Overview

A friend and I were discussing the fun that was Investment Banking and Consulting recruitment the other day, and it turns out we’ve both stayed at the One King West before (likely because we interviewed for the same company! This self proclaimed “acclaimed boutique hotel” is located steps away from all of Canada’s major financial institutions and professional services firms, which explains its target market of business travelers. Another interesting factoid is that this hotel is actually a hotel and residence: individuals / corporations own suites, but can place them into the hotel “pool” for rent or utilize them.

Location and Checkin

One King West, guess what, is located at One King West in Toronto. Brilliant, I know, but a lifesaver for the directionally challenged like myself. The area is close to many tourist attractions as well, including Eaton Center, Hockey Hall of Fame, Waterfront Toronto, as well as many (expensive) restaurants and bars. The hotel has 2 main entrances, one on aptly named King St W and the other on Melinda St, an alleyway that boards a subway.

One thing to bear in mind as I walk through this review is that One King West is cramped. The hotel advertises this as a great thing, claiming “boasts the most slender height to width ratio in the world”. This doesn’t matter much to a single guy and his suitcase, but this can certainly be an issue for a couple or a family. On the other hand, the hotel does take its motif of “former bank building” quite elegantly.

While the ground floor conference rooms were closed to outsiders, past experiences have shown that the conference rooms were great places to host events (like conferences lol), or to taste test home bottled wine with the conference’s organizers.

The lobby was quite tasteful, and included plenty of seating.

One King West bills itself as a 4 star hotel, which sort of is nebulous given there’s very little agreement on what it actually is. That being said, the service here was quite good. I arrived a couple hours before my 3pm check in time: the associate who checked me informed me that the hotel was out of rooms, but would call me if one became early. This promptly happened an hour later, and after going through the hotel’s contact tracing mechanisms, I received my room key.

I got a small, complementary upgrade from my Historic Studio Suite to one on a higher floor without asking, which was a nice gesture. The actual room was through the doors behind the front desk, and note that One King West is actually split into two: the 12 story historical suites (one of Canada’s first “skyscrapers), and the Tower Suites, which are actually in a substantially taller skyscraper.

Now, I am a sucker for dark / light contrasts and elegant colors, so I was definitely pleased with One King West’s format.

However, I did find the hallways a bit dimly lit - perhaps this was an idea to make it more of a “boutiquey” feel. Also, the carpet did not, in my humble opinion, fit in with the place.

The Room

Up entering into the room, I was greeted by a modern, very well stocked, kitchenette. One King West likes to advertise that all of its rooms are “suites”, which is why this was included. The amount of space for a 359 sqft room surprised me, although I can thank the designer (as well as a notable design flaw) for this.

I did put the wine glasses and fridge to good use though! Although not the other pieces of equipment.

One thing I know Ricky likes to harp on is that most higher end hotels should have a proper expresso machine. However, I found the coffee acceptable.

Besides the well equipped kitchenette, there was also a reasonably sized desk that I worked at for a few hours.

Along with another chair, for those who like to stare at themselves or their travel companions while working.

Moving on, we have the king bed - no complaints here!

There was also a TV in the room, which wasn’t turn on with my name as I am used to in high end hotels (JK, that only works for Marriott ones).

Finally, we have the bathroom.

Even though the website description said 1 bath, a design choice was made for it to not actually have a bathtub. Something to watch out for.

I did however, enjoy the toiletries while taking my non-existent bath.

Amenties

The Gym was…closed. The restaurant was also closed…given it was the weekend. That being said, the bar was open. So marks docked there. However, there were a few cool things that still were open. One was the view from the top of the tower - it’s definitely quite fun exploring Toronto from the center, and seeing all the buildings that one could have worked in.

In another time, the One King West hotel was also home to many different conferences - the bank style décor carried over to their main conference rooms and ball rooms this room was aptly called the “Chairman’s Boardroom”.

Another place to hold a potential gather could be in the “bank vault” of the building on the lower levels. There appeared to be some sort of romantic celebration, judging by the number of flowers and candles.

Besides the vault is another secret pathway, commonly known as the Path. This is Toronto’s underground “superhighway” that connects it’s downtown core. I also lived in the Path for 4 months during my Investment Banking internship - cannot always recommend but made good money and great skillset. The Path leads out to Commerce Court, or the soon to be moved CIBC buildings.

The Point

The main point against the hotel is how most of the amenities, such as the gym, pool, dining, have reduced hours or are outright closed. However, I do believe that prices have adjusted based on this, and so are actually quite reasonable (cheaper than some 3 star options I viewed in Toronto!). I enjoyed both the impressive design and decor, as well as the thought that went into even my modest studio suite: one could enjoy either a short and long term stay. Great place to stay given the price, although past say $250 a night, I would seek out other options.