I noticed the change - feeble offerings - at a stay a couple weeks ago. I arrived fairly late, so I just figured everything was eaten and it wasn't being restocked so near to closing time. I also noticed the lounge attendant helping himself to a huge plate of what remained - which I thought was kind of tacky, even though the place was near empty.

I have had issues with the property in the past, and thought I'd give it another try. So the lounge situation was a huge disappointment. Even more so now that I learn it is a deliberate decision to downgrade.

So it's back to the King Eddy in a week or so, where service remains top notch.

Cheers,

Thankfully I read this thread before deciding on a last-minute trip to Toronto Saturday night. I was about to book the Sheraton for a last minute rate and after FT, switched to the King Edward for just 20 bucks more.

The last time I stayed at the Sheraton, the bathroom was dreadful but worse, the plugs in the wall by the desk were literally hanging out. When I called maintenance, they simply shrugged. I think management is poor and staff reflect that.

Sheraton Centre Toronto
 

I stay @ this property often, and I am surprised by some of the criticism.

Agree that the KE is better, but effective July 17, it is no longer SPG.

That leaves 2 Starwood properties in the downtown core, and the Sheraton is the only one with a lounge. The exercise area is quite good, just renovated, and the indoor/outdoor pool is the best in downtown TO.

Agree that the quality of the lounge food has declined, but compared to what? I have had worse at Sheratons in San Juan, Atlanta, & NYC. The lounge staff are great.

For those who value their SPG stays (as I do), they are currently running a Canada Day promo for stays through August 6. Rate is $135:
http://www.starwoodpromos.com/canadaday/

Note that SPG stays credit with an additional 1,000 SPG points for staying at a recently renovated property!

Did not know that! I have a one-night stay at eddy, checking in on the 17th. I hope this counts as a SPG stay or I'm moving somewhere else!

The one thing Sheraton (and Westin) >>> LM King Eddy is the green choice. It's like a plat amenity for every night of your stay :)

So while I didn't stay at the hotel, I did have food at the restaurant (Bistro on Two). Had drinks with a few people late one night. Looked at the bill the next day and realized that they had charged me for a drink that we ordered but they never served (they ran out). Went back there and spoke to the manager(s) and both were very nice. Since crediting my card would be hassle (and I wasn't staying at the hotel so they couldn't just put the money back on the bill), the manager offered me a complimentary lunch which was worth about 3 times the missing drink. The manager even came by while I was having lunch and chatted about football, and was all around fantastic.
I can't tell if they were all so nice because they work hard at it, or because they are canadian. :D

With the loss of the King Eddy, I've been back twice recently, and I must say I received good Plat treatment and everything was just dandy. Not to mention the scenery around the pool:cool:

I still think the lounge fare isn't as excellent as it used to be (the lounge service was as mediocre as always) and this property is still as busy as ever; but all in all I felt I got good value and have no hesitation in coming back.

If nothing else, I come away with the sense they are at least trying harder.

Cheers,

That was my impression too on my recent visit from earlier this month. Definitely trying harder although they may have the odd service lapses.

Sheraton hasn't turned on the heaters yet even though Toronto got cold real fast. Freezing in the room right now!

That's OK because they don't turn on the air conditioning until late June. Usually about 4 to 6 weeks after Toronto starts experiencing 30 degree Centigrade on a regular basis.

The hotels continued overwhelming cheapness at the expense of basic guest comfort is one reason I hate staying there. It really is a substandard property in many ways, and complete indifference to guest comfort is a big indication of that.

Well, update to this. As of Nov 4th, the air conditioning is turned off. Which means that the entire hotel has the pleasure of sleeping in 23 degree C. Such Fun!

I hate this hotel. I hate this hotel. I hate this hotel. I have never experienced any other hotel which is so overwhelmingly cheap that they turn off the heat/air conditioning to save a few pennies at the expense of basic guest comfort. I have stayed at places that are far less expensive and far more basic (the joys of traveling eternally for work!) and they arent this bad. What are they thinking?

Anyway, anybody have the email for the GM?

Open the window for crying out loud (and they do open in the rooms I've had there). It's going to be -3C tonight!

I would assume they probably have switched to heat, the HVAC system in this hotel uses boilers/chillers in the basement. Therefore it can only operate in a single mode (either heat or cool only - not simultaneously).

Having said that, does it seem more disappointing when you learn this is a Starwood Corporate owned hotel? ;)

Stayed at this property over the summer, and I thought the hotel has something good though like most of the comments here, lots of bad stuff to write about.

The good parts are the location, which is beside a subway so it is convenient for tourists. It is also walking distance to shopping downtown (or only one tram stop away). The club lounge is also one of the nicest, large and well furnished, with great views of downtown Toronto.

But the club lounge is also what fails the hotel miserably. The breakfast and the evening snacks is not on par to the one even offered by Sheraton Hamilton or Bellevue. Totally ridiculous offerings by the club lounge. At times they don't even have mineral water stocked on the lounge! The sheer size of the hotel is another drawback, and the rooms are indeed on the older side, requiring some refurbishment.

Well, since the temperature has been near freezing, with snow flurries in recent days, I would HOPE the air conditioning is turned off! :p

Cheers,

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9700; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.666 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

I agree that these rooms are sometimes too hot. I need a cold room and usually request one ahead of time or at least ensure I can open a window and let the cold air in