FlyinHawaiian

Updating this thread with our "meh" experience this past weekend.

+1 is Gold and the rate was about $40 CAD cheaper than the nearby Marriott so we decided to give this property a try. Using the mobile app, were given a few room options in the Southern wing of the hotel, mostly facing West. We decided to try the end (xx11) room of the wing as it juts out from the property and has no neighbors on three sides (the bay window faces Eaton Centre) in the hopes that it would be quiet, which is was. We asked about an upgrade at check-in (almost 1 am) but was told there were none available.

As mentioned above, the rooms are on the small side and I think the xx11 rooms are slightly smaller. We had a comfortable king bed with a small sitting chair. There was a small fridge in the dresser unit, along with a mini-safe and some drawers. We were given two bottles of water each day. The bathroom was also small but the shower pumped out an impressive, fire-hose level of water.

Our main pet peeve is related to Hilton's inability to request and honor feather-free bedding on reservations. We called down to request at least one foam pillow and after about a 10 min wait, the night clerk came to our room and handed us the only extra pillow he could find and after inspecting it, it clearly said it was a down pillow. He claimed there weren't any foam pillows on the property and handed us some blankets and pillowcases and suggested we use them to make makeshift pillows. We asked again at the desk on our way out in the morning but they were also unable to find any, so MacGyvered pillow it was for the rest of the stay.

Our room had a motel-style through the wall a/c unit under the bay window, placing right next to the bed, which is somewhat annoying as it turns on and off during the night.

Another annoyance was the spotty WiFi in our room; it was almost impossible to stay connected unless you were standing right by the window. The signal was much more solid in the lobby and restaurant, so I suspect being at the end of the wing had something to do with it.

The Gold breakfast coupon is stamped with an upgrade to the full, hot buffet which was pretty nice. There was a wide selection of fruits, breads, eggs (scrambled, hard-boiled, and made to order), sausage and bacon (but not peameal, strangely) pancakes or french toast, oatmeal, and cold cereals. We didn't have any issue with the food quality or service.

The location was convenient for us and we walked to St. Lawrence Market one day and Kensington Market another. Both were about 15-20 min walks. We also took advantage of the $11.50 CAD transit day pass and used the subway and streetcars to get around. We also used the subway and Rocket Bus combo to get to YYZ and it was pretty painless.

There are some nice Japanese foodie places in the immediate area, including Sansotei Ramen and Uncle Tetsu (cheesecake), both with long lines. On the second floor of the hotel is high end Chinese restaurant Lah Wai Heen, where we had a very nice (but expensive) dim sum lunch.

We weren't too impressed with the front desk and their friendliness. Overall, they didn't seem too engaged. No real attempt to offer an upgrade at checkin, no additional effort to locate a foam pillow for us, and just a curt. one word of "thanks" when checking out (they probably saved themselves an earful, though).

Overall, we'd probably look at the mainline Hilton or one of the Marriotts for our next stay in Toronto.