London
Blakes
Blakes, hotel review and article
TorontoStar writes, "From the outside, the suburban home looks like any other on the Scarborough street.But inside, 11 people lived crammed together paying $500 to $700 per month each for spaces created by subdividing rooms at 1280 Military Trail. According to Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) inspectors, there were three bedrooms in the basement, four on the main floor and five on the upper level. There were two kitchens and six washrooms in the roughly 3,000-sq. ft. home. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors had been removed, and there were several fridges in the kitchens. The living room was divided into two rooms, but a partition wall was removed shortly before the search, inspectors say.The alterations to the home were conducted without a building permit or other regulatory inspections, say inspectors who entered the home last week after complaints from neighbours.Inside, inspectors found a sign warning tenants that “if the city of Toronto people get in they will vacate the house.’’The owners are now facing charges for allegedly running an illegal rooming house.The house sits across the street from U of T, and close to Centennial College’s Morningside Ave. campus. Officials believe it was home to foreign students.Bill Blakes, a manager with MLS’s Scarborough district, says while his department doesn’t want to see students or anyone else who rents these properties kicked out on the street, his team has concerns about electrical safety, smoke and CO detectors, and sufficient exits for tenants.“We’re not out to de-house students. That’s not the idea. We want to ensure conditions are safe and it’s legal according to zoning bylaws,’’ Blakes says.“These students don’t know their rights; they’re thousands of miles from home ... they don’t know what they should be getting for their $600 or $700 a month. From what I can see in a lot of these occasions, they’re not getting very much,’’ Blakes says.“Meanwhile, some (operator) is making $6,000 or $7,000 a month. Not bad if you own four or five (houses with illegal occupancy),’’ he adds.MLS also slapped Yixuan (Jessica) Wang, an agent with Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc. in Willowdale, with a summons for owning/operating the property. MLS alleges Wang arranged the leases and helped collect rents from students living there. Wang denies the allegations against her concerning the Military Trail address. She promised to call back and speak further, but didn’t.Kumarasamy Kunanayaham was also charged by MLS under the City of Toronto Act with obstruction for allegedly misleading inspectors.It’s unclear how much illegal housing exists across the city, but one MLS manager says he knows of at least one home under investigation downtown near the Annex believed to be housing as many students as the one on Military Trail.It’s a common suburban problem where post-secondary schools and subdivisions exist side by side with few or no student residences. The licensing department says there are 120 active files stemming from complaints over suspected illegal properties in Scarborough. Many are believed to be homes converted to accommodate students. City Councillor Ron Moeser, whose ward covers the Highland Creek community in east Scarborough where much of the student housing is located, says he’s seen the number of these units rising.Similar problems arose in the city of Oshawa, which now allows homes with up to four bedrooms in a specific area near Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in north Oshawa.Attendance at U of T’s Scarborough campus has grown over the years, but “unfortunately the housing in the area hasn’t kept up,’’ Moeser notes.The campus has 11,107 students, but only 765 beds in its student residence. Adjacent to that, Centennial College’s Morningside Ave. campus has 3,500 students and no residence.Andrew Arifuzzaman, the chief administrative officer at U of T’s Scarborough campus, has been working closely with Moeser’s office and residents in the neighbourhood to address any concerns around student housing.“We haven’t received ... the traditional complaints about large community parties. Most of the complaints were about students not interacting with neighbours. There were some issues about lawns not being cut,’’ he adds.One of the students in the home on Military Trail, who asked not to be identified, says she pays $450 a month. Before moving in, she searched for a place that was affordable to rent close to her school, and saw the ad for the room on the lawn of the home.She doesn’t have a lot of complaints about conditions in the home, but did say she’s unhappy the owner is rarely around to address any of her concerns.Under zoning regulations in Scarborough, a number of people can live in a home if they demonstrate they are pooling the rent, sharing common areas and living as a family.But 11 people living in separate rooms and paying individual rent, is not a single-family home, says Blakes, the MLS manager, referring to the Military Trail home. Similar rules exist in North York and East York.Rooming houses are permitted and regulated in Etobicoke and within the boundaries of old, pre-amalgamation Toronto. For a fee, owner-operators can apply to run properties in old Toronto, with the proviso that there will be annual inspections by MLS, as well as building and fire department personnel. “These types of circumstances are regulated, and therefore students themselves or other occupants are not victimized by substandard conditions,’’ says Gus Michaels, a manager of investigative services with MLS’s Toronto district."....
