The Sutton Place Hotel Halifax opened on September 8, 2020, in the Nova Centre, the C$500 million complex that fills two blocks of downtown Halifax. It was the first Sutton Place hotel in Atlantic Canada and sits next to the Halifax Convention Centre. It has 262 rooms and suites over 16 floors.
The Nova Centre sits between Argyle, Market, Sackville and Prince streets, on land that once held the headquarters of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald and a stretch of Grafton Street that the city sold to the developer in 2014 for $1.9 million.
Rooms on the upper floors look over downtown, the harbour and the waterfront, and toward Citadel Hill. The brand's materials say the design draws on the upscale feel of Argyle and Grafton streets.
The concept
Argyle Developments, owned by Joe Ramia, built the Nova Centre. Construction began in August 2014, the structure topped out in January 2016 and the convention centre opened in December 2017. The hotel came almost three years later, in the first autumn of the pandemic, with Robert Pratt as president of Sutton Place Hotels and Mark Schaay as general manager.
The Halifax Convention Centre offers about 120,000 square feet of flexible event space and replaced the old World Trade and Convention Centre as the city's main venue. Two 15-storey office towers share the site, with the Bank of Montreal as an anchor tenant. A hotel attached to that machinery is aimed first at delegates, and the layout reflects it.
Inside, the lobby has Italian marble walls and heavy lighting. Rooms follow a dark navy and gold scheme that the hotel ties to European hotel tradition and to Halifax's maritime past. Floor-to-ceiling windows, automated in-room controls and bathrooms styled after a spa complete the room spec.
Dining & wellness
Chop Steakhouse & Bar is the on-site restaurant, and the hotel presents it as award-winning. It is the only restaurant the opening release names.
The fitness facilities have a resilient floor, and an outdoor patio with a hot tub and fire pits was promised shortly after opening. At launch the hotel offered an Opening Celebration Rate from $179 a night for stays between September 8, 2020 and January 30, 2021, with Sutton Prestige reward points attached.
News
September 1, 2020: The Sutton Place Hotel Halifax announced it would open on September 8, 2020 in the Nova Centre with 262 guest rooms and suites in a dark navy and gold scheme, Italian marble in the lobby, Chop Steakhouse & Bar, upscale fitness facilities and an outdoor patio with hot tub and fire pits to follow. An Opening Celebration Rate from $179 a night applied to stays through January 30, 2021.
