I was in this hotel in the 3rd week of September. I had no other choice as two large conferences were taking place in Toronto and there was a severe shortage of rooms. My very first experience was bad. I entered the hotel to check in around noon (check-in time - 2 PM), the clerk informed that the room was not ready. This was quite acceptable as I had arrived earlier than the check in time. But the way he put this was far from acceptable. His voice and the way of saying this had an air of nonchalance and rudeness. The rooms was good, neat and clean except that there is one window AC running which make a lot of noise. I also had the experience that someone else had earlier (they had given their feedback in one of their reviews) - On two occassions I could spot spiders in my room. I know from the earlier reviews that the hotel guys will not take any action, so I kept quiet.The kitchnette is very good though. The elevator was very old and was a bit scary travelling in it. There was no valet laundry service and there was supposed to be a coin-operated laundry but that was always locked. Again the manner in which the front office responded when I asked about this was very harsh. The ultimate experience came when I checked out. There is a lady in the front office and whenever I asked something from her, the response was always very curt and rude. After checking out of the hotel, I was waiting from my taxi to go to the airport (taxi arranged by the hotel only). It was raining outside. There were two chairs in the front office and when I asked the lady if I could wait there, she bluntly refused and asked to either wait outside (in the rain) or stand in the hall-way ( Nobody in the hotel knew where that hallway was). Since it was raining outside I was standing near the elevator for more than half an hour cursing my self to agreeing to stay in this hotel and being meeted by this unruly treatment. Fortunately there was a manager who came out and when I explained the situation to him, he apologized and offered me a chair to sit till my taxi arrived. Never in my life I would compromise and stay in a small hotel if other bigger hotels are not available for any reason. I had my worst experience of my life in this hotel
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
19 October 2011
Thanks for taking the time to review the Alexandra Hotel.
It's true the Alexandra Hotel does not offer valet laundry service. We aim to be affordable and convenient and simply don't offer luxury services like valet parking or valet laundry services. We gave you a key to the laundry room when you checked in, but we should have given you specific instructions on how to open the door and operate the washer and dryer, and I apologize for this oversight. As for the elevator, I'm sorry it frightened you but let me assure you that it is well-maintained and inspected regularly by professional technicians.
Though we work very hard to keep the hotel clean, and I appreciate that you complimented the quality of the rooms, the occasional insect can find its way into the building - especially during the warmer months. Don't hesitate to call the desk staff of any hotel you stay at if you have a concern. Not every review you read online is accurate and hotels prefer dealing with any complaints before the guest checks out.
We are very sorry that you did not enjoy your stay and I have brought your concerns to the attention of management and front desk staff. You were treated poorly by some of our staff and we sincerely apologize. We are constantly aiming to improve our level of service and your comments will help us to better deal with similar complaints in the future.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
