May 12

May 12 Chelsea Hotel Canada Review - Old and silver (not gold)

During a work trip to Toronto, I saw a great deal on the Chelsea Hotels through Hotels.ca, and decided to snag it for a 3 day stay. Having lived in the area before, I was curious to see how this massive, older hotel that I walked past everyday was.

Overview

Built in 1975, the Chelsea Hotel actually has had a few name iterations over its time: it was originally part of the Delta Hotels Collection, which is now part of Marriott. However, as part of Delta’s effort to transform itself into a modern, upscale brand, the two parted ways in 2012. Indeed, the new Delta Toronto is still one of my favorite Toronto haunts, mainly due its generous upgrade policy and host to various ways for one to ingest alcohol (aka bars).

The Location and Entrance

Located at 33 Gerrard Street, the hotel gets high marks for convenience: it is 5 minutes away from Downtown Toronto’s major attractions, including Eaton Center, Toronto City Hall, the University of Toronto St. George Campus. And in case you ever get sick, Toronto General Hospital is also quite close. However, relative to the Sheraton Downtown Toronto, it is a bit further away from the major downtown offices.

In other times, there several different entrances to the hotel, although when I visited only the Gerrard street entrance was open for entry.

It was great to see the hotel get into full Christmas spirit though!

Check in was quick and efficient, and I was handed my room key and informed of the hotel’s changes. The pool (and apparently super awesome waterslide) was only open for specific hours, while the Adult-only Pool, Sun Deck, and Fitness Area were closed. Thankfully I wasn’t going to be in the hotel for a long time given I was having fun with powerpoint at my office, but this would be a point of concern for anyone booking a staycation.

The elevators were color coded - certain elevators can only access certain floors. I was fortunate up to be assigned a high floor room.

To be honest, I’ve never really liked this type of color palate and carpeting: either you go full on imperial like the Hotel Saskatchewan, or something a bit more modern like the Sheraton Toronto.

Upon opening the aforementioned door, I walked into the Chelsea Room, 1 Queen Bed that I reserve - RIP upgrades for just existing. I was greeted by…a chair. No idea why I would want to watch myself sleep but okay.

The bed next to it was comfortable, although funnily enough I’m used to, as a single AF guy, King Beds when travelling, so trying not to fall off a Double bed was a funny experience.

There was also a closet and nightstand, with the closet also having an iron and ironing board. For the first time in almost 1.5 years, I ironed a shirt using that equipment.

Note: there is a nice desk and standard coffee maker in the room, but in my haste I forgot to take pictures of it. Sorry. However, I took plenty of pictures of the bathroom! And bathtub - it was big enough for one adult human male that stood at 178cm.

A few other notable things about this room: 1. The rack rate was…$569, which at this time was more than 3X what I paid for the room. 2. The view, which was certainly better than looking at the rack rate, although I could spy my employer.

The Chelsea Hotel proudly boasts its capabilities in holding large events: this was put to good use in acting as an extension of the University of Toronto. Which actually makes a lot of sense, given student residences are not the most glamourous or spacious.

I strolled around the rest of the conference floor, and saw many other rooms that looked similar. However, I do think that the decor was a bit better looking, possibly due to the addition of the dark wood columns.

Final Thoughts

The Chelsea, when it opened in the 1970s, would have been the pinnacle of Toronto’s hotel industry. However, in the next 50 years, newer and better hotels has surpassed it. Accordingly, the Chelsea has adjusted its price points downwards, with rooms going for as little as $150 a night. Thus, while I can’t wholeheartedly endorse staying at the Chelsea, one should not look over this if the price point is right.