The Royal

Over a decade, Giannone Petricone Associates (GPA) transformed a dilapidated 1881 Victorian railway hotel in Picton, Ontario into the first upscale hotel in Prince Edward County (PEC). The Royal Hotel’s restoration is contributing to PEC’s reputation as a burgeoning food and wine region. Central to this mission, GPA embraced the area’s culture and history to establish a distinctive design of global standards. A key challenge was restoring the 31,000-square-foot hotel, while also elevating it to a glorious 21st century version of itself. When the project started, the building’s staircases were lined with moss and the roof caved in. The design team salvaged three brick walls and reconfigured the back of the building to add terraces and open the interior to increased natural light. They established 28 guestrooms, a café, three bars, and a fine-dining restaurant, plus a gym and spa. The former stables were also rebuilt as an annex with five guest suites suitable for families, extended stays or even staff accommodation. PEC is a destination with tremendous seasonal change, so flexibility of space and function was crucial to the hotel’s operation. The café and parlour shift from bright and lively to low-lit and atmospheric. In place of a grand lobby bar, an armoire in the parlour opens to reveal a “shake it yourself” cocktail bar, appropriate for the informality of the locale. A retractable roofed porch enables the fine dining restaurant to expand and contract with the seasons and events, and a garden terrace with a fourth bar and fireplace patio leads to a swimming pool. Playing on the expectations of The Royal Hotel’s name and history, GPA embraced the quintessential tropes of a Victorian railway hotel by abstracting and then reinserting them, creating a rich contrast between the formalities of British tradition and the informalities of rural Ontario. In the dining room, the typical Victorian ceiling rosette is atypically reinterpreted to emulate the underside of a mushroom. This contrast treats guests to an experience that is transporting yet deeply rooted in the local context. Vestiges of the original hotel’s white glove approach are now expressed in ways that delight modern travelers. Scalloped bathroom vanities and the parlour’s undulating fireplace mimic starched linens being pressed into service in new ways. This “petrification” of Victorian textiles is one of the hotel’s foundational design concepts, guiding key materials and motifs. Tartan is rendered in stone mosaic tiles in guest room bathrooms and wood-framed cross-stitched headboards recall embroidery still in its hoop. The Royal’s former state of deterioration is also paid tribute, reimagined to evoke a state of sublime decay. White oak millwork resembles exposed wall studs and rippled ceiling rosettes reference the hotel’s once waterlogged state. The appearance of construction-grade materials seemingly left exposed during the reconfiguration deepen the narrative. Guest room fireplaces are finished in fluted concrete as if awaiting their cladding, and gilded industrial-grade metal reinstates the quintessential Victorian elevator cage. By embracing the imprint of time, the hotel pays homage to its past and future legacy.