Historic Canadian Hotel Reimagined as a Rural Cultural Anchor

In the heart of Prince Edward County’s main street in Picton, Ontario, a once-crumbling Victorian-era hotel has been meticulously revived into a bold new cultural landmark.

The Royal Hotel, redesigned by Toronto-based architecture studio Giannone Petricone Associates (GPA), repositions the 19th-century icon as a contemporary hospitality hub while honouring its eccentric past.

GALLERY  

The project began in 2013 when the Sorbara family purchased the dilapidated building. Early planning was punctuated by dramatic setbacks, including a collapsed roof and a moss-covered central staircase. Still, the family remained committed to restoring the site, working with GPA to reimagine The Royal as a vital centre for both locals and visitors drawn to the region’s renowned food and wine culture.

Within three original brick walls, a new 28-room hotel has been established. The program includes a café, three bars, a fine-dining restaurant, spa, gym, sauna, and a landscaped garden terrace leading to a fourth bar and outdoor fireplace. A swimming pool lies just beyond, while nearby, reconstructed stables now accommodate five suites in The Royal Annex.

GPA’s design concept draws from the Victorian railway hotel typology, exaggerating and abstracting its tropes to suit a playful yet refined rural setting. “The Royal is designed to be a transporting experience while deeply rooted in the local context,” says GPA Principal Pina Petricone. “The experience benefits from the charged contrast between ‘genteel’ and ‘real’ elements.”

These juxtapositions are found throughout. A gilded-looking balustrade and elevator cage are actually crafted from standard construction metal. Victorian ceiling rosettes become giant mushrooms and rippling water forms. Historic textile patterns appear in unexpected materials – from starched-linen-inspired plaster fireplaces to tartan floor tiles. The colour palette cues directly from the building’s original façade, with buff and clay bricks and green slate.

“The Royal is about escapism,” says Petricone. “Our research into the hotel’s history demonstrated that it was always a pretty quirky place.” In its latest iteration, the hotel manages to feel both rooted and whimsical – a fitting tribute to its enduring role as Picton’s local landmark.

Images by Jeff McNeil, DoubleSpace Photography and Graydon Herriott via ArchDaily

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