Hotel Belvedere
141 King St East
Kingston, ON
Canada K7L 2Z9

(613) 548-1565

RESERVATIONS

In the 1940s Vogue Magazine called it "the only reasonable place to stay between Montreal and Toronto." Half a century later the Hotel Belvedere is once again a stately Kingston landmark attracting visitors from around the world.
    The Hotel was built in 1880 (from drawings prepared by local architect Joseph Power) as the opulent private home of John Hinds. Indeed it proved too expensive even for its owner. It was sold by his creditors in 1883 to Dr Kenneth Fenwick, a prominent local physician.
    In the 1920s Dr Fenwick's third wife, upon his death, remodelled the building and turned it into a fashionable residential hotel known as the Chateau Belvidere. Soon it was the preferred hotel of gentlemen and ladies, dukes and duchesses, generals and politicians. The staff wore livery. Foreign guests occasionally contributed some intrigue. Old correspondence suggests the hotel was the scene of at least one clandestine rendezvous involving an "affair of state." Legend has it too, that one couple who stayed regularly bathed in champagne.
    Then, as today, the hotel offered its guests an aura of refinement.
    The early years of the Depression threatened to end all that. This was, however briefly, a solemn period in the hotel's otherwise colourful history. Then in 1937 it was purchased by Margaret Webb — known affectionately as Grandma Webb — who spent the next ten years improving the hotel's condition and building additions — including the single-story dining room (with terrazo flooring) at the rear, and the outdoor terrace along the east side. Later she added kitchenettes to several of the rooms to accommodate long-term guests, mainly in the winter months. Perhaps the most invigorating task under-taken was the moving of a huge mirror from an upstairs suite to its present location along the main entrance. She had help, of course. It was carried downstairs, wrapped in eight mattresses.
    In recent years the hotel's grandeur had diminished considerably. The 1970s saw the building gradually converted into residential apartments, although some rooms continued to be available on a daily basis. Following a year of extensive renovations, the Hotel Belvedere re-opened in May 1987. Its current proprietors, Donna Mallory and Ian Walsh, have lovingly restored the almost 120-year-old mansion and filled it with antiques they've collected over the years.
    As well, they have added an "antiques & uniques" shop in the lower level. There are now 20 private guest rooms, each decorated in its own unique style. Included are period rooms with early Canadian and Victorian furniture, classical and Art Deco motifs, modernized kitchenettes and a jacuzzi suite. The private dining room is now a fully equipped boardroom, suitable for small meetings.
    Moderately priced, the elegant Hotel Belvedere is once again a reminder of the past — with all the luxuries and conveniences of today.

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