Royal update

Royal Hotel gains momentum again after a year’s worth of delays

It’s been five years since Greg Sorbara and his family purchased The Royal Hotel in Picton. When the hotel was purchased it could barely even be considered a building. It had been left vacant for at least a decade and the previous owner of the building neglected it badly. So badly, in fact, that when the roof collapsed years ago, there was no effort made to fix it. For years, the hotel was left open to the elements. Rain, snow sleet and hail cascaded down through each subsequent floor year after year, doing irreparable damage as it descended. When the Sorbaras first entered the building, it was considered so toxic with mould and mildew that facemasks and hardhats were required.

Parts of the building could not be explored due to unstable floors and crumbling ceilings. The basement of the hotel was something out of a science fiction movie, with spongy floors and a thickness in the air that convinced you immediately that facemasks were a good idea.

Absolutely nothing in the building was salvageable. For anyone considering buying a piece of property, this would be the antithesis of what you would be looking for. So why then would Greg Sorbara walk into this decrepit, condemnable building and say yes? The answer lies in one word—history.

The Royal Hotel was a place that was once considered the jewel of the County. Over the years its personality changed quite dramatically, going from a hotel with white glove service, to having branded ashtrays with dancing girls. It is a building steeped in history, as ever-changing as the County itself. At the time, the hotel was heading towards being purchased by a group looking to tear it down and make it into retail spaces on the ground floor and condo’s upwards. It was a model that the town had already seen, and the Sorbara family knew that the building needed to be brought back to life. Not as condos, but as it once was. Greg Sorbara wanted the Royal Hotel back.

Interior wall of the old hotel, before demolition.

So he did what everyone in his camp probably told him not to do. He bought a mouldy jungle inside the ruins of an old building and made a pact to himself and his family that the hotel would make a comeback. The road hasn’t been easy, but nothing ever is when you’re dreaming big. It doesn’t matter how much money and equity you have when a project like this comes along. A dream is a dream, and its hard for anyone in any tax bracket to make a dream become reality.

Sol Korngold is a member of the Sorbara family and has been tasked as the developer heading up the project. Korngold is heavily involved in every decision made and is the man in charge of pushing forward and making sure timelines are met. No one was more disappointed than him when, almost a year ago to the day, the East wall of the historic part of the building sank by eight to 10 centimetres and the whole project came to a screeching halt.

“When the wall settled we were heartbroken because project was on pace to meeting its projected soft-launch date. Construction was paused to ensure site safety and give us time to evaluate the situation and determine our go-forward plan,”says Korngold.

The plan was to use something called helical piles, which is a ground anchoring system used for building deep foundations. It basically meant that the entire east wall had to be rebuilt. But it didn’t stop there. If the east wall was done with helical piles, then the logical choice was to re-do the entire perimeter with the same piles. It’s a choice that added significant time to the project, but a smart move considering the age of the walls involved. Now that the walls were well supported and going nowhere, it was back to focusing on getting the hotel built. After all, this was just the shell. The bricks were only the façade to the building, but a very important part, not only for its heritage status but also for the vision that the Sorbaras have for bringing this hotel back to its former glory.

“This hotel was once the centre of cultural life in Picton, and it is our hope that it will be again. It’s a great responsibility to bring back a building that holds so much history. It’s going to be beautiful and full of life once again,” says Korngold.

The hotel will have 33 rooms, five of them being at 6 Ross Street, a building that was also purchased by Sorbara, with the goal of expanding the grounds and curating the guest experience from the rear of the hotel as well the front. The buiding at 6 Ross will be renovated to match the design aesthetic of the main building. On Main Street there will be a café-style restaurant for more casual dining. There will be a Lounge area with a seasonal bar for drinks and relaxing by the fireplace. The main floor has a large dining room with an open concept as well as a library. The basement will have meeting rooms and space for corporate events, but it will also be the location of the hotel’s spa. A very important component for keeping guests around the property, the spa will feature a lounge, treatment rooms, a workout area and a sauna.

Room-wise, the Royal Hotel will boast a master suite as well as several adjoining suites designed for families or large groups. Its systems will be chosen to ensure guest comfort, but will also be focused on environmental efficiency and awareness. Everything from laundry to organics will be taken into consideration for how it affects the environment.

“We’ve made the decision to limit, wherever possible, the environmental impact of our operation. That includes the products we use, power consumption, a full recycling and organics program and eliminating all single-use plastics. We are also encouraging the use of refillable containers by providing water stations for our guests throughout the hotel,” says Korngold.

Food-wise the hotel is in the best of hands with Chef Albert Ponzo at the helm. Ponzo left his job at Le Select Bistro in Toronto and came out to the County to join the Sorbara family on this adventure. One of the draws for Ponzo must have been the family farm, which was purchased almost 15 years ago. Named Edwin County Farms after Kate Sorbara’s father, Edwin Barlow, it has over 600 acres of land. It also has 75 head of cattle at any time, hay and grain fields, an ever-growing organic garden, bees for honey and a sugarbush for maple syrup. The menu at the hotel will be locally inspired and seasonally driven, with breads baked in house and as much as possible coming from Edwin County Farms.

For Greg Sorbara, his dream is slowly becoming a reality. With a solid foundation finally in place, he can build his version of Shangri-La. The hope is that the Royal Hotel will once again stand out as the jewel of the County. Everyone in the County is hoping that Mr. Sorbara’s dream will be realized, even if some say they don’t. After all, everyone needs a little royalty in their life.