Hotel boasts own rooftop honey!
A Reuters report says that the luxury Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto has installed bee hives on its rooftop to supplement an in-house garden that already provides its nine restaurants with fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers such as edible pansies.
The arrival of three queens and their 40,000 workers has created a new buzz at The Fairmont, one of Toronto’s oldest hotels, and given chefs at the massive grey stone building first dibs on up to 700 pounds of honey.
The luxury Fairmont Royal York hotel, opposite Toronto’s main railway station, installed three bee hives on its 13th floor rooftop terrace this spring to supplement an in-house garden that already provides its nine restaurants with fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers such as edible pansies.
“Last summer, we were up here and talking about how amazing it is that 13 stories in the air, in the middle of downtown Toronto, that ladybugs and bees and butterflies find this and so we got thinking,” Executive Chef David Garcelon told Reuters on a tour of the little green oasis.
“I wondered if we could have our own beehives, so I got in touch with the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative. It was one of those things that just came together perfectly.”
The hotel has nicknamed the three hives the Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet and the V.I. Bee Suite and says that no guest or member of staff has yet been stung.
“Sixty to 70 per cent of everything we eat has, at one stage in its development, been pollinated by bees, so if you’re at all concerned about agriculture…then bees are tremendously important,” said Cathy Kozma, chairwoman of the beekeepers’ co-op and regular visitor to the tiny rooftop enterprise.
“Bees in general are having a very rough time of it,” she added, referring to a newly discovered virus that threatens North America’s bee population.
Kozma and other beekeepers make sure the hives are in good condition and help Garcelon and his apprentices extract the honey.
“I can’t think of very many ingredients that are more versatile than honey,” said Garcelon, who will feature the ingredient in everything from pastries and soups to salad dressings and ice cream.
Visitors have a chance to visit the garden and look at the hives from a safe distance in daily tours operated in conjunction with the hotel’s afternoon tea service.
The hotel is also offering a B&B & Bee package that includes a room, breakfast, honey soap and a $1 donation to the beekeepers cooperative.
A report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season