Dec 28

Dec 28 Sheraton Toronto Downtown Review - A Hotel (mostly) Reborn

What is the best hotel in Toronto? Well, one needs to define what “best” means: one common criteria is “the best money can buy”. And for that, Toronto has many options, including the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, or boutiques like the Hazelton. But another definition could be a solid place to stay for a reasonable price, and that is what I believe the Sheraton Downtown is, particularly at a price point of ~$225 a night. It’s recent renovations combined with it’s unbeatable location and great elite treatment, make it a solid place to stay in Toronto.

Overview

Brand: Marriott has over 30 brands, and Sheraton is simultaneously one of it’s oldest and youngest. You see, Starwood actually purchased Sheraton (which traces it’s roots back to the 1930’s), but Marriott only purchased Starwood in 2016, making it one of Marriott’s youngest. Marriott tends to call it a “Premium” brand, but in my mind it has lost it’s identity beyond being a generic businessman type hotel which targets generic consultants much like myself. Marriott has indeed sought to spruce it up, and launched new initiatives in 2018 and 2021 to bring it into the 21st century. The Sheraton Toronto has thankfully taken this to heart.

The Entrance

Location: The hotel is located steps away from the subway, Eaton Center (Toronto’s most famous shopping mall), Nathan Phillips Square (a square) and an incredible professional services firm that I work at. There are a plethora of food options nearby, ranging from food trucks at the Square to takeout at shopping malls or even several steakhouses.

As of November 2021, the entrance to the hotel is still being constructed, which, as shown in the above picture, can mean navigating many cars to enter the hotel.

Thankfully, the lobby looks considerably more modern, although I can see why some would say almost sterile. Check in was friendly and competent, and after requesting an upgrade, I was indeed given a junior suite.

Much like many other tall buildings during these times, elevator capacity at the Sheraton Toronto is an issue, with people having to wait up to 5 minutes to get to their floor. About 2 minutes in, my friend and I realized that the room was on a higher floor, and so used a different set of elevators. Don’t make that mistake of not being able to count.

The Room

The 30 floor was recently renovated as well; however, I was as not a big fan of the carpet

I was kindly upgraded to a junior suite: the main difference between those and “proper” suites is that sometimes there is not an entirely separate living room (why someone would care is beyond me lol). Nick has written another review of a similar room, but with a larger living room. Beyond the space differential, there wasn’t that much difference between our experiences besides the fact he got food delivered and I microwaved chicken wings.

The one weird thing I’ve found about certain hotel suites, including this one, is the sheer number of chairs. Beyond the sofa, there were 3 other chairs in the room for a place that, theoretically, has a maximum capacity of 4 lol.

While there were no microwaves in the room, a nice lady at check-in made a note of my room, and one was promptly delivered within an hour. Which I used to heat up chicken wings lol.

No review would be complete without a bathroom review! This one was nice, if not a bit small. I also appreciate the amenities were from Pharmacopia, one of my favorite hotel brands: not sure if any of it works, but the bottle sure looks nice!

Similar to Nick’s review, I would say that this is a fairly solid place to stay for a couple days, and is not for example as baller as the Hotel Saskatchewan. What does separate it is the hotel’s lounge, which I recognize is not accessible to everyone. So, if unfortunately you don’t have status and / or an upgraded room, I would suggest you skip the next part of the review.

The Lounge - Wow

North American hotel lounges have bad reputations (or have been closed), with most just providing a few snacks and drinks at limited hours to fulfill their contract obligations with their parent hotel brand. The Sheraton Toronto has, thankfully, shattered that expectation.

The lounge’s new, modern style reflect what I think the Sheraton is trying to become: the affordable yet forward thinking place to do business.

Another thing that stood out was the quality of the food, which far exceeded I would say any lounge I’ve been in in North America. To mitigate that, the hotel has put out small plates, but I mean anyone with no shame like myself can keep going back…so you can definitely have dinner here. While the lounge is open for 6:30 - 10PM, note that evening food is only served from 5-8pm, and breakfast from 6-10am.

Here’s a more dignified version of the food, and note that servers did kindly bring us proper silverware.

I went back for breakfast the next morning, and was still impressed by both the selection and quality of food. The only extremely minor issue was that the sausages provided were a bit dry, but that is 100% “first world problems”.

The final thing I will say is the level of service, which was fantastic. Despite the tough time the restaurant and hospitality industry has had, the Sheraton has hired some wonderfully enthusiastic people manning the lounge and location. From offering me water bottles to proactively recommending me pairing different pieces of food, the Sheraton Toronto team was amazing and absolutely “Canada nice”.

The View and Other Amenities

One of the best amenities at the Sheraton Toronto is the unobstructed view of some of Toronto’s most prominent landmarks, as well as the view of my office.

The hotel is close enough, but also far away enough, from downtown’s core office district to provide those unparalleled views. However, a new tower is being built directly opposite of the Sheraton (Scotiabank), which may obstruct it a bit.

The hotel contains other important amenities for a hotel, including a swimming pool, fitness center, spa. It also does contain it’s own waterfall garden, but given the low temperatures I chose not to venture there.

Final Thoughts

The Sheraton has transformed itself into a real competitor in the Toronto Business Hotel space, offering travelers a fantastic in hotel experience and unbeatable access to Downtown Toronto. While it will still need a few months to finalize its renovations, I can confidently say I would stay again if I didn’t need to review other hotels. The easy part is always the physical renovations - the hard part is the service and people, who at the Sheraton have done a great job. When travel resumes next summer, do consider the Sheraton for your Toronto getaway!