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The King Eddie, as it is fondly called, has always attracted the elite. Its guest books carry the names of Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, the Beatles, Canadian prime ministers and governor-generals, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, and foreign heads of state.

First opened in 1903, The King Edward (as it was then known) was built by George Gooderham, then the richest man in Toronto and owner of the venerable Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The hotel's sumptuous and splendidly proportioned interior included massive marble columns and a natural skylight in the lobby, while the hotel's exterior was completed in French Renaissance style using terra-cotta trimmings.

In 1928 a new wing was added, including a nine-storey tower rising above the original eight-storey structure. The addition brought the number of rooms to close to 800, and included a convention room and a ballroom on the two top floors of the tower.

Designated as a historical site in 1975, The King Edward was closed in 1979 for a $25 million restoration and facelift, restoring the hotel to its former beauty as an architectural gem that boasts some of the most luxurious hotel suites in Canada. When it reopened in 1981, Le Royal Meridien King Edward had joined the ranks of Forte Hotels, one of the world's leading hotel and catering companies.

Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel today continues to realize its builder's dream of establishing a palatial resting and meeting place as a reprieve from life's sojourns for people from Toronto and around the world, an abode to gather and stay in lavish settings inspired with a grand sense of occasion.