Delta Chelsea, Toronto

Introduction

Deciding to go to Canada
Our holiday to Canada was a last minute decision. We had a week booked off work and didn’t know where to go. We were looking for a package deal inclusive of flights and hotel and the prices across Europe weren’t actually that much of a good deal. Expedia kept showing bargain flights to Canada and in the end we gave in and saw how much we could get a hotel for as well.

The first hotel we looked at booking a package with was the King Edward hotel. This is part of the Le Meridien chain and is a rather posh affair. It was down as a total steal and we tried to book. However, when the confirmation page flashed up it showed that there had been a problem with our booking. When we managed to get through to the last minute (who apparently the problem lay with) we found that flights were actually a bit more expensive than had been advertised online. However, by this point we had our hearts set on Canada and we went with it – booking the flights directly with the airline – but changed our mind about the hotel.

The King Edward was a lovely hotel, but the package didn’t exist for us anymore, and we started looking at other hotels in the area. We then came across a website called Priceline where you can bid for mystery hotel rooms in a given location. If you’re sneaky then you can check out forums online where people reveal which hotel they got – and work out from your star rating and location/facilities which one you’re booking. We figured out the one we were booking was the Delta Chelsea from its 3 and a half stars and the swimming pool.

We actually got quite a bargain on this hotel – we paid 80 Canadian Dollars per night (booking for a week at the end of September), which is around £59/night. Considering it’s right in the centre – off Younge Street – we thought this was a fantastic price. Checking the hotel website, booking a night online costs at least $234 (Canadian).

Checking in to the hotel

The Delta Chelsea is fairly straightforward to find. It’s such a huge hotel that it was at least 4 entrances onto different streets and it’s marked on most guide book or free maps of Toronto.

In proportion to the size of the hotel, the reception is equally large and rather more confusing. There are multiple check-in desks and different colour coded lift shafts (that go to different levels depending on their colour). However, all the staff were really helpful on our arrival and pointed us in the right direction if we turned up at the wrong desk.

We tried signing up for the privilege member scheme on the Delta website (where you get some bonuses such as late checkout, etc) but we were told on check-in that, as we had booked our room through Priceline, these benefits weren’t available to us. However, we were given a room upgrade to one of the newly refurbished rooms and we had a late check-out. We also had free Internet access throughout our stay, which for a couple of the days was due to the hotel carrying out maintenance on the system, but we weren’t sure why we got it for longer – we didn’t complain though!

The rooms

There are 27 levels in the hotel (with the gym/swimming pool on the top level) and we were about midway up. The rooms use key cards to open the doors like most modern hotels and we were provided with one of these each. As we had received a room upgrade we actually had two double beds in our room. These weren’t huge, but they were a decent size – and anyway, there were two! Apart from this, there was a desk, TV unit with widescreen TV, office chair, armchair, bedside table with iPod dock, built in wardrobe, 2 phones and a bathroom. Each room has patio windows opening onto a balcony. I decided not to go out onto this as it was incredibly high up and didn’t look massively safe.

As a refurbished room, some of the decoration was new and some was original. The furniture all seemed to be new and the gadgets were very up to date. The iPod dock was particularly good – we had both brought iPods – so we used this to listen to our own music and as an alarm clock.

The bathroom looked as though a lot of the fittings were original (we had a crack in our toilet cistern, for example) but the room was very comfortable. There was a large mirror across one wall, a bath with massage shower, a toilet and a marble topped counter. Every time I used the bathroom the water was lovely and warm and we were provided with three large towels, three hand towels and three face towels.

Leisure facilities

On level 27 the hotel boasts a gym, an adult swimming pool with Jacuzzi, small saunas in each of the changing rooms. On level 2 there is a family pool including slide. We only used the leisure facilities on level 27 as we went as a couple without any children. The other pool is open to all, but we didn’t fancy it as we wanted a quiet swim!

The adult pool is a reasonable size and wasn’t too busy. We went on three evenings during the week at varying times and never found more than about 10-15 people trying to use the pool, Jacuzzi and gym combined. Towels are provided on this level, which is really great so you don’t have to cart the ones from your room up. The toiletries in the shower for the gym weren’t particularly easy to use as the dispensers didn’t work properly, but the shower itself was good. There were also cold face towels in a fridge in the changing rooms for using in the sauna.

The edge of level 27 has a roof deck overlooking the city and the CN tower. You can actually see the tower lit up as you swim in the pool, which is pretty cool. Some people from the hotel came up to take photos on this deck even if they weren’t using the gym or pool.

Other Facilities

There were various eateries and a pub downstairs in the hotel lobby. We didn’t use any of these as they all seemed pretty expensive compared to places on the main street. There was a little gift shop though, which sold stamps, with a British-style post box outside.

There was also access to safety deposit boxes, a concierge service for looking after left-luggage/etc and even a pretend ‘kid’s check-in’ with colourful stairs leading up to the desk.

Overall

We had a great stay in the Delta Chelsea. The staff were really helpful and our rooms were cleaned whenever we took off the ‘do not disturb’ sign. Staff even said hi to us as we walked down the halls – it was a very calm and pleasant atmosphere. I would certainly recommend this hotel to someone wanting to visit central Toronto. With around 1,600 rooms it’s the biggest hotel in Canada, so it may feel a little anonymous, but that’s not necessarily something to dislike.

Thanks for reading!

© tac20