The Globe and Mail

The distinctive swing and chic of Toronto's Queen Street West are nowhere more impressive than in the recently revamped hotels along the old avenue. First came the Drake: so cool it made your teeth chatter, so hip it hurt. Then, last year, came the Gladstone. Restored to its original Romanesque elegance by architect Eberhard Zeidler, the Gladstone, like the Drake, is a former flophouse that now (in addition to renting rooms and pumping beer) serves the street and the city as a showcase of edgy contemporary music and art. The latest Queen Street hotel to get an architectural makeover -- a $3-million process that has begun, and that will continue for some time -- is the Rex, just west of University Avenue.