Quick update after staying at the Trump (?? not sure what it is called now until formally becoming the StR in September but it isn't the Trump.). If this hotel aspires to compete with the other luxury properties in Toronto, it has a long long way to go.
The good: hard product (rooms). The decor is very nice, and very non-Trump. Meaning no gold plating on everything in sight. Having said that, it is starting to wear somewhat, and some odd choices were made like painting walls dark instead of using wall paper. Which shows off every ding and dent to the drywall. Also, there are still some gaps to the Shangri-La in small ways: toiletries aren't as nice, things like a complimentary toothbrush (if you forgot yours) aren't included even in suites, the fit and finish in the bathrooms doesn't make as extensive a use of marble as other luxury properties, and overall the fit and finish in furniture, decor, and lighting is a step down. Think of it as halfway between the Westin and S-La/4S. The rooms (especially high floor suites) are very quiet though, which is nice. The spa was closed, so I can't comment there, but the gym is mediocre, and the pool and hot tub are nowhere near in the same league as the S-La.
Soft product has a long way to go. A long way. The food was, charitably, average. But honestly not good at all. That went for both breakfasts and dinners. Service was enthusiastic but not great. Markup on limos was high relative even to other higher end properties in Toronto. Concierge was OK. Nothing more. But I didn't really test him. Front desk was fine. Nothing special.
By whatever reasonable expectations you might have for the StR, a bunch of improvements on the service side need to be done. Some hard product issues are going to be tough to fix. There is a ton of rebranding to be done in the next month.
As is, if they keep pricing where it is ($500-ish CDN for a suite) it is a reasonable alternative to the Westin and Delta. Nothing more. If they price at 4S and S-La they have a lot to fix. So they are good value in that sense, and if you just care about room hard product it is a good product. But if you care about anything else the only way they could compete is with either significant improvements or much lower pricing.