yyznomad

Hi. Native Torontonian here.

Yes, it is safe to walk from Union to the hotel. You also have the option of going into the Union subway station and taking the underground portion streetcar one station stop and then all you need to do is walk across the street from there. Walking is short and safe as well and I have done the walk from Union to the Westin Harbour often (various reasons - conventions, meetings, overnight stay when inebriated late night, etc.).

linire

Excellent, that's just what I wanted to find out. Looking forward to my first visit to Toronto! Thanks very much, yyznomad

yyznomad

Np, @linire!

As you can see with something like Google Maps, it's a relatively short walk to the hotel.
I'd only take the streetcar from Union Station for the one stop if its bad weather outside, as you'd have to pay the $3.25 fare. The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) works on a flat rate fare system regardless of distance.

BallardFlyer

BA_Jfan

What is Platinum treatment like here?

MyTravels

No lounge.
You can choose breakfast or 1,000 points.
Room upgrade (not suite, but didn't want or ask for one)
Only Apple computers in business area and printing wasn't working (boarding passes)

Flyaway

Will the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto accept a debit card for incidentals? Any idea how much they charge per night to cover incidental charges?

DELee

Uh, perhaps call them and ask?

David

ElevatorEnthusiast

LOL, I think I'm psychic. This place is OLD, and the aesthetics are giving 1970s chic.

But, guess what? It has the latest version of the Internet TV OS and what appears to be a very nice version of the Heavenly bed with a heavenly duvet.

Westin, you get me everytime :-)

ElevatorEnthusiast

Perhaps, it's my love for the Westin brand, but despite its dated aesthetics, I think the Westin Harbour Castle has been my favorite property in Canada so far. It gets everything right and will definitely be on my return list for the next time I visit Toronto.

I was upgraded the day before arrival to a Studio Suite (which is really just a corner room). No suite types were listed as available online on the day of arrival. My Studio Suite was on the 18th of 35 guest floors of the South Tower (the one with the restaurant on top and the one closer to the water). The room directly faces Lake Ontario and YTZ (watching the planes land is always fun). The exterior windows are very dirty, but I found the same at the STR and Ritz. Exterior noise did not pose a problem. Climate control also did a really good job in this room keeping things cool. The room is wedge-shaped but spacious with a work desk, a relatively comfortable lounger couch angled well for the TV, and a good amount of storage space. The TV was large and updated with the latest version of the Internet TV OS (the one that lists your actual status). The bed was a MASSIVE WINNER - perfect Heavenly bed with thick duvet and covers, two feather pillows and two non-feather pillows, and a lovely plush mattress topper. I loved this bed and slept very well. The bathroom was small but effective with a good amount of counter space, a nice manually-switched fan, and a shower-tub combination with great shower pressure and curved curtain rod for spaciousness. The aesthetics are dated, but I was very impressed with the cleanliness here.

Service was another big winner. Very nice check-in asking me about my trip, where I'm from, and refusing to not give me late checkout. They proactively asked "Do you need late checkout?". I said "No, Noon should be fine as my flight leaves at 4." They said "No, let's do 1 then." The security fellow who came up to fix my safe battery checked in on how my stay was going after I ran into him in the elevator. Service Express answered the phone and addressed me by name.

I very much appreciated the lovely set of welcome gifts from both the Front Office Director and Westin Experience Specialist - really tasty macarons, coconut-filled chocolates, and passion fruit white chocolates! What a nice dessert - I walked in on the server who delivered them, who was also very friendly.

Elite breakfast here is the full buffet in Mizzen. Food was tasty - nice soft pancakes, crispy bacon, good omelets made to order. Service was also good - my server brought me a to-go cup for coffee without asking and was very present checking in on me (though, he did offer me ketchup twice - perhaps, he was sponsored by ketchup). Love a good full breakfast!

Some recent reviews on TripAdvisor suggested elevator problems, but I didn't have any issue with the 5 elevators in the South Tower. I will say that my guest floor hallway smelled a bit like peanut butter.

Overall, this has been a fantastic stay and epitomizes everything I love about the Westin brand and tops it off with good service. I can't imagine coming to Toronto and not staying here for at least a night or two.

Duke787

Just completed a 2 day stay here. My SNAs actually cleared so I was bumped up to the same Studio Suite pictured above except on the 14th floor in the North Tower. Exact same layout and virtually identical view. Have the same positive things to say as the above with one major caveat -- I did experience the elevator problems cited on TA. They seem to be just for the North Tower though not the South Tower (I arrived early and they let me go up to the 5th floor pool/spa to relax and change and I used the South Elevators and had no problems at all).

