If you’re looking for an excuse to get away this fall, why not go back to school with a “skillcation” holiday. Imagine making pasta in Italy, learning about the Incan people while hiking the Andes, honing the Korean language in Seoul or unlocking a new yoga pose at a retreat in the Himalayas. These hands-on getaways treat learning as a way to relax and unwind.
Here are a few places in Toronto where you can stay in style while picking up a new skill.
The St. Regis Toronto
At Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star St. Regis Toronto, right in the heart of the Financial District, rub elbows with the city’s bankers and stylish visitors at 6 p.m. daily in the Astor Lounge, where a ceremonial champagne sabrage takes place to usher in the evening with sophistication.
If opening a bottle of bubbles with a sword is something you’ve always wanted to do, you’re in luck. The hotel also offers a sabrage masterclass experience. In this 30-minute lesson, guests can learn how to open a bottle with a saber from a St. Regis host before enjoying the Perrier-Jouët champagne.
For another spirited experience during your stay, reserve the Distillery District: Make Your Own Gin experience. Begin with a tour of the Spirit of York Distillery and an expert-led tasting of a flight that explores the evolution of the liquor over time. Afterward, you’ll be ready for the hands-on workshop to blend a bottle of your own custom gin.
Shangri-La Toronto
At Five-Star Shangri-La Toronto, celebrated Canadian chef Ron McKinlay has helped curate and launch Culinary Atelier, a series of events hosted at the hotel’s bosk restaurant. Leaning into the establishment’s “rooted in nature” philosophy, the meals invite acclaimed international chefs to the Toronto hotel to create an immersive experience. While these flavorful sessions involve more narration than patron participation, getting to know the Canadian growers, producers and artisans featured throughout the evening is more than satisfying.
If the response from the series’ first two editions, the Art of Patisserie with Bruno Feldeisen and the Art of Contemporary Canadian Cuisine, is any indication, upcoming outings with popular chef and social media influencer Jules Wiringa (October 9 and 10) and renowned British chef Tom Aikens (November 20 and 21) will be equally delicious moments.
Park Hyatt Toronto
Over in the city’s gilded Yorkville neighborhood, across the street from Four-Star Park Hyatt Toronto, The Royal Ontario Museum is Canada’s largest museum. It boasts floors of galleries and exhibits to explore, from Chinese architecture to Roman relics to dinosaur bones.
Future docents looking for a specialized learning experience can book a private, bespoke visit with a dedicated ROM guide who can create a personalized tour of the museum’s extensive Egyptian collection, fascinating Chinese gallery, ancient Rome sculptures and more.
If you’re more interested in cocktails than Constantine the Great, the hotel also will host acclaimed bartender Julia Momosé for a two-night residency (September 30 and October 1), where the talent behind Chicago’s Kumiko dining bar will offer insight into the world of meticulous mixology through spirits and stories at the hotel’s Writers Room Bar.
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Four-Star Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, near King Street West’s Entertainment District, presents a couple of experiences to boost your stay in the city. For aspiring home bartenders, guests can sidle up to the bar at LANO, the hotel’s Milan-inspired café and wine bar, for a hands-on cocktail-making sitting with the expert mixology team.
Meanwhile, for something more family-friendly, the hotel’s Italian Four-Star TOCA Restaurant has cooked up a pizza-making class where hotel guests join the culinary team in creating their very own pie.