TorontoStar writes, "From the outside, the suburban home looks like any other on the Scarborough street.But inside, 11 people lived crammed together paying $500 to $700 per month each for spaces created by subdividing rooms at 1280 Military Trail. According to Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) inspectors, there were three bedrooms in the basement, four on the main floor and five on the upper level. There were two kitchens and six washrooms in the roughly 3,000-sq. ft. home. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors had been removed, and there were several fridges in the kitchens. The living room was divided into two rooms, but a partition wall was removed shortly before the search, inspectors say.The alterations to the home were conducted without a building permit or other regulatory inspections, say inspectors who entered the home last week after complaints from neighbours.Inside, inspectors found a sign warning tenants that “if the city of Toronto people get in they will vacate the house.’’The owners are now facing charges for allegedly running an illegal rooming house.The house sits across the street from U of T, and close to Centennial College’s Morningside Ave. campus. Officials believe it was home to foreign students.Bill Blakes, a manager with MLS’s Scarborough district, says while his department doesn’t want to see students or anyone else who rents these properties kicked out on the street, his team has concerns about electrical safety, smoke and CO detectors, and sufficient exits for tenants.“We’re not out to de-house students. That’s not the idea. We want to ensure conditions are safe and it’s legal according to zoning bylaws,’’ Blakes says.“These students don’t know their rights; they’re thousands of miles from home ... they don’t know what they should be getting for their $600 or $700 a month. From what I can see in a lot of these occasions, they’re not getting very much,’’ Blakes says.“Meanwhile, some (operator) is making $6,000 or $7,000 a month. Not bad if you own four or five (houses with illegal occupancy),’’ he adds.MLS also slapped Yixuan (Jessica) Wang, an agent with Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc. in Willowdale, with a summons for owning/operating the property. MLS alleges Wang arranged the leases and helped collect rents from students living there. Wang denies the allegations against her concerning the Military Trail address. She promised to call back and speak further, but didn’t.Kumarasamy Kunanayaham was also charged by MLS under the City of Toronto Act with obstruction for allegedly misleading inspectors.It’s unclear how much illegal housing exists across the city, but one MLS manager says he knows of at least one home under investigation downtown near the Annex believed to be housing as many students as the one on Military Trail.It’s a common suburban problem where post-secondary schools and subdivisions exist side by side with few or no student residences. The licensing department says there are 120 active files stemming from complaints over suspected illegal properties in Scarborough. Many are believed to be homes converted to accommodate students. City Councillor Ron Moeser, whose ward covers the Highland Creek community in east Scarborough where much of the student housing is located, says he’s seen the number of these units rising.Similar problems arose in the city of Oshawa, which now allows homes with up to four bedrooms in a specific area near Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in north Oshawa.Attendance at U of T’s Scarborough campus has grown over the years, but “unfortunately the housing in the area hasn’t kept up,’’ Moeser notes.The campus has 11,107 students, but only 765 beds in its student residence. Adjacent to that, Centennial College’s Morningside Ave. campus has 3,500 students and no residence.Andrew Arifuzzaman, the chief administrative officer at U of T’s Scarborough campus, has been working closely with Moeser’s office and residents in the neighbourhood to address any concerns around student housing.“We haven’t received ... the traditional complaints about large community parties. Most of the complaints were about students not interacting with neighbours. There were some issues about lawns not being cut,’’ he adds.One of the students in the home on Military Trail, who asked not to be identified, says she pays $450 a month. Before moving in, she searched for a place that was affordable to rent close to her school, and saw the ad for the room on the lawn of the home.She doesn’t have a lot of complaints about conditions in the home, but did say she’s unhappy the owner is rarely around to address any of her concerns.Under zoning regulations in Scarborough, a number of people can live in a home if they demonstrate they are pooling the rent, sharing common areas and living as a family.But 11 people living in separate rooms and paying individual rent, is not a single-family home, says Blakes, the MLS manager, referring to the Military Trail home. Similar rules exist in North York and East York.Rooming houses are permitted and regulated in Etobicoke and within the boundaries of old, pre-amalgamation Toronto. For a fee, owner-operators can apply to run properties in old Toronto, with the proviso that there will be annual inspections by MLS, as well as building and fire department personnel. “These types of circumstances are regulated, and therefore students themselves or other occupants are not victimized by substandard conditions,’’ says Gus Michaels, a manager of investigative services with MLS’s Toronto district."....
Scarborough homeowners charged with running illegal rooming house,, February 11, 2013
Blakes, hotel review and article
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "Yes, yes, we know, we have already told you about our first ever advertising campaign from Goosebumps using photographs by our very own Rachel Juarez-Carr, aka Countessian. Well, as well as spending time in the bedroom at Blakes, our stunt Mr & Mrs Smith also got up to a little mischief at the luxury country hotel Cliveden in the name of Smith… Cliveden may be a distinguished National Trust property and a very upmarket hotel today, but this romantic rendezvous is also no stranger to its own steamy scandals… Back in the 1960s when the Buckinghamshire mansion was owned by Lord Astor, it was where cabinet member John Profumo met good-time girl Christine Keeler. The naked frolicking around this very pool at this house party has become the stuff of legend. Fast forward to today and the Pavilion Spa at Cliveden has a charming indoor pool too while the walled garden – the amorous arbour that kick-started the Profumo affair – is home to the heated outdoor pool, where waiters are on hand to serve drinks and snacks. Really this little hotel history lesson is just a gratuitous excuse to show off a few of these saucy little scenes again, because there is nothing we do better than trying to tempt you into your own sexy situations. And we’ll drink to that."....
