The Stylish Canadian Hotels That Brought Heated Rivalry To Life

24 minutes ago

Plus: where is the cottage?

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It may have premiered in late November 2025 in Canada and the US and early January 2026 here in the UK, but people are still talking (indeed raving) about Heated Rivalry.

Drawing on tried and tested tropes like enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance, and adapted from Rachel Reid’s cult-followed novels by Jacob Tierney, the six-part series traces the steamy romance between two young closeted hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). When matches bring them to the same city, their relationship develops from purely physical to deeply emotional, navigated predominantly across surreptitious hotel rooms.

And with a rather magnificent cottage at the centre of the final episodes, it seems audiences are keen to recreate the players’ jet-setting lifestyle: Expedia has noticed an uptick in searches for Muskoka, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. Here are the real hotels that backdrop Shane and Ilya’s burgeoning story.

Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) in Heated Rivalry.

Heated Rivalry: Stylish Hotels, The Cottage & More Filming Locations

Filmed across Canada in spring 2025, Heated Rivalry utilised everything from a real hockey rink to Dundurn Castle to bring Rachel Reid’s novel to the small screen. But it’s the hotel rooms we’re intrigued by; this is where the pivotal action takes place, after all. But first: the cottage.

Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) & Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) in Heated Rivalry.

The Cottage

When Ilya utters those five crucial words – ‘I’m coming to the cottage’ – there’s a notable step change in his relationship with Shane. Known simply as ‘the cottage’, Shane decides to spend the summer here after suffering an injury at a Boston vs Montreal game – and when Ilya visits him in hospital, delirious on painkillers, the Canadian player invites him to join him.

We’re told Shane’s cottage is in Muskoka, Ontario – coincidentally nicknamed ‘cottage country’ and a popular summer spot for Toronto dwellers escaping the city and celebrities seeking quiet countryside retreats, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Cindy Crawford. And the real property used for filming is indeed located in Muskoka, on the shores of one of the municipality’s 1,500 lakes, the aptly named Lake Muskoka. Constructed in 2020 and named Barlochan Cottage, Canadian architects Trevo McIvor designed the breathtaking 2,500 sqft glass and timber property for a private client who wanted to visit in all four seasons. The result is an open space with grand windows that frame the unfolding lake and forest views outside, all anchored by a central floor-to-ceiling granite fireplace.

While Expedia has noticed a 110 percent increase in searches for Muskoka, the cottage we see in Heated Rivalry is a private property and cannot be booked. However, the site is home to dupes galore – this is cottage country, after all – including:

Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) &Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) in Heated Rivalry.

The Hotels

Countless hotels appear in Heated Rivalry, with Shane and Ilya hopping across North America for their fiercely competitive hockey matches. And as fans search along with the action, Expedia has noticed an uptick in searches for Boston (85 percent), Montreal (65 percent) and Toronto (55 percent).

SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, Toronto

With Toronto skyline views, you should recognise the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel for its pivotal appearance in Heated Rivalry episode 1: this is where Shane and Ilya have their first off-ice rendezvous. Located downtown not far from the harbour, jet-setting guests can sweat it out at the gym, wind down in the spa, swim in the saltwater pool and recline on luxuriously large beds.

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Park Hyatt Toronto

Elsewhere in Canada’s most populous city, the Park Hyatt’s Presidential Suite doubles as Scott’s New York apartment, with the production team adding a kitchen to make the space more realistic. And while rooms don’t come equipped with kitchens, guests can enjoy the Stillwater Spa and the rooftop terrace with its magnificent views, plus lean on the concierge for personalised Niagara Falls tour bookings.

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Sheraton Hamilton Hotel

Southwest of Toronto, Hamilton is a smaller town close to Niagara Falls and the US border, and a few spots across the city were used for shooting Heated Rivalry. Most notable is the Sheraton, which features in various hotel rooms as Ilya and Shane meet up across North America. And though it morphs into different cities across the course of the series, guests can trust the Sheraton will always have its rooftop terrace, indoor pool and spacious bedrooms.

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