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The first hint that we weren’t in real life anymore was the name of the toilet.

OK, so I’m sure it was the name of the brand of this kind of toilet (total? Really?), but it set the tone.

I got kicked out of house and home the last week while a big part of my floor was replaced. The floor that, you may remember, was destroyed in a flood over the summer. The Boy took the week off to help me get through the experience and we decided to treat it as a vacation. Last Monday, we took the short trip to Le Germain Maple Leaf Square, which turned out to be a very big trip away from normal.

Neither The Boy nor I take vacations. I can’t travel because of my chronic illness and pain, and he prefers not to. We may take days off, but when you have a computer (and like spending time on it), it’s really hard to unplug, both literally and figuratively. Spending a week in a lovely hotel allowed us to do just that.

And it was blissful.

The accessible room at LeGermain MLS was, in a word, amazing. Big enough for me to move around comfortably, and so was the bathroom. There was also a side nook for luggage that was larger than most current Toronto condos.

Those of you who have seen the truly terrible state of accessible hotel rooms these days (and more about that next week) will understand why I was so excited to actually be able to function in this room without significant compromise. It wasn’t 100% perfect, but 85% is pretty stellar. They have been incredibly receptive to feedback, so I will be sharing a few recommendations with them, including installing an automatic door on the room. I had The Boy with me, a sort of walking and talking (and very handsome) automatic door opener, but not everybody travels with a Boy.

The layout of the room was just the start of the adventure. This hotel understood how to make this stay truly special, partly through supplying a number of magical touches that allowed for extra entertainment for us.

First, let’s talk about the beds. This had been my biggest worry — I have high levels of chronic pain and it doesn’t take much to push that into a mega-flare. A few years ago, it took me months to find a comfortable bed — would the hotel beds aggravate my pain?

I needn’t have worried. The beds were incredibly comfortable, with those crisp white linens that have just the right sound and feel to enhance the feeling of being pampered. This was greatly aided by the comforters, which we took to naming after mountain ranges. Fluffy, pillowy, voluminous, they made me feel as if I was sleeping in a cloud. I had the most wonderful sleeps. The Le Germain bedding and linens are available for purchase and trust me, I’m having an argument with my bank account. I predict it will lose the battle (which means I will win in multiple ways!).

(so pillowy, in fact, that the camera refused to focus on my face)

The room also contained a Nespresso machine with complementary pods and naturally, we had to try it. I’m not normally a coffee drinker — although I adore the smell of roasting and brewing coffee, the taste has always been a bit too bitter for me, so I enjoyed the many different kinds of tea. This is no longer the case. The first time, I had a sip of David’s espresso, then I drank his espresso, and after that we made two at a time. Waking up to the smell of coffee is another form of bliss. I got so obsessed with it so quickly, in fact, that I believe one may be coming my way for Christmas.

The design and decor of the hotel was modern, fairly Scandinavian, which I find very restful. But it also had some funky and artful touches that set it apart from so many other hotels. The lighting feature in the lobby was one of my favourites.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the strips of neon lighting that changed colour. The first three days that sort three different colours — green, red, and blue — and I was sure there was a reasoning behind it. We asked and discovered that whereas Green was the hotel’s signature colour, the strips would turn red when the rafters played in the nearby Arena and blue when the Toronto Maple Leafs played. Cool.

My favourite feature was the apples. There was a bowl of Granny Smith apples on the reception desk, free for the guests. Nice touch, but many other hotels have this. However, they do not have the Apple feature on each floor. Next to the elevators, there was what at first appeared to be another funky lighting feature — nine little lighted rectangles.

And then you noticed the apples. Again, free for the guests, but at the same time at little piece of ever-changing art.

And this is what I also got a little obsessive about. The first thing we checked when going to or from the elevator was the status of the apples. Were they all their? How many of them had stems? Were any missing? How many were missing and in which location? I took to documenting it on my Instagram stories and from the feedback, others seemed as fixated by this as I was.

Naturally, just before we left, we may or may not have contributed to this situation:

(we may or may not also have removed the orange. Your guess as to which, but consider that we are well-behaved Canadians)

It was a wonderful stay in a place that felt a little like another world away from the harsh reality of life. The environment was calm and beautiful and every member of the staff was helpful and pleasant. We slept, we ate, we puttered, and repeated that pattern for most of the week. Being able to disconnect from the stress and pace of everyday life in a place that felt so welcoming and blissful was incredibly healing. And even more exciting, it helped me realize that although I can’t travel to other countries, I can still travel within my city. The location of your vacation matters much less than having some indulgent time away from home.

Thank you to everyone at Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. We will be back – I am dedicating my piggy bank savings to another vacation.