| Public Voting Begins for Second Annual Awards Program Presented by Cintas Canada |
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| MISSISSAUGA, ON, September 7, 2011– Will Canada’s next Best Washroom be nestled inside of an egg-shaped pod? Will it feature rich floor-to-ceiling white marble tiling? How about energy efficient lighting, low-flow automatic fixtures and recycled paper products? These are just some of the impressive images inside the five public washrooms that will compete for the coveted title of Canada’s Best Restroom, the popular contest sponsored by Cintas Canada and now in its second year. |
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| The public is invited to vote for their top pick at www.bestrestroom.com/canada through October 24, 2011. The site takes visitors on a photographic tour of each facility and then encourages them to choose their favourite. The winner will be announced this fall. |
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| This year’s finalists for Canada ’s Best Restroom are: |
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| Finalist |
Location |
Restroom Features |
| Allstream Centre |
Toronto, Ontario |
Allstream Centre combines luxury with the highest environmental standards. The ladies washroom features a separate carpeted lounge and makeup area, complete with comfortable seating and individually illuminated mirror areas finished in walnut wood accents. The vanity areas showcase clean white custom Corian countertops with frosted and backlit mirrors and touch-free taps and soap dispensers. Allstream Centre is Canada’s first conference centre built to a LEED Silver Standard, which incorporates the highest quality interior finishes and fixtures while maintaining a superior ecological standard. The individual waterclosets are equipped with low flow, automatic fixtures and utilize a rainwater-harvesting program that collects water from the rooftop to flush the toilets. All paper products are made from recycled fibres and the hand-towels are composted after use. |
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| David Morris Fine Cars |
Edmonton, Alberta |
This contemporary washroom features an exquisite handpicked sandstone floor-to-ceiling accent wall, mosaic floor tiles, cultured stone and a mahogany freestanding sink. The washroom features low flow toilets and energy efficient CFL bulbs. Water restrictor taps finish off this modern space. Fresh flowers and cloth hand towels add to this inviting space. For a personal touch, this auto dealership offers its clients a shelf of complimentary items such as mouthwash, body spray and hand lotions. |
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| e11even |
Toronto, Ontario |
e11even’s contemporary and spacious washrooms were designed by members of the world renowned New York design firm, The Rockwell Group. Ensuring the luxury and intimate ambiance of the restaurant was infused into the restrooms, guests are able to relax and indulge in a private space with finishes such as rich marble tiling from floor to ceiling, modern sink basins, elegant mosaic tile accents and hygienic Toto Washlets. |
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| Hôtel Le Germain Montréal |
Montreal, Quebec |
Hôtel Le Germain Montréal offers the comforts of home in their public washroom. Soft hand towels and luxurious bath products await you. The ambiance is serene, the light both functional and soothing, and the luxury unparalleled. |
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| Ottawa Convention Centre |
Ottawa, Ontario |
The Ottawa Convention Centre, which opened this year, is Canada’s newest meeting space. Its sophisticated ‘space-age’ style washrooms are quite a sight! Designers wanted to avoid one large bank of washrooms on each of four meeting floors, preferring to spread them out and place them where people expected washrooms to be. In order to accomplish this, the washrooms at the north end of Levels Two and Three are located inside a key design feature – the “orb” – to maximize the use of space. These handicap accessible restrooms have no exterior doors leading in to the washrooms, which are accessed through curved entranceways. This prevents the spread of germs, as do the hands-free faucets. The curved entrances also keep light, odours and noise from escaping the washroom. The Ottawa Convention Centre uses a rainwater cistern located under the building to decrease water consumption by nearly 70%. |
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| Fans can also participate by visiting the Best Restroom Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube Channel to post comments, receive contest updates, share photos or upload videos; links to all three sites are on the contest homepage. |
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| Cintas created Canada’s Best Restroom in 2010 to honour those businesses across Canada that place hygiene and style at the top of their priority lists. Proprietors recognize the parallel between clean washrooms and customer retention. “We like to think of this contest as an entertaining way of drawing the public’s attention to the very important issue of restroom hygiene,” says Cintas Canada’s Senior Marketing Manager Leslie Molin. “There is a bigger business message behind this quirky contest: How you keep your restrooms is indicative of how you run your facilities. In business operations today this is extremely important.” |
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| The winner of the inaugural Canada’s Best Restroom contest was The Cactus Club in Vancouver. To view photos of previous winners, visit www.bestrestroom.com/canada and click on the Hall of Fame. |
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| For more information or to set up an interview, please contact the survey editor, Sabrina Zimring, at 757-456-5212. |
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| About Cintas Canada Ltd: |
| Cintas Canada Ltd, with headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario is a subsidiary of Cintas Corporation. Cintas Canada designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, and document shredding services to approximately 55,000 businesses in Canada. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS, and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
For more information about Cintas products and services, visit us at www.cintas.ca. |