I spent about 36 hours in Toronto this past weekend visiting friends, which was my first time spending a night in the city. In the past I’ve visited the city for an afternoon during a long layover, and I’ve spent the night near the airport, but I’ve never spent a night in the city.
Continue reading: Review: Park Hyatt Toronto
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
You should check out the Delta Downtown next time, near the Rogers Centre. Now that is a beautiful hotel.
I really have three preferred hotels for Toronto, each for a different type of stay. The Park Hyatt is for when I want a quiet and removed hotel. While still in the city, it is just slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. My prime go-to is the Intercontinental Toronto Centre, great facility, and just a block to Union Station makes it easy to get anywhere. My third hotel is the Courtyard on Yonge street for when I want to be in the center of the action, and it is only a block from the Village for enjoying the nightlife.
The hotel's location is solid, but you missed out on the unrenovated rooms-- they're not so timeless.
I've stayed at Trump Toronto once at a low rate. Room was not "huge", but the service and details are "tremendous".
Ugh. The Park Hyatt! I'm not sure what you mean by "amazing hotel market" - maybe volume of hotels? Toronto has a Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-la, the flagship Four Seasons (their HQ is in Toronto) and a Thompson as well as several funky boutique hotels such as the Drake, the Gladstone and Le Germain among many others. If you're looking for mid-level brands, there's a brand new Delta near the waterfront and a (relatively) newly renovated Hilton. The Sheraton and Westin are both a bit tired, but even still, the Park Hyatt is pretty much the last hotel I'd recommend to someone staying in Toronto. I'm sorry you stayed there! But, I hope you had a nice time in our city anyway.
Not too sure I'd say that Toronto doesn't have a good hotel market. There is the Shangri La, the Ritz Carlton, Trump (shame about the name, but a good hotel) and the flagship Four Seasons. All are less than six years old. The Park Hyatt is the last place I would have checked in.
Damn...I wish this would have been a review of one of the un-renovated rooms. I need to go to Toronto for work, and I've been struggling with options. I'm actually not making the trip until I figure out where we're going to stay (lol) and this was high on the list. If you haven't already, the Park Hyatt Hamburg is what I would consider a timeless Park Hyatt. The tv's are old (but were at one time very nice Bang & Olufsen units), but everything else was fabulous.
Have a theory on the "bellman issue" - Toronto is really struggling with the Taxi vs Uber scene and back in the day many taxis around hotels would pay a small "fee" to the hotel/concierge/bellman for picking up passengers at the hotel door. Now that uber has pretty much cornered that market, bellmen seem less inclined to lay out the red carpet service, especially when they see an uber car pull up, especially the uberx's.
I have noticed this in many Canadian cities struggling with uber takeover. Again, just a theory...
You missed the rooftop cocktail lounge. A truly lovely place to have a drink and take in the view of downtown. And virtually every movie star has been there during the film festival, if you're into that sort of thing. If the front desk didn't suggest you visit the lounge, then shame on them.
The neighborhood is good, it's Yorkville. It's not too far of a walk from Dundas Square either.
In terms of the hotel market, like others have said, there are quite a few nice and new hotels in Toronto. Park Hyatt is indeed one of the more dated choices (which is why the price point is so low).
you were lucky they put you in the north tower. the south tower is basically a different hotel and is extremely older and not even comparable
I'd rather have a regular room in the north tower than a suite in the south tower
"The bathroom featured a sink, toilet, and then a walk-in shower." - groundbreaking journalism right there.
"Toilet was to the right of the sink" - oh my heavens, it really would have been unacceptable if it was at the left!
Lets spend less time on hotel minutia and just leave these reviews to tripadvisor.
lol... ^ this guy... Kev I actually come here to find hotel reviews before I book in cities where I know he's been. Similar to yelp, I find the caliber of reviewers on tripadvisor to often be less than stellar.
Ok, ok, so "Kev" indeed does win my Best Post of the Day Prize. He was joking, right?
The best things about the Park Hyatt are the rooftop bar (a regular hangout for lots of people and action central during the film festival) and the outstanding mid-town/Yorkville location. But, other than that, I would never recommend the property. While Toronto used to be a bit of a hotel wasteland, there's now a great selection of mid-range and upper end product - as others have mentioned. I'd recommend any of those, depending on where in the city you'd like to be, over the Park Hyatt. That said, the Park Hyatt is a much better choice than the Hyatt Regency, if you're looking for a Hyatt. That one used to be a Holiday Inn and although it has a good entertainment district location, it's pretty lame product.
Hope you enjoyed Toronto, Ben. At least you had some good weather.
Hmm. I'd recommend the Ritz-Carlton, brand new, it's usually reasonably priced and you can easily get an upgrade to a suite facing the CN tower through FH&R.
Ugh, the Park Hyatt is tragic. I'm sure if it weren't for American business travelers trying to stay loyal to the Hyatt brand it would have gone under years ago. The normal rooms look nothing like what they gave you, trust me.
My go-to in Toronto is the Ritz because we get a great group rate there. Beautiful rooms, generous with the upgrades, and a good location close to Union Station and the Porter shuttle. I've done the Trump a couple of times. The service was good, but the rooms were a bit overdone and gaudy for my taste - think EK F but a bit less refined. I tried the Thompson a few months ago but it wasn't really my style either. Maybe if I'd brought my man-bun and typewriter....
@Jacky: It's "YUGE".
@Kev: You forgot how the toilet "wasn’t partitioned off in any way". A toilet in the actual bathroom? Scandalous! It's one step away from shitting in the woods like an animal.
Park Hyatt. LOVED your room gorgeous. but NOT my first choice to stay.
As you stated, service in-front stale.
As most mentioned to Roof-Top bar is great for people-watching and the bartender (if not retired yet) has been there for over 25 years. Small patio. I prefer, if alone, to either sit at the bar or they have 2 couches by the fireplace.
NOTE: the roof-top bar is located behind where you checked-in. go down the longggggg hallway to elevators and take it to daaaa roooooooooooof. 😉
As far as eating in that area. Although a chain restaurant, right next door I always go to Morton's.
Again if alone, I sit at the bar. They do have a happy hour on appetizers daily. It is NOT open for lunch.
They really have the best Bone-in Filet. It's not on the menu, I just ask if available.
FYI: great review and photos!!! :):):)
Lucky: the utility of reading this review was dramatically decreased when you accepted their one renovated room. Next time consider refusing such a room so that your readers can actually benefit from the review.
Yeah, I've stayed at this hotel several times and indeed the current rooms need help. Glad to hear they're renovating and their trial room was decent. Hard to beat the neighbourhood for shopping and only a short walk to the gay bars.
As mentioned, the rooftop bar - and the location - are the saving graces of the Park Hyatt. I stopped staying there years ago. Toronto has much better hotels to offer. Chainwise, I'd use Marriott points for the Ritz-Carlton, or stay at the Intercontinental on Front street.
The only hotel in Toronto that is more disappointing than the Park Hyatt is the Intercontinental on Bloor.
My favorite hotel in the city is the Shangri-La. You get Four Seasons quality and luxury at 2/3 the price. I think it's even better than Ritz Carlton...and a little less expensive, too.
Plus, the lobby of the Shangri-La is a great place to hangout for afternoon tea or the live music.
I know that Ben is a loyal Hyatt / Starwood fanboy, but I actually found the Hilton to be far superior. Stayed at the Westin and wasn't impressed in the slightest. The Hyatt's weren't any better.