Toronto luxury hotels (consolidated thread)
Aug 16, 2015, 3:46 pm
It is perhaps the most stylish hotel suite I have ever had, but VERY masculine. Lots of black and chrome. My mother, who was with me in a different suite, hated it!
Service good. Didn't eat in the restaurant except for breakfast, which is a la carte only. Pool was OK but didn't offer much space around it for lounging. Only wide enough for three lap swimmers at a time.
Not much in the way of public space. The lobby is small as is the ground floor bar. The restaurant is 30 floors up.
Having visited the Yorkville area during the couple of days I was there, I can see why you would prefer to stay there. The Financial District is a bit raggedy (compared to London) and lacking in restaurants. On the other hand, if you are only there for a day or so and want to see Yorkville and the harbour area, you will be shuttling between the two areas anyway.
I could happily have spent a week in the Trump suite but, if I came back with my wife and kids, I think we'd gravitate to the FS purely for location.
(Shangri-La is also downtown near the Trump. Both the S-La, FS and Trump are hotel and condo combos. All are incredibly tall buildings and, frankly, I get a feeling from all three that the hotel is only there so that the condos could be branded.)
PS. Having just checked the price, a Deluxe Suite midweek - admittedly in August - is only C$665 per night plus tax. Frankly, this seems like very good value for money for 800 square feet of very elegant room.
Last edited by Raffles; Aug 16, 2015 at 3:55 pm
Aug 16, 2015, 5:51 pm
I am glad to hear the Trump is at least decent. I won't stay there (because of, well, Trump!) but I am very happy to hear that there are a growing number of choices for luxury properties in Toronto. I can only hope the rest of Canada takes note.
Oct 3, 2015, 5:30 pm
The noise off University Ave and the fire trucks fighting blazes is pretty bad here too. Early 2009 and they didn't use soundproof glass or something like that?
Last edited by Aventine; Oct 3, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Oct 6, 2015, 3:48 am
My first Park Hyatt with a shower curtain and the most confounding shower handle ever. You have to bend and pull to get the pressure and then turn in the opposite direction for hot and cold. Push down and in to turn off.
Oct 6, 2015, 5:03 am
If yes, Im glad its over
Oct 6, 2015, 12:36 pm
Shangri-la Hotel Toronto
188 University Avenue Toronto, ON CA M5H 0A3
among Toronto's finest Shangri-la Toronto (0 Photo)
Shangri-la Hotel Toronto
A somewhat familar feeling stay at a very familar brand.
Room
The room was miles nicer than PH Toronto because it was MODERN and pretty much like every other luxury Asian hotel I've ever stayed at. People looking for a change from Asia should probably avoid going here with all the Asian art, prints, design motifs going on. Like going from a steamship to a Tesla. No flipping on half a dozen lamps. No manually figuring out how to do half dozenblinds. All switches can be done by bedside buttons - very much like all the Asian luxury hotels I stay at. The iPad to order room service is also very neat and also contains all your necessary room information. No need for booklets and brochures at SL Toronto.
I was surprised how worn my Premier room was though. The hotel is recent new but this room has seen better days. The office chair's leather looked like someone really put butt miles on it. The dark room door corners was a little chipped too. Hard to keep the cashmere throw fresh looking after dry cleaning for each guest and stay?
The heated floors came in handy with the cold spell Toronto was having this past week. The only hotel I've ever seen with heated floors and it's much better than the Korean ondol style heated floors (usually done under linoleum).
Just very noisy being along University Avenue and you could hear EMS vehicles go up and down. The hotel is also on the lowest floors so you're closer to the action - for better or worse.
Dining
BOSK:
Excellent. Better than Annona at PHinevery way. Just younger, hipper and more creative. They use excellent, locally sourced ingredients to make exciting fare. Didn't dine in the restaurantfor dinner but I totally would have because the room service bolognaise was well-done. They do all the hotel's in-room dining orders and room service breakfasts. The only thing is the breakfast portion size was a little small. I could see big eaters having a problem with one sunny side up egg, a few thin strips of bacon and toast.
Spa
Utterly disappointing as my partner had been excited to go there and they ended up giving away her reservation. Less than 10 mins from between callsand they did it because couldn't provide CC number (to PH concierge) while driving. Under different management by Caudalie and not a standard SL CHI spa. The facilities themselves are quite spectacular.
Location
Shangri-La easily has one of the best locations in the city –at the crossroads of the Toronto financial and entertainment districtand just a quick walk from the Eatons Centre. The restaurants on Queen and King Street are a streetcar or house carride away. It’s also next to a subway station, making it easy to get to the shopping and museums in Yorkville. You could also walk if it's a nice day. straight up University Avenue and around Queen's Park.
Service
Service was quite polished. Servers poured wine or water with grace and all requests were answered by Guest services. Housekeeping was detailed and non-intrusive. Never knew they were there and they respected the privacy indicator unlike PH Toronto. I'd say this hotel has some of the finest overall service in the city. It's not SL Tokyo good but very, very few places are.
Overall
I liked SL Toronto. There are so many things right about this hotelbut it feels too familiar because we live in Asia and frequent SL Tokyo often enough. Not the hotel's fault that we're lucky enough to be at its sister hotel. I would definitely recommend it as a luxury hotel option in Toronto. You're in the middle of everything and got a lot of good Asian inspired touchesto pamper you with.
Oct 6, 2015, 4:27 pm
Oct 6, 2015, 6:46 pm
It's right across the street from PH. PH rooms are in need of an implosion. The bathrooms and the furniture are horrendous. Views are great of the city from the South tower. Location is also fabulous for Yorkville. Breakfast at Annona is good. However, I wouldn't pay more than $200/nt to stay there based on the horrible hard product alone.
IMO FS has best hard product and service in Yorkville area for the standard high rise hotel. Shangri-La has nice hard product and great restaurants. I don't like the location on University Ave though... I like the rooms at RC and it's great if you are attending concert at Roy Thompson Hall.
In short, it depends on how long you're staying and what kind of hotel you are looking for (boutique vs standard high rise)
Great improvement in hotels for Toronto in the past few years...
Oct 6, 2015, 8:12 pm
It's right across the street from PH. PH rooms are in need of an implosion. The bathrooms and the furniture are horrendous. Views are great of the city from the South tower. Location is also fabulous for Yorkville. Breakfast at Annona is good. However, I wouldn't pay more than $200/nt to stay there based on the horrible hard product alone.