Best Western Primrose Toronto closes suddenly
Effective May 8, the Best Western Primrose in downtown Toronto will be closed. All reservations have been cancelled and the property has been trying to contact all reservation holders to offer them the opportunity to transfer reservations to the neighboring Ramada Inn at a comparable cost.
This happened very suddenly and effects hundreds of reservations. Staff were first informed in early April that the hotel would be temporarily closed for renovations. The announcement of the hotel's acquisition by Knightstone Capital Management was made later via press release. The hotel will be transformed into a student residence. About half of the rooms had already been occupied by students. The location, although central to transportation, remains sketchy - drug dealers and prostitutes etc. Only stayed there once and was awakened by gunfire in the street below. Yikes. Pretty bad for Toronto the Good.
I noticed something odd going on with the property last August when they were selling rooms for the opening days of the PanAm games in July at $366 per night for a double room with a city view. I knew prices would escalate for the games but that was ridiculous. On a hunch, I booked the Games' opening Saturday night using points - only 16,000 (which gives you some idea of the quality to expect). Plans changed and I now have found much better quality accommodation on a regular basis at the Langham Group's Chelsea Hotel (highly recommended).
Two weeks ago, I was just about to cancel my reservation at the BW Primrose when I got a call from management offering to move me to the Ramada, where my rate would be $120 (reasonable since rates are now upwards of $250 at the Ramada during the Games) but not "free" based on Reward Points. I balked, since the "privilege" of being half-walked from that Best Western to that particular Ramada is a bit like being offered the express elevator to Hell and then having to pay for the ride - imo. Upshot - the room I was planning on cancelling anyway earned me 10,000 reward points as a settlement. Never take the first offer....