This is just an OK hotel. I'll start with the good: The front desk staff and our butler were excellent. They went out of their way and helped as much as they could with what they had to work with. The best part of our stay were the people who work at the hotel. The lobby of the hotel is showy and the restaurant is very inviting. The walk-in shower in our room was fabulous.
Now here is the not so good: I wouldn't give it high marks above the Delta Chelsea or Courtyard Marriott. The amenities that we expected just weren't there for the price you pay. It is in a great location just off Bloor Street in Yorkville but it isn't quiet when the trash guys are dumping the dumpsters right across the street at 7:00 am. So, if you didn't put in for a wake-up call, you won't need one.
We booked the Windsor Arms because we were looking for a luxury room with an oversized two-person jacuzzi tub. The person who took our reservation said "oh yes, we have that". No, they don't. What they have is a regular-size one person jet tub in the bathroom. We talked to another reservation agent before we arrived and he said "no, we don't have a two-person jacuzzi tub" so the reason we booked the room was out the window. Because we would have had to pay a penalty to cancel our room, we came and stayed one night.
On "oyster night" I asked if they could make a simple oyster stew and was told no. The soux chef didn't want to get in trouble with the executive chef. We were disappointed when all the ingredients were available but we were still told no. At $425 a night with taxes (we were upgraded to the Yorkville suite) we thought we might get resort hotel service. We didn't so we left the hotel and ended up going out to Mortons Steakhouse for a $200 dinner. We did stop in the hotel bar for a nightcap and the bar service was very good. The breakfast buffet the next morning was nice. The food was hot and the service was good.
There are a few areas where the hotel came up short. First, there is no closet space. Anyone travelling during the winter months needs more than a 24" closet that is barely big enough for two winter coats. The large TV's don't make up for a closet. Second, if you are allergic to feathers or wool, you are out of luck. We asked for an alternate to feathers and we received hypoallergenic pillows but the alternate for the feather duvet was a very well worn wool blanket that looked like it came from a second-hand hotel clearance center. When we realized it was wool and requested something not wool, we received another wool blanket by way of the butlers closet which we didn't know to check. We couldn't use the blanket so we cranked up the heat.
There is a swimming pool that in its heyday was very nice but it needs work. There are tiles falling off, rusty spotlights and my wife's feet turned blue from the paint on the pool floor. No biggie because the paint washed off in the shower but the pool needs maintenance.
We have no problem paying a premium price for a true luxury hotel and service but we are glad we didn't stay more than one night. We understand the Windsor Arms is promoting itself as a small luxury hotel but it missed the mark. Save yourself some money. For the price you are better off staying at the Delta Chelsea or Courtyard Marriott which has more amenities for less money.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
11 January 2012
Dear Skydancer,
Thank you so much for staying with us and taking the time to express your views; both positive as well as not. Allow me to try and respond in sequence.
All of our rooms and suites do have a separate shower and a whirlpool tub. Depending on the size of the suite, the size of the tub does vary between 5 and 6 feet. While they are generous in size, I would not necessarily call them 2 person tubs. I apologize if our reservation agent told you otherwise at the time of your booking. I also apologize if your ability to cancel based on this was denied.
With regards to your request to have us create an oyster dish that was not on the menu, this is a bit more complex. While we do have a full service kitchen and full ingredients, the menu design and planning is a process that takes some time to ensure that all culinary standards are met. The last thing we want to do is serve a dish that has not been perfected.
With regards to closet space, again depending on the size of the suite, the closet sizing will vary. Your suite did have a 6 foot closet with hanging as well as drawers. In addition, the bedroom in your suite had a large chest of drawers, which in our experience satisfies most customers. If your needs were greater than that, they could have been accommodated in a larger suite. Our staff should have offered you that option.
With regards to your request to accommodate your feather and wool allergy, we do have that ability and I apologize for our butlers not responding to this forthwith.
Finally, with regards to the pool, it has just been upgraded to a salt water pool which may have caused this problem. We are actively investigating this and will act upon it immediately.
Sincerely,
George Friedmann
President, Windsor Arms Hotel
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