However, when I arrived at the North elevators, 1/4 was out of service and by the time I left, 2/4 were out of service. That caused there to be at times a considerable line just to get on the elevator and then it proceeded to stop at every floor going up and down. I heard someone say to their colleague that at least the 1 had been out of service for weeks. Pretty ridiculous, that's something that needs to be addressed ASAP, you shouldn't have a line for the elevator going all the way down to the entrance of the hotel (fortunately on that occasion I was coming down, not going up)

ElevatorEnthusiast

Some photos of the room renovations they are starting in the South Tower, courtesy of the South Tower elevators - looks nice and extensive!

ElevatorEnthusiast

Another fantastic stay at the Westin Harbour Castle - this might be my favorite in Toronto - the people, the rooms, the aesthetics - here are my pros, cons, and photos:

Pros:

• Upgraded a few days in advance to the Portlands Suite, which is a "Crown Suite" in the North Tower, that used to be known as the Chairman Suite based on the room placard
  • When I checked in, I was offered an immediate Terrace Room or to wait for the suite - the suite was ready at 2:40 PM, so that was the right choice
  • Was asked to not take late checkout in exchange for the suite - as this was basically a penthouse-level upgrade, I graciously accepted (I was leaving post-breakfast anyway)
• Suite was well-designed with dark tones, a very comfortable couch, lots of windows, and beautiful light sculptures in the living room
• Beautiful views towards the South Tower and the sunrise over the Portlands to the east - corner windows also offer views towards the Royal York and Scotiabank Arena
• Bed was very comfortable - I had my best sleep yet this trip here from 10 PM to 6:40 AM straight - plush pillows, plush mattress, good covers (less thick than I remember, but still very effective)
• Internet TV OS is speedy and effective
• Much more updated bathrooms than the other rooms with a walk-in shower
• Shower pressure was pretty good - oddly, both the wand and rainfall head were active at all times, so I was getting water from a lot of directions - pretty relaxing
• Front desk service is great - very professional and one of the agents remembered me from my last stay and welcomed me back
• Delivered an absolutely amazing plate of twelve macarons and a box of salted caramel truffles (absolutely delicious)
• Elite welcome gift breakfast is the fantastic buffet in Mizzen - massive and tasty omelets, really tasty and soft pancakes, super crispy bacon, tasty smoked salmon
• Breakfast service is outstanding - incredibly personable, friendly, and prompt

Cons:

• None

Note that one of the four North Tower elevators was non-operable, but I had very little issue with waits despite the hotel hosting a conference. The rooftop restaurant in the South Tower has re-opened, which is new since my last stay. Renovations are beginning in the South Tower, which makes sense as I believe the North Tower is more updated after the flood in the last decade.

Overall, I will 100% return the next time I visit this amazing city - I really do love Toronto - what a great place!

Photos:

hsmall

My husband and I had a less wonderful experience. I am lifetime Gold, which I know is not really “elite”.

This hotel is sadly looking tired. For example the heater in our bathroom was damaged to the extent that the wiring was visible.

SOME service was good: for example the concierge was very helpful in arranging somewhere for us to eat on Christmas Day. BUT the service in Mizzen was not. We sat in an almost empty restaurant for breakfast a few days before Christmas.The one waiter ignored us for about five minutes and had to be summoned (I hate doing that but I wanted coffee!). He then abruptly took an order for coffee and then just as abruptly told us that the buffet (the only reason we had come) wasn’t available. We left and never came back. This lost the hotel several days of breakfast revenue. Also the coffee and snacks station was closed until the new year. I get that hotels may need to run down their offerings over the holiday period but they should say so when you book.

The view over the lake was nice. But it was exactly what was booked, on the tenth floor of the south tower. . I would have thought some sort of upgrade to a higher floor would have been nice considering that the hotel was not too busy (as was clear when there was fire alarm at 0400 when the temperature was -14 outside! (This of course is not the hotel’s fault.)

I will find somewhere else in Toronto next time.

Davevad

All else being equal, I'll generally choose a Westin over a Sheraton, but in Toronto my pick has always been the Sheraton on Queen St.

This Westin has a great lakefront location with all the Westin aesthetic benefits, but the Sheraton's lobby and club lounge are newly renovated, and it's closer proximity to restaurants & shopping make it the better pick in my mind. The Sheraton's club lounge has fantastic views with an excellent buffet breakfast and evening canapés.