The building pulls you in first. Shim-Sutcliffe wrapped Ace Hotel Toronto in red brick and hung a sweeping Douglas-fir canopy over the door, and the whole thing feels carved rather than built. Spend an hour inside and the architecture settles into the background. Culture takes over. The kitchen cooks with real intention, local artists fill the walls and the calendar, and the lobby comes alive whenever they play. Staff greet you like a regular before you have said a word. That is the thing about an Ace. The design gets you through the door, and everything happening under that roof is what makes you want to stay.