FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - TownePlace Suites Mississauga Toronto Airport Corporate Centre [Master Thread]
Old Apr 2, 2019, 9:46 am
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escape4
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
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TownePlace Suites Mississauga Toronto Airport Corporate Centre [Master Thread]

Introduction I have tried various hotels around Toronto Pearson airport in the past and recently I had a couple of stays at TownePlace Suites to compare. I was underwhelmed and I am unlikely to return. Location Once I arrived at the airport I contacted the hotel at 8:30pm via the chat feature. They responded that the shuttle bus leaves the hotel every hour so they would pick me up around 9:15pm. The bus did not show up until 9:45pm and since the hotel is not that close to the airport, I only arrived at the hotel at almost 10pm. They did not have any explanation other than “there were delays dropping off guests at departures” and were adamant that the bus left the hotel at 9pm as scheduled, which was hard to believe. The return back from the hotel to the airport was smoother because we could book a spot at the hour that was most convenient for us, but to be honest an airport hotel with service only every hour is not sufficient and if some other unforeseen events occur, it can result in an unreasonably long wait. As per TPS brand standards, the hotel is most suitable for longer stays for example if attending a conference so perhaps at the risk of stating the obvious, it might not be the best choice for an overnight from the airport. Despite the generally lower price tag relative to other hotels close to YYZ, I do not recommend it. Room For my most recent stay I booked the entry level room “studio 1 king, sofa bed” and did not receive any upgrade as Marriott Ambassador despite seeing other room types available at time of check-in. This was somewhat surprising given that on my previous stay one month earlier I was upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite so the hotel is not always stingy with elite status upgrades. Nevertheless, for an overnight I did not mind at all so I did not even ask for an upgrade; however I note it here for the benefits of those considering to book at this hotel who want to assess their odds of upgrades. Higher room categories such as the 1-bdr suite or 2-bdr suite sell for a modest premium over the basic room type so it might be attractive to some guests wishing to guarantee a bigger room rather than roll the dice hoping for an upgrade.The room itself was generally in good shape. It has a convenient kitchen and I found the bed comfortable. The hotel only has 3 floors and is very expansive; we were on the top floor so nobody above us and we had a quiet night. Dining I am not a regular of the TownePlace Suites brand – I only stayed once before, in a TPS in the Ottawa region. Back then I was shocked at how bad breakfast was so my expectations for the same brand but different city were quite low. Breakfast was better in TPS YYZ but not by much. There were no fruits besides uncut apples which is in stark contrast with other hotel brands. They had yogurt, cereals, bread, bagels, muffins, oatmeal, and two hot dishes, neither of which looked very attractive and I did not try (pancake-looking omelets and pork sausages). Service Given the shuttle bus situation and it is hard to give a good mark to the hotel for service, but to be fair they apologized for the delay and proactively offered us a couple of frozen meals to bring to our room as compensation without me asking for anything. However the service issues did not stop there. We had the do not disturb sign on the door and twice someone from staff came knocking on the door in the morning. The second time the housekeeping lady told us that we had to check out at noon which was simply not the case and it should have been clear to the hotel that we were checking out at 2pm since that is the time we had booked for the shuttle bus to go back to the airport so there was a lack of communication between reception and housekeeping. Overall Overall the hotel is ok if all you need is a room to sleep, and you will save a few dollars by staying there compared to alternatives closer to the airport such as Westin, Sheraton, etc. The problem is that for most dates I do not think the price difference is large enough to make up for the negatives. Any traveler who value convenience for an overnight might be better off paying more for another hotel closer to the airport. For travelers on a tight budget who do not mind staying a bit farther from the airport, instead of TPS I generally prefer the Double Tree Toronto Airport West. The DT YYZ West shuttle is every 40 minutes so not as bad as TPS, also the DT has an executive lounge, and breakfast in the restaurant is worlds better than TPS (free for Hilton Diamond guests). For people who need a kitchen for a longer stay, even then I would still not recommend TPS. Only 0.6km from TPS there is a Homewood Suites that also has a kitchen in all rooms and when I stayed there I got a very generous upgrade of a 2-bedroom suite with 2 full bathrooms as a Diamond guest which was nicer than my room at TPS. Homewood Suites also has the evening manager reception with some appetizers plus the breakfast is also much better than TPS. So in conclusion while TPS YYZ might not be horrible on any individual metric, my takeaway is that we are more likely to get good value from other hotels regardless what matters most for individual needs.
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