December

Last Wednesday, the Royal Hotel offered a media tour as a preview of its expected opening in December. It is still a busy construction site, and activities were paused while project lead Sol Korngold led about a dozen media representatives through the facility. Greg Sorbara had purchased the building in 2011, with the intent of preserving it and restoring it as a vibrant hotel in Picton’s downtown. He was prompted to buy the hotel when thinking about the Episcopal Methodist Church that had been willfully demolished in 2010, a building he had offered to buy. He did not want the Royal Hotel to suffer the same fate down the road. “That was one of the great outrages in heritage preservation,” he said of the church’s demolition. “And later, when I was walking by the Royal Hotel, I thought ‘Somebody needs to buy this so it doesn’t get torn down,’ and I guess that’s our family, because no one else was taking up the offer. And I thought we could open it up again pretty darn quickly. Then we actually went inside the hotel—we were prohibited from going inside without masks because of the extent to which mould had completely corrupted everything inside—and it became immediately apparent we had to basically demolish the inside of the hotel. We would build a new hotel inside an old skin. Preservation is really important to us. We were meticulous in preserving the second and third floors with a completely reimagined first floor opening to the street.”

A building permit was issued in 2016 and work started in 2017. It was not all smooth sailing. The foundation had to be rebuilt in areas. and outside walls needed stabilizing. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and construction was halted, as it was deemed non-essential. Work since then has moved at a rapid pace, including the reconstruction of a building on Ross Street that will now be known as the Royal Annex. This building will have five guest suites on the second floor, intended for longer term stays, and the administrative office on the first floor, with a pop-up space and a gallery area suitable for art displays. The first guest artist will be photographer Christine Flynn.

As many bricks as possible were saved from the exterior walls of the hotel, yet a significant number of the same type of brick had to be imported from the Netherlands to complete the façade of the hotel. In a nod to authenticity, the same type of mortar as the original was used to lay the bricks. The main floor exterior of the hotel boasts a hand-hammered limestone base, topped by a wall of windows. The main doors open into the lobby, with a hotel boutique, and intimate wine bar and the open-concept hotel bar with a lounge area. A central pillar topped by rings of light and a long hallway to the rear restaurant provide a Victorian-style ambience. The main restaurant at the rear has 80 seats, and the outdoor patio has restaurant seating as well. Completing the main floor the Library Room, a smaller more intimate space for meetings, or just a spot to relax with a good book. The second and third floors each have 14 rooms, a number of which have a fireplace and a free-standing bath tub. Korngold said that a great deal of attention has been paid to fine details such as finish and texture, as well as functionality. The hotel basement will house a spa, sauna, swimming pool and exercise area, and a separate prep kitchen to complement the main floor kitchen.

The kitchen will be under the control of Chef Albert Ponzo, and he said the food will have an Italian vibe, using fresh local products as much as possible. The Sorbara family farm, Edwin County Farms, will provide seasonal produce, as well as canned vegetables processed by Sprague Foods in Belleville. The main dining area overlooks a revitalized garden space, complete with a pergola and outdoor fireplace, and there will also be an outdoor bar housed in a repurposed vintage RV.

The hotel expects to open its doors to guests in December, and Korngold has been assembling a team of staff in preparation. It has proven a little more difficult to recruit staff, as many people have left the hospitality industry during the pandemic. “We are in a very enviable position, given that we are starting brand new, to be a better employer, to offer fair wages, benefits, the whole gamut,” said Korngold. “We have put together an incredible team, one that is dedicated to fairness, openness, and what I want to create is a place where people love to come in [to work], where they feel really respected and they are making a real contribution, and they are part of our family. Everyone who works in this place is an ambassador not only for the hotel, but for the County.” He says that it is important for all staff to be knowledgeable about the County and what it has to offer, and part of the work orientation is a bus tour around the County to wineries, breweries, retailers, galleries and beaches, so that they could, if asked by any guests, recommend places to visit. “I want people to come to this place and feel they have an experience that transported them, and stays with them when they go back home.”

Royal Hotel reconstruction project lead Sol Korngold explains the layout of the main floor lobby and bar area.