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "Yes, yes, we know, we have already told you about our first ever advertising campaign from Goosebumps using photographs by our very own Rachel Juarez-Carr, aka Countessian. Well, as well as spending time in the bedroom at Blakes, our stunt Mr & Mrs Smith also got up to a little mischief at the luxury country hotel Cliveden in the name of Smith… Cliveden may be a distinguished National Trust property and a very upmarket hotel today, but this romantic rendezvous is also no stranger to its own steamy scandals… Back in the 1960s when the Buckinghamshire mansion was owned by Lord Astor, it was where cabinet member John Profumo met good-time girl Christine Keeler. The naked frolicking around this very pool at this house party has become the stuff of legend. Fast forward to today and the Pavilion Spa at Cliveden has a charming indoor pool too while the walled garden – the amorous arbour that kick-started the Profumo affair – is home to the heated outdoor pool, where waiters are on hand to serve drinks and snacks. Really this little hotel history lesson is just a gratuitous excuse to show off a few of these saucy little scenes again, because there is nothing we do better than trying to tempt you into your own sexy situations. And we’ll drink to that."....
Cliveden is giving us Goosebumps…,, February 06, 2013
Blakes, hotel review and article
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "See this artwork? Those clever dicks at Goosebumps made us do it. To mark a decade of sending naughty boys and girls straight to their rooms, we got in bed with London brand consultants, Goosebumps. One thing led to another… …Next thing we knew, there was a ménage à trois carrying on at Blakes in South Kensington. The result of this scantily clad session at one of the world’s sexiest hotels? Our in-house photographer Rachel Carr, aka Countessian, took some fabulous photos of a Mr and Mrs Smith having fun in a boutique boudoir. And we ended up with our first advertising campaign of sorts. So thank you, Goosebumps. Oh, you and your big ideas. And thank you, Rachel. And you and your big lenses! You know we’re always big exponents of mixing a little business with pleasure. And thank you too for all the compliments from the readers of the style magazines we’ve rather cheekily been inserting these in. "....
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "See this artwork? Those clever dicks at Goosebumps made us do it. To mark a decade of sending naughty boys and girls straight to their rooms, we got in bed with London brand consultants, Goosebumps. One thing led to another… …Next thing we knew, there was a ménage à trois carrying on at Blakes in South Kensington. The result of this scantily clad session at one of the world’s sexiest hotels? Our in-house photographer Rachel Carr, aka Countessian, took some fabulous photos of a Mr and Mrs Smith having fun in a boutique boudoir. And we ended up with our first advertising campaign of sorts. So thank you, Goosebumps. Oh, you and your big ideas. And thank you, Rachel. And you and your big lenses! You know we’re always big exponents of mixing a little business with pleasure. And thank you too for all the compliments from the readers of the style magazines we’ve rather cheekily been inserting these in. "....
Blow our own trumpet? Us?,, January 16, 2013
Blakes, hotel review and article
Daily Telegraph writes, "Blakes may have lost its decadent aura, but it's still an intimate and charming bolthole, says Fiona Duncan."....
Daily Telegraph writes, "Blakes may have lost its decadent aura, but it's still an intimate and charming bolthole, says Fiona Duncan."....
Blakes, London: hotel review,+ Daily Telegraph, October 31, 2011
Blakes, hotel review and article
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "This week, we"....
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "This week, we"....
Hotel of the week: Blakes Hotel,, July 29, 2011
Blakes, hotel review and article
Gridskipper writes, "Juliet Kinsman of Mr. and Mrs. Smith gives The Cityist her favorite "European classic" hotels. In London, she goes with Blakes; in N"....
Gridskipper writes, "Juliet Kinsman of Mr. and Mrs. Smith gives The Cityist her favorite "European classic" hotels. In London, she goes with Blakes; in N"....
Hotels: Five European Classics,+ Gridskipper, April 16, 2010
Blakes, hotel review and article
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "Earlier this week, the Smith editorial team was whisked around the capital on a mad dash to some of our lovely London hotels. After a lively breakfast at Blakes, a look-in at the Gore’s ecclesiastically elegant bar and a tour through the wonky floors of historic Hazlitt’s (not to mention a celeb spot or two [...]"....
Mr and Mrs Smith writes, "Earlier this week, the Smith editorial team was whisked around the capital on a mad dash to some of our lovely London hotels. After a lively breakfast at Blakes, a look-in at the Gore’s ecclesiastically elegant bar and a tour through the wonky floors of historic Hazlitt’s (not to mention a celeb spot or two [...]"....
Hotel of the Week: No.5 Maddox Street,, September 18, 2009
Blakes, hotel review and article
Daily Telegraph writes, "Blakes London: Full Review from Mr ? Mrs Smith."....
Daily Telegraph writes, "Blakes London: Full Review from Mr ? Mrs Smith."....
Blakes London: Full Review,+ Daily Telegraph, December 04, 2008
Click here to see pictures of Blakes or to book it.