Hotel4Real!

The W Toronto was kind of Marriott’s newest entry into the downtown Toronto market, but not necessarily – the history of the hotel can be traced back to the Yorkville Marriott, which had been a part of Marriott’s Toronto footprint since way back when. However, for anyone who did not have this prior knowledge, you’re in for a treat because the transition was absolutely remarkable. Everything was brought up a couple notches and the added W touches definitely made the best of this older building.

The location of the hotel, just like anywhere in downtown Toronto, was not exactly car-friendly. I had an awful time navigating around the area in and out of standstill traffic, and ended up returning my rental car early to keep my sanity intact. Thankfully Avis is just downstairs from the hotel.

During my first stay, we had a one-bedroom suite at check-in. The suite itself was great, very roomy, and again compared to the Yorkville Marriott, the renovation did wonders, although not exactly over-the-top glamorous like some Ws try to be – in fact it was probably the most conservative W rooms I’ve ever been in. The only thing that reminded me of the older building was the lower ceiling, but unless you’re Shaq or Yao Ming it wouldn’t be too much of a real issue.

The hotel had a studio suite set aside for me for my second stay. While I really appreciate the gesture and the de facto upgrade, there was a immediate sense of claustrophobia as soon as I walked in. Turning the lights on help a little, but as I sat down and tried to get used to the feeling it became worse. Comparing the photos, I can’t help but notice the studios have a much darker overall feel to them, and even though I couldn’t pinpoint on what exactly caused such a strong reaction from my part, I reckon the dark blue colour scheme and the lack of a second window in a long “strip”-shaped room didn’t help.

All being said, I truly believe the most valuable part of the entire hotel is the team. For my first stay, I booked the hotel as a part of my friend’s birthday celebration, and my Insider Kurtis jumped into action and went above and beyond – he pre-upgraded my stay and sent up a birthday card, a lovely dessert plate wrapped inside a chocolate ball, as well as a bottle of Prosecco to go with it.

My second stay was a similar occasion, and I was pre-upgraded again with no questions asked, although I didn’t super like the upgraded studio (see previous remarks). Thankfully, I had the pleasure this time to have Ruben at the front desk help me with my check-in, and even though it was the end of his shift, the second I mentioned to him that I didn’t like the room, I was not met with dismissal or half-hearted apologies – instead, Ruben SPRUNG into action, ran up and down the hotel to show me different room options and made sure my concerns with the original room were all accounted for. I can honestly say that Ruben single-handedly turned the supposedly “low” point of the stay into a complete highlight for me. This level of hospitality is extremely rare to find in North America, and occasions like this always remind me that the Marriott Bonvoy program is still a very powerful program compared to most competitors.

The hotel’s main restaurant was on the street level, and we decided to have breakfast there the next morning. The food was great, although pricing was reflective of the W norm and not in a good way. Thankfully, our elite breakfast voucher had no limit like some hotels do nowadays, and our server didn’t charge us for the third person either. Another happy day as a Titanium!

Overall I think the W is a good complement to Marriott’s portfolio in Toronto, especially considering the lack of interesting luxury Marriott properties in Canada in general. Whether or not the hard product is worth the $500+ price tag in low seasons is up for debates, but the W Insiders and Welcome Desk team is above and beyond what I expect for any non-Ritz-level property in North America.

RealScore

Service: 9.5

Design and Room Size: 9.5

In-room Amenities: 8

Bathroom Size and Layout: 10

View from (my) Room: 3

Hotel Location: 10

Available Guest Facilities: 10

Food Quality: 9

Food and Beverage Service: 7

Executive Lounge Quality: N/A

Final RealScore: 8.62

Final RealRating: AAA

Hotel is built/opened: 1976

Total number of rooms: 254

Length of stay: 2 nights

Membership level at check-in: Titanium

Room types experienced: Studio Suite / One-bedroom Suite