[trip style = luxury + urban]

What The Templar cringes at the name hotel, kind of. Yes, you can book four walls with a locking door on a nightly basis, yet the 27-room marble and stone-built structure would rather be referred to as the urban villa it is.

Officially opened to the public in October 2012, it is miles in the making. The well-traveled owners brought their passion for travel and know-how for design into the project aiming to create a space that's more home-away-from-home (of the Dwell Magazine variety), than white-glove tower.

MORE PHOTOS BELOW.

Browsing Trip Styler-esque stays for my recent trip to Toronto, when I came upon the Templar, I stopped searching and booked it immediately. I'm glad I did. My neutral room---which may appear simple to the untrained eye---was complex like a piece of abstract art, different from every vantage point. Outfitted in Ipe flooring---a sustainable wood from Uraguay and the hardest in existence---penny tiles, floor-to-ceiling windows and a silk-filled duvet, these layers were lovely, but it was the Corian bathtub {bigger than a double bed} that had me at hello.

The downstairs lounge, surrounded in hand-combed Japanese ledge rock and softened in furs, is a place I longed to linger armed with a tumbler of Grey Goose on the rocks---no joke, I tried to extend my return-date. Trip Styler approved!

Where Downtown Toronto in the Fashion District.

When Toronto's hot in the summer and Canadian crisp---think icy and snow dusted---in the winter. Dress for sweating and shivering depending on the season. If you visit in the summer and T-dot's urban jungle gets too steamy, check out one of Toronto's urban beaches I wrote about in Expedia for the Expedia Viewfinder Blog.

Who/Why Generally, hotels aren't your bag unless they appear on the Contemporist. The word guest makes you cringe, and you'd prefer a conversation over a check-in.

Cost Rates start from the low 200s per night and include WiFi, a ton of cachet, and a chef who will prepare any meal your heart desires (within reason) at any hour.

Photos {The lobby}