Novotel Centre, Toronto

...but I'd stayed in a Novotel before and like it, so decided to stay here when I discovered an excellent rate including breakfast. I love hotel breakfasts but am loathe to pay for them when I'm actually there if they're an optional extra.

The hotel is located on the Esplanade, very near to Union Station and a stone's throw from the CN tower, waterfront and Eaton Centre shopping mall. On the street itself there is a reasonably large ...
...am even more impressed. I booked on the Novotel website as it had a best-rate guarantee, though this meant I paid for the whole stay several months in advance, rather than them charging my credit card on arrival.


www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-0931-novotel-toronto-centre/

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Even as I start to write this review, I know I'm in trouble. There just aren't enough superlatives in the world to describe how amazing this hotel is, and I feel even a full 5 star rating won't do it justice.

I stayed in Toronto for 3 nights on my way back from Mexico because of the way my flights worked out, and because Niagara was on my to-see list (tick!). I looked at a lot of hotels online, including the Delta Chelsea and Bond Place, the two most commonly used in package holiday city breaks, but I'd stayed in a Novotel before and like it, so decided to stay here when I discovered an excellent rate including breakfast. I love hotel breakfasts but am loathe to pay for them when I'm actually there if they're an optional extra.

The hotel is located on the Esplanade, very near to Union Station and a stone's throw from the CN tower, waterfront and Eaton Centre shopping mall. On the street itself there is a reasonably large and very well equipped convenience store plus The Old Spaghetti House restaurant. Also nearby are a large Metro supermarket and various other bars and eateries. After a 25 minute drive from the airport, we found it easily and I was dropped off to check in.

I have never met such helpful front desk staff. The girl who checked me in offered a service more equivalent to a much more swish/ expensive establishment, and provided a fabulous start to my stay. Key and map in hand I headed to the lifts, and up to the 3rd floor to find my room. I had booked a non-smoking King, and this was confirmed on check in, in such a way that I imagine if I'd said, "Um, no, a smoking twin" she would immediately have said, "Certainly madam" and provided the latter. In the event my whole floor was non-smoking, and as I walked along the thick carpet, the wheels of my suitcase leaving deep little tracks in it, I was amazed by how quiet it was, with the only sound coming from the ice machine buzzing in the corner. The key card worked first time, and I noticed how heavy the door was - I never had top worry about shutting it when I entered or left the room, because it glided shut immediately.

My room was a large and extremely well appointed one, with distinct zones for sleeping, sitting, organising and bathing. There was a lot of storage, most of which I barely touched. I had two full length mirrors, a massive desk, a sofa - all the usual suspects. My television was bigger than my one back home, and came with an impressive array of channels, though no TV guide on screen or printed, so finding something to watch required a bit of trial and error. My only complaint about the main part of the room is that the plug sockets were located behind the heavy desk with little room to manoeuvre. Plugging in something with a local plug (for example, my Mexican bought hair straighteners) was no problem at all, but my UK laptop, for which I was using a bulky adaptor, was trickier.

My bed was extremely comfortable, and made up with colourful cushions as well as pillows when I arrived, though on subsequent days the cushions were left decorating the small sofa instead. The mattress on the bed felt like I was sleeping on a plush, thick quilt as well as under one, and though the hotel didn't run to sheets as well, the air con in the room meant you can adjust the temperature to suit you. The room came complete with a minibar and various bottles of water, though none of these were complimentary. However, a coffee maker with proper (not-instant) coffee was provided. If you wanted water, the mini-market next door was a much cheaper option, or do as I did and refill your own bottle from the machine in the gym. I managed not to buy any water my entire stay, while still drinking my usual few litres per day. Vending machines on each floor (and at the entrance to the gym - how tempting!) stocked crisps and chocolate bars, though again, the shop next door sold more for less.

The bathroom included a small, shallow tub with a wonderfully hot and powerful shower, though it took me a while to work out how it worked the first time. I blame jet lag from the, ahem, 1 hour time difference, plus general tiredness after travelling for most of the day. The toiletries provided were lovely, in generous sized mini bottles, and since my keenness for greenness has now overtaken my magpie instincts to pilfer such things, I just used one of the soaps and one of the shower gels there, and both lasted my entire stay. The towels were plentiful and large, so I didn't need to use a handful after each shower - bathsheets cover you in a way pathetic little hand towels never could.

