I decided to tag along to a technology conference last weekend in Toronto which gave us four nights in a city I had never visited prior.  I have reviewed a majority of the Park Hyatt properties in North America including Chicago, Beaver Creek, and Washington DC but was excited to give Toronto’s a whirl. This was a paid rate so I used one of my four confirmed suite upgrades as a Hyatt Diamond member to lock us into a Park Suite for the weekend.

Hotel location

The Park Hyatt Toronto is located just north of Queen’s park in the upscale Yorkville neighborhood.  The hotel is about a mile walk to the downtown core and a little further to Old Toronto and the waterfront.  There was ample public transit located close by but we chose to walk the majority of the weekend because the weather was so nice.

The entrance to the hotel is gorgeous with a beautifully lit fountain and greenery.  Before we stepped into the hotel we knew this place was fancy schmancy as the only car brands dropping off guests were Maserati, Tesla, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin and the like.

Check-In

I approached the front desk and was greeted by a friendly front desk agent.  She explained the Diamond benefits clearly including breakfast in the restaurant and my choice of a Food and Beverage Amenity.  She offered us a choice of red or white wine , a bottle of water, and a fruit plate.  I did ask her if room service breakfast was available and she confirmed it was though I would prefer they offer it up front and not make me go to Flyertalk to figure it out beforehand.  She handed us the keys to our room on the 16th floor, a Park Suite, and up we went.

The room

Immediately upon entering the room there is a second half bath to the left and a hallway which leads into the small living room.

The bedroom featured a small chair, LCD TV and an very comfy King bed.  I immediately felt the room was nice but a bit dated. The colors and choice of furniture were quite traditional without that modern flair found in other Park Hyatt properties.

Off the bedroom is the master bath which featured a shower/tub combination.  Again this bathroom felt very dated with older fixtures and bathtub.

We started jumping for joy when we saw two bathrooms stocked with our favorite, Le Labo Bergamote 22 bath products.

We have a dwindling stash of these great bath products but unfortunately these refills smelled noticeably different.  I don’t know if the formula has been changed recently or we got a bad Canadian batch but they were assuredly different from what we have at home.

The food and beverage was dropped off quickly in the living room.  The fruit was tasty and the wine was average.

Despite being so dated, I actually loved this room on the whole because of what was outside the walls.  The views were spectacular!

The room featured city, park, lake, and museum views from every room.  I can’t imagine any better location in the city to capture all of the extremely vertical Toronto skyline.  The windows actually opened so you could hear the city noise and feel the breeze.  We spent our mornings listening to the musicians play out front of the museum as we had breakfast.

Diamond breakfast

Complimentary room service breakfast is one of my favorite silly indulgences in the points and miles game however the opportunities remain rare. I have only been offered the option at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and Park Hyatt Chicago.

While the room service breakfast was very good at all those Park Hyatts, this breakfast was just simply not good.  We tried to like the food over the course of three mornings ordering different items off the menu but we just didn’t find anything tasty.  When you consider the actual prices they charge for this breakfast food that can’t hang with Denny’s, it is scary.  The last morning it wasn’t worth the wait so we went to a Starbucks across the street. Three strikes and you’re out.

Toronto as a tourist destination

Toronto has a lot of the components I like in a city.  The city is clean with efficient public transportation, a beautiful skyline, very diverse and friendly citizens, and owns lots of waterfront property.  That being said, in my long weekend I ran out of things I really wanted to do as a tourist pretty quickly.  To be fair it was a holiday weekend so I assume many were out of the city on weekend trips. I had very high expectations given how much I love Montreal and Vancouver, but unfortunately I didn’t find that same magic in Toronto.  The city came across livable but not a place I would likely return purely for tourism.

The bottom line

While the room was dated and the breakfast was poor, I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Park Hyatt Toronto.  The staff was great in every interaction and the views are just spectacular.  I wouldn’t mind waking up to that view every morning.