Given I am about to become a poor student, I have decided that there will be no more Ritz Carltons (for now), and more of Residence Inns. As an all suite hotel, Residence Inns seek to replicate “home”, and typically have things like kitchens and separate bedrooms and living rooms (although not always). For a trip back “home” to Toronto, I stayed at the Residence Inn Toronto Downtown Entertainment District. The hotel advertises itself as a 3 star hotel, and I think it certainly delivered on that.

One thing to note: the Residence Inn Toronto Downtown Entertainment District is actually in a slightly quieter (in terms of activities) place, while at the same time being near lots of traffic and building. I wouldn’t suggest this place as a first time visitor of Toronto; instead, it would be at a place closer to a subway station.

Check In

The hotel from the outside reminded me of a generic business hotel, similar to the Westin Wall Centre that my co-author stayed at. Not that it’s a bad thing: as a flight attendant or consultant after a long day, consistency is probably a good thing.

Check in was a switch affair, with the associate informing that I had been proactively upgraded to a 1 bdr suite given my titanium status. They also offered a welcome gift of points and something from the store, and I chose the points.

Furthermore, I was informed of the complimentary breakfast offering for all, and told it was better to come earlier rather than later for the food. Thankfully, at least when I stayed for the weekend, breakfast wasn’t too busy at 10am.

The lobby contained plenty of seating, as well as a bar that contained (Canadian!) drink pricing. It was surprisingly spacious, and during my weekend there I didn’t see any issues with seating.

One small thing was that for a hotel this size, the elevators seemed to always be in use. So if you’re rushing somewhere, just be aware that it might take a couple minutes to use the elevators.

The Room

I got offered a 1 Bedroom Suite on the 15th floor - note that this is an actual suite as there are doors separating the bedroom and living room. Seriously, I didn’t realize how big of a thing this was until I lived in a studio.

The hallways were generic, but I did appreciate the giant sign telling me what floor I was on.

Because of how the hotel was designed and the size of each room, each floor was actually a lot smaller than it looked from the outside. I think there was around ~15 rooms on each floor.

The 550 sq ft room was split into 4 main parts: a kitchenette (which I have no idea what to do with), an adjoined living room, a separate bedroom and separate bathroom. Walking in, there was a useful sitting desk that was actually practical (cough JW Marriott Vancouver).

No wallet and phone charger not included. What I also found funny was that there was a $3 charge to take any of the water - Canada has incredible, free tap water. Next to it was a couch that faced…the kitchen. Not entirely sure why, but okay.

This was funny because the TV was actually located near the bedroom, so one would need to crane their head to actually watch TV.

The kitchenette seemed like it had all the necessary equipment to cook stuff - the only thing I used was the fridge.

Moving onto the bedroom, I was actually surprised at how small this was compared to the kitchen / living through.

Though this may have been because the centerpiece the room was a massive king bed that was comfortable.

There were nightstands, which surprisingly didn’t have charging outlets, and table lights. To round out the room, there was a small desk that I couldn’t figure out how to use.

Finally, we move onto the washroom. I was a tad disappointed to see bottled toiletries, but I suppose that was good for the environment.

However, I did quite enjoy the bathtub, especially since my current living arrangements preclude from accessing one.

Overall, the room was a solid, but not over the top place to stay, and I could definitely see a couple or family enjoying their time here while exploring Toronto.

Amenities

As mentioned earlier, Residence Inn’s try to be more “homely” than other hotels (as Residences), and part of this attraction is having free hotel breakfast for all guests. There’s a wide variation in terms of hotel breakfasts (cough certain places that just give cold food and call it a day), but I was pleased by the Residence Inn Toronto Downtown’s offerings. On the cold food side, there was a variety of different fruits, cereals, hardboiled eggs and one type of yogurt.

The hot food side stood out, and I remember it tasted even better than the food at the Bellevue Seattle Marriott (take that America!).

All jokes aside, I did want to address how great the staff were at the Residence Inn - they managed to be proactive in cleaning / offering drinks, yet not so much that they were annoying.

The Residence Inn actually dedicated a whole floor to their amenities, which I applaud them for doing so.

There was a business center that had most of the basics (computer, printer, fax), and was a great place to take calls from.

This was surprisingly located next to the pool - the pool was pretty big, and included a hot tub.

As you can see, literally right next to that was the gym. Which TBH was a pretty convenient setup, as you could set up a computer in the business center, and use Bluetooth to dial into conference calls.

The gym itself was nothing special, but serviceable.

Finally, there were conference rooms dotted across this floor - I didn’t get a look into them, but I imagine they’re similar to most around the world.

The Point

In the post pandemic travel era, hotels are struggling with accommodating guests, and even delivering on the basics. The Residence Inn Toronto Downtown satisfyingly delivered on everything that was promised: a good location in the Entertainment District, a large and clean suite, good breakfast and facilities. And while it’s certainty no Ritz Carlton, I would recommend the hotel, especially for a family / larger party.