3 Best Hotels in Chinatown, Kensington Market, and Queen West, Toronto

Once a notorious flophouse, this 19th-century building is now an ultra-hip hotel peppered with contemporary art and attracting a chic, creative crowd. Hanging near the lobby's 66-year-old terrazzo staircase is a Rorschach ink-blot mural that spans the lounge and dining room. Vintage leather couches, modern ottomans, art curios, and digital-art projections grace the lobby. Hardwood floors and transparent shower stalls decorate guest rooms, which are on the small side (150 to 250 square feet). DJs rock in the lounge, the underground bar, and on the rooftop patio nightly, and there are regular shows by local artists that often spill out onto the sidewalk. Yoga classes are held on the rooftop, and there's a super-trendy lounge that serves food grown in the hotel's garden. Hit the General Store next door for off-beat souvenirs.

An intimate size and focus on local art and products helped this hotel earn raves as the "anti chain-hotel Toronto experience"—really, it's a sort of community event space, with artist-designed guest rooms and an emphasis on everything that is one-of-a-kind. The hand-operated 1904 elevator is one of three still working in Toronto. (Ask for assistance to take a ride in it.) Each room is a distinct artist's vision: In the Racine Room, maroon-velvet furnishings complement a stack of vintage steamer trunks that hide the TV and DVD player; the Model Citizen room plays with a peacock theme, complete with a lucite bird light-fixture and a purple tail-feather headboard; and the two-story Tower suite, ready for Rapunzel, contains not only a wraparound view of the city, but also a tower bedroom.

In a turn-of-the-century warehouse building, this boutique hotel's exposed brick-and-beam look—not to mention the sleek and stylish black-and-white rooms—typifies the Queen West "cool" factor. The hotel is within walking distance to the Art Gallery of Ontario, Kensington Market, and Chinatown.