The Darling Mansion

What luck to be asked to be a plus one at a Unilocal event at this amazing one-​of-​a-​kind mansion. The décor inside is very eclectic, very unique and a whole lot of fun. It’s as if Dali, Picasso, bits of mannequin, loads of a taxidermy shop where shaken all up and strewn all over in a very interesting and tasteful way.
Each room is unique and very comfortable looking and each have their own special charm. One room has its own open tiled shower, balcony and four post bed. Another room has a suspended bed floating and hanging from the ceiling. And still another has a sitting area and resident stuffed black panther.
A stay here would certainly bring fun into anyone’s life as you can’t help but smile as soon as you walk in the front door.

Since having moved from Toronto to Hamilton I’ve crashed on a LOT of my friends’ couches when I need to be in Toronto. Last week, I didn’t want to ask anymore and I wanted to sleep on a bed for a change.
Enter The Darling Mansion. It’s a beautiful old mansion converted into a very cool B&B. Think Wes Anderson themed rooms and a mix of contemporary and old décor with Helmut Newton photography everywhere. Swoon.
I loved being located on a residential street (Dovercourt!) near Queen West & Dundas West. Made me feel like I lived in Toronto all over again. Tanya, the «innkeeper”/brains behind the operation is a really cool person who made us feel right at home. In the morning she offered us delicious coffee and homemade breakfast.
We stayed in the Wes Anderson room and for $ 99 it was a great deal. There’s a shared bathroom for that room which was super clean & came with great shampoo, conditioner and loads of towels.
I’ll definitely be staying there again.

My partner and I considered taking a mid-​week vacation to Niagara Falls to celebrate my birthday but decided to check out this recently opened B&B in downtown Toronto, conveniently located half a kilometre from where we live! The pictures on the Facebook page had already sold me so off we went to the Darling Mansion.
We were greeted by the lovely Tanya who gave us a tour of the Mansion. It’s not just called a mansion, it IS a full blown mansion. She offered us coffee and breakfast in the morning and then we settled into our room where we were greeted with a canopy bed and bottle of wine.
The décor is stunning. Part of the fun of this place is all the exploration one can do while inside and new discoveries around every corner. For all those ghost hunters out there, this may be a goldmine for you. ;)
I can’t recommend this place enough. We had such a great night feeling like tourists in our own city and I have a feeling we’ll be using The Darling Mansion for those times we want to take a romantic escape from the daily grind.
Oh, and Charles Bukowski pissed there. I recommend you try to find exactly where… ;)

Glad to be on the front-​end of these reviews (#2). Because I have a gut feeling this one-​of-​a-​kind artisan mansion o’ Dali and semi-​hedonistic art-​directed wonder will be huge in the coming years. Want to be in a surrealist movie set? Then this is your place.
I mean, one could recommend Darling Mansion to their parents if they were hip. Hipsters if they weren’t elitists. And elite art lovers randomly in town on short notice to see new AGO retrospective shows (as me + my girlfriend did for Basquiat,
). AND definitely recommended for those who want to pretend they’re in Dali’s weekend home 40 years ago. Complete with magazines and books from the ‘70s (wink, wink).
This was also more affordable than the cheapest hotel we *almost* booked — and thank ye romantic Gods we did not go the
route. On the road 1.5 hours away in Kitchener, we called a friend of a friend and «discovered» what might be the BEST B n’ B I’ve ever been to short of my dreams. And I’ve been to 13 countries around Western Europe, and Dali’s museum in Figueres, Spain; I never even imagined a place like this.
PROS: The host was engaging and fun; décor was mind-​blowing; room was CLEAN, and bottled water everywhere! Our room was $ 99 for double. (I’m sure subject-​to-​change if it catches traction with travelers.)
CONS: I don’t consider a shared bathroom a «con.» The host Tanya may even make you coffee and bacon (though, I don’t eat bacon). Cry me a river!
NOTE: This place’s sister business is the Salvador Darling: Oyster Bar & Cocktail Lounge; also worth checking out for the mannequins and shots courtesy of Tanya. (I swear she has a twin.)
NOTE 2: The place was amazingly finished in mere weeks (or 1 – 2 months) — it looks lived in for years. I think they’re still finishing up the kitchen + back patio. But looks like you could cook your own breakfast, too, if you asked. They seems flexible.