Hotel Ocho

We are so, so excited to be celebrating the start of the rest of our life together with all of you at Hotel Ocho! Straddling the border of Toronto’s Chinatown and Fashion District, in the heart of the old garment district, Ocho is a hotel, restaurant, and event space set in a restored 1902 textile factory. In addition to its 12 minimalist hotel rooms, Ocho hosts a restaurant on the first floor and an art gallery and event space on the second.

It was really important to us that our wedding take place in a space that reflects who we are. With its white-washed walls, vintage midcentury furniture, exposed wood beams, modern minimalist fittings, and rotating artworks, not to mention its urban setting in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ocho fits the bill perfectly. (It’s even been tagged by Banksy.)

The entire event – wedding, dinner, and reception – will take place at Ocho, using both of its first two floors. While there are six stair steps down from the entrance to the first floor, there is an elevator to the second, so folks who would rather not use the stairs will be able to move between both floors easily. There will be an open bar on each floor, and there are plenty of bathrooms on the first.

This day is for you. For us, it’s a chance to spend time with the people we love. And we promise we’ll put on a good show.

We will have a brief ceremony – please note that we may not have quite enough seating, so some folks will need to stand. Please give our older guests first dibs on seats!

After the ceremony we will all go upstairs where food will be served in a lounge setting. There will be a wide range of light and heavy appetizers, as well as candy and desserts! All you can eat, and the booze is on us too.

After brief speeches we’ll introduce you to the Happy Pals – this fun, loose New Orleans jazz party band has played legendary Grossmans Tavern every Saturday for nearly half a century. Matt has been a regular since 2007 and took Jessica to see them two weeks after their first date. Since then, the Happy Pals have been an important part of our lives, and we are just so happy they’re bringing their brand of old-timey fun to our wedding. Find out more about the Happy Pals here.

For the rest of the night there will be dancing downstairs and conversations upstairs. Eventually our good friend Andrew Robertson will take over DJ duties to keep the party going until last call.

Toronto is accessible by car, by train, by plane, by boat, by tricycle, by dirigible, and by camel.

BY CAR

From the east To get to Hotel Ocho from the east (Ottawa, Boston, Nova Scotia) take highway 401 until you reach the exit for the Don Valley Parkway/Highway 404. Follow the signs to the Don Valley Parkway southbound. Continue along the Don Valley, which merges into the Gardiner Expressway. Leave the Gardiner at the Spadina Ave/Lake Shore Blvd exit, and bear left to merge onto Spadina Avenue. Continue along Spadina until you see Hotel Ocho on your right (or turn right on King Street to get to the Hyatt Regency Hotel).

From the west To get to Hotel Ocho from the west (Waterloo, London, Detroit) take highway 401 until you reach the exit for Highway 427. Follow the signs to take Highway 427 southbound. Once on Highway 427, follow the signs to exit onto the Gardiner Expressway. Leave the Gardiner Expressway at the Spadina Ave exit and turn left onto Spadina Avenue. Continue along Spadina until you see Hotel Ocho on your right (or turn right on King Street to get to the Hyatt Regency Hotel).

From the south To get to Hotel Ocho from the south (Hamilton, Brantford, Niagara) take Highway 403/The Queen Elizabeth Way. Where the highways diverge continue straight along the Queen Elizabeth Way, which merges into the Gardiner Expressway. Leave the Gardiner Expressway at the Spadina Ave exit and turn left onto Spadina Avenue. Continue along Spadina until you see Hotel Ocho on your right (or turn right on King Street to get to the Hyatt Regency Hotel).

BY PLANE

From Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Billy Bishop airport is just minutes from Hotel Ocho! If driving from the airport, simply drive north along Bathurst Street until you reach Front St. Turn right on Front and drive a few blocks until you reach Spadina Ave. Turn left onto Spadina and continue until you see Hotel Ocho on your right (or turn right on King Street to get to the Hyatt Regency Hotel).

From Pearson International Airport To get to Hotel Ocho from Pearson Airport follow the signs to take Highway 427 southbound. Once on Highway 427, follow the signs to exit onto the Gardiner Expressway. Leave the Gardiner Expressway at the Spadina Ave exit and turn left onto Spadina Avenue. Continue along Spadina until you see Hotel Ocho on your right (or turn right on King Street to get to the Hyatt Regency Hotel).

BY PUBLIC TRANSIT

From the north or south Just take the Spadina streetcar (the 510) to the stop at Queen Street. Ocho is a short walk north along Spadina. You can catch the 510 at Spadina Subway Station (Line 1 and Line 2).

From the east or west Take the Queen streetcar (the 501) to the stop at Spadina Ave. Ocho is a short walk north along Spadina. You can catch the 501 from Queen Subway Station or Osgoode Subway Station (Line 1).

From the subway The nearest subway station is Osgoode (Line 1). Ocho is a ten minute walk away. From the station follow Queen Street west to Spadina Ave, then turn right - Ocho is just a short walk north.

FROM THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL

If you are staying at the Hyatt, Ocho is just a ten minute walk! Go west along King St until you reach Spadina Ave, then turn right. Follow Spadina until you see Hotel Ocho on your right.

PARKING

Unfortunately there is no parking at Hotel Ocho. However, there is a very small private pay parking lot adjacent to the hotel. There are also several more reasonably-priced city-run Green P parking lots nearby: a small surface lot on the west side of Spadina, nearly directly opposite Hotel Ocho; a larger surface parking lot at the corner of Queen and Soho Streets, just a couple of blocks away; and an even larger underground lot off Spadina at Grange Street, a short distance north of Hotel Ocho.