Review Novotel Toronto Centre
Introduction The central location of the hotel is convenient if you want to stay downtown.I stayed there for 1 night. Booked Executive room and was upgraded to Signature suite (next category). What a name for something very average... Check In Two days prior to my stay, I received an e-mail for e-standby upgrades proposing me an upgrade for free to the junior suite (platinum upgrade). I followed the process and received instantly a confirmation that my demand was taken into account and that it will be confirmed at check-in whether my upgrade was granted or not. The upgrade was indeed granted, but not a word was said by the clerk at check-in outside "you are staying with us for 1 night, right ?" and "your room is number XXX, and the lifts are on the left". So very robotic, "minimum syndical" as we say in French. You discover if you are upgraded or not opening your room door. Room The room was very dark because you are just under the top of some arcades on the street (see picture). So it was OK for one night, but I wouldn't stay in such a room for several days. On top of that, very poor soundproofing inside (I heard very well at 6 am the neighbour taking his/her shower) and outside (street noise). There is a Nespresso machine in room. Bathroom was the best part of the room !The room was on the 2nd floor, where the meeting rooms are. Corridors give the feeling of an average hotel (dated). Same for the room : they call that a "suite" because there is a kind of small "corner" at the entrance of the room where they have put a table and 3 armchairs, but this is not a separate room. Five min after I arrived, they bring in my room a bottle of water and a small cake + an envelope containing a welcome message from the GM and the drink voucher. Dining The bar/restaurant area is pleasant and the barman was very nice. Drink voucher can be used for soft drinks, beer and wine. I took a glass of wine and he made me choose among their full list of wines-by-the-glass of their regular menu. Overall Overall, not a bad stay, but a lot of room for improvement. And the weaknesses of the building and the hotel design will be hard to solve, even after a renovation.