Hilton Toronto, Toronto

Hilton Toronto

Having recently returned from a great stay at the Hilton and Toronto thought that it was about time that I attempted to put pen to paper again on Ciao as been absent for quite a while!


I opted for this hotel because I found a great deal of around £500 for 2 people for 7 nights at the beginning of September 2006.


The room:

The room was located on the 16th floor ...
...but not up to other Hilton Hotels that I have stayed in. The communal areas of the hotel were all very modern and well kept. I have read reviews of this hotel that recommend staying on the executive floor here as the rooms are much nice and I would be tempted to see the difference if I stayed here again (which I would as the overall experience was very good!)


The location:

Toronto is quite a large city although ... more

Hilton Toronto

Having recently returned from a great stay at the Hilton and Toronto thought that it was about time that I attempted to put pen to paper again on Ciao as been absent for quite a while!

I opted for this hotel because I found a great deal of around £500 for 2 people for 7 nights at the beginning of September 2006.

The room:

The room was located on the 16th floor as was spacious with two comfortable double beds and nice, fresh linen. In addition there was a wardrobe that whilst note huge was provided adequate storage as well as the ever useful iron and ironing board. A large TV provided ample international TV and good 'pay per' movies; the usual Hollywood Blockbuster stuff. There was a well stocked mini bar at reasonable prices and a nice coffee machine with a good range of complimentary hot drinks. The room also featured a large working desk, desk chair and comfortable chair. Ice machines are located on each floor and room service is offered24 hours a day.

The bathroom was an okay size with good shower, marble walls and hairdryer. The views from the hotel were also lovely over the city and we had a great view towards the CN Tower.

My main complaint about the hotel and room was the fact that it wasn't very well kept. Although the room was not dirty it was a little scruffy around the edges, bit of paint work etc and not well dusted each day etc. The style of the room was modern, light and airy and it was well sized but not up to other Hilton Hotels that I have stayed in. The communal areas of the hotel were all very modern and well kept. I have read reviews of this hotel that recommend staying on the executive floor here as the rooms are much nice and I would be tempted to see the difference if I stayed here again (which I would as the overall experience was very good!)

The location:

Toronto is quite a large city although it is easily accessible on foot or using the frequent and reasonable subway or tram systems. The hotel is well located in the financial district and is a bout 5 minutes walk to the entertainment district, 10 minutes to the CN Tower and the Eaton Centre and a bout 15/20 minutes away from the Harbour. All in all, a great location from which to explore the city with plenty of restaurants and places to explore in the local vicinity.

Dining and drinking:

We ate breakfast in the hotel practically every morning in the Tundra Restaurant where there was a cold and hot buffet option or the a la carte menu. We opted for the nice selection of hot ad cold buffet which was priced 14 Canadian Dollars for the cold (£7 approx) and 19 Dollars for the hot (£8.50 approx) which represented excellent blue for the quality and choice of food and beverages on offer including nice selection of meats, chesses, fruits, sausage, bacon etc! The waiting staff were very efficient although you did always have to check they charged you for what you were eating as they were good at charging for hot food when you had only eaten the cold!!

The menu in Tundra for lunch and dinner appeared to be quite a wide, international choice with a good range of local Canadian specialties although we didn't dine here at night with lots of other choices round about.

The hotel features two bars, one in the Tundra restaurant and the Barrister's bar (bar food also sold here which looked popular!). Both bars were well served with a good range of local and international drinks at reasonable prices.

Located on the conference level (one lower than the lobby) was the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (yes that's really the name of it!). This is a US chain of steak restaurant that truly was one the best places I have ever eaten in and the best fillet steak ever!! A meal for two (2 courses including wine) is about £100.00 per person but is really worth it if you fancy splashing out. The food is to die for with sizzling steaks served on hot plates at your table (over 1800 degrees!) and the service was impeccably refined yet very friendly. I can't recommend this place highly enough!!

Other facts and figures:

Journey times to and from Pearson International Airport: approx 30-40 minutes each way but traffic can be very heavy and slow in Toronto so plan your journey well. The cost is approx £30/£40 per trip. You can also use the Go train which would be a cheaper option (I think around £10 per person)

There is also a gym in this hotel which I didn't see (too many other things to explore!) as well as an indoor and outdoor pool located a few levels up form the street; just watch out for all the hotel guests looking down on you from above!

There are two nice gift shops in the hotel lobby one of which sells more expensive clothing etc. but the other offers a nice range of more reasonably priced gifts as well as toiletry essentials and narks foods etc.

The staff were very helpful at the front desk and at the Concierge, especially when booking trips out of Toronto and we were able to extend our room until 3pm on the day of check out due to a late flight back to the UK (the maid did come to the room spot on three o'clock though so it pays to be ready to leave at your allocated time at this hotel!)

Also, be sure to try the scenic lifts as you go up to your room, well worth it!

There are also lots and lots of conferences in this hotel and you see lots of people but this never caused any problems for us!

Overall, a nice hotel, with good facilities and very nice staff just a shame that the rooms aren't a little more up to Hilton standards!
 

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