Though I didn't book the hotel for this reason, I was excited about its leisure facilities in the run up to my stay. There is an (unmanned) 24 hour gym available and an equally staff-free swimming pool, open from 5am until midnight (to allow for cleaning time I assume). They are interestingly not located together, with one on the 6th floor and the other on the 8th, but both were impressive. The gym was one of the best hotel set-ups I've ever seen. Think a well equipped weights section (with machines and free weights) and multiple pieces of top of the range cardio equipment (two cross trainers, two treadmills and so on) with individual plasma TVs at each piece. There was a water fountain, and towels were provided. The changing rooms were well maintained, and included male and female saunas. I was so impressed I went 4 times, and I only stayed 3 nights. Clearly other guests had similar sentiments, and while at 6.30am I had the place to myself, the one evening I went I had to fight two teenagers for a cross trainer. The swimming pool was large and full of natural light from its 8th floor, floor to ceiling windows. The water was deliciously warm and on my last morning I decided to do a few laps after my gym time, finishing off with a dip in the boiling hot Jacuzzi.

Though both the gym and the pool were unsupervised, there were plenty of safety notices around, and entry to both was using your electronic room key, so children couldn't just wander in. Security in general in the hotel was excellent. As you would expect, the front desk was manned 24 hours, but in addition the lifts were key-operated too, so no one without a room key could access them on any floor. This could be a pain if you were travelling en masse with only one key, but I imagine the reception could happily supply additional ones on request.

The breakfast was of course to be one of the highlights of my stay, so I went down early on my first day. Served from 6.30am until 10am in the ground floor restaurant/bar, a buffet or a la carte selection is available. The former was included in my room rate and on that first morning I was ever-so impressed with the selection which featured 'The Best Bread In The City', a good continental selection of cold meats, cheese, yoghurts, fresh fruit and so on, and hot options including eggs, bacon and French toast among other things. They had a lot of interesting/unusual extras which I liked: little tubs of peanut butter, along with the jam, honey and Philadelphia; maple syrup and spray cream to go on the hot foods; a selection of different fat-free yoghurts (in pots, not big bowls where you never quite know what you're getting, whatever the signs say); cranberry juice as well as the usual orange/apple/grapefruit. The bread selection was equally impressive, with things like English muffins, mini bagels and cranberry focaccia in addition to the usual white and brown sliced loaves for toasting, and white and brown baguettes. I ate a lot, returning several times, and very much enjoyed it. However, the following two days absolutely nothing changed on the buffet. I was thinking we might get pancakes or waffles in place of the French toast, especially as the former appeared on the a la carte menu, but no. While the selection was obviously still extensive, I was a little disappointed to find no new surprises each morning. Potentially you could have a different choice for breakfast each day, but I had no such restraint, and so ate everything I liked the look of each day, in case it wasn't there the next. I had a breakfast-included rate but each day I was asked to sign a blank receipt that included space for a tip, which seemed a little cheeky for a buffet set up. The staff were friendly, but apart from showing me to my table, didn't do that much in terms of waiting on it.

The rest of the day the restaurant served bar snacks and drinks, and room service was also available. The hotel had free WiFi throughout (password provided on check in) and I had no problems picking up a fast connection in either the lobby or my room. They also have a small and expensive gift shop, and a left luggage service. I believe business facilities are also available but I did not investigate these. On my first morning I asked the way to Union Station, knowing it was only a couple of blocks away but, equally, that I would be sure to turn the wrong way out of the hotel, and the guy now manning the desk actually left his post to walk me to the door and show me, which went beyond the 'out of the door, turn left' help I'd been expecting.

I had an extremely pleasant, comfortable stay which was just what I needed after more than a year in Mexico and before a middle seat on a 7 hour charter flight home. I spent just over $300 CAD for my 3 nights, which works out as about £50 per night. This was a room rate so two could have stayed for the same price - always the downside of being a single traveller. Still, I thought before I arrived that this was a reasonable rate for a city centre hotel, and having now experienced the excellent levels of service and plush surroundings, I am even more impressed. I booked on the Novotel website as it had a best-rate guarantee, though this meant I paid for the whole stay several months in advance, rather than them charging my credit card on arrival.

www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-0931-novotel-toronto-centre/

 

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