I lived in the city more than a decade ago and have since moved several hours away. One thing I missed most was a view of the water, as where I live now has no quick access to the lake. I’d been cooped up in my house for the entire pandemic because I’m high-risk and decided, as a gift to myself, to book a solo trip away to Toronto. I chose this hotel primarily because I used to live on Queens Quay and I wanted a view of the water.
I booked using the Radisson website (not a secondary booking site) and specifically chose & paid more for a room with a view of the water (on their website it was labeled as "Premium King-Lakeview" and the details noted that it had a view of the water). I called the hotel 24 hours prior to my arrival to confirm.
So imagine my surprise when I check in and am greeted with a third floor street view of Queens Quay. People could see into my room from the street. I figured this must be a mistake, so I called front desk and was told I booked a standard view room. I pulled up my email which confirmed a “premium room” and countered that no, I in fact booked a premium room with a view of the lake, directly through their website, and my room rate reflected that. They then said they were “overhauling their site” so there must have been a glitch (side note, this was more than 6 months ago and their website is still the exact same) and she suggested next time I call before my arrival to confirm. I countered that I did, in fact, call and confirm the day before. She had no response to that. I also explained that the entire reason I chose this hotel was a view of the water due to my current living situations and I just got a “sorry about that”. They were very polite, but still, I was upset.
They said they upgraded me to a suite with a fireplace but I asked for a lower rate since this is not what I paid for. I also asked if I could at least have a room on a higher floor since everyone on the street can look right into my room unless I close all the shades - I was told no. I was devastated. I hung up the phone and cried. I’d been looking forward to this for ages and I did everything right but still felt totally screwed.
On top of that - I had asked for a wine glass in my room when I called to confirm and was told no problem. When I checked in there was no glass, and when I called to ask for one I was told they were only offering plastic cups due to covid--which was fine but I wish I’d been told that when I called the day before my arrival. There was also no remote for my fireplace so I had to call down to ask for that, too. I waited an HOUR before it finally showed up—and guess what? The fireplace didn't even WORK.
When I called to let them know the remote didn't work they suddenly had another lakeview room available...the next day. so my options were to stay in a room I didn't want or to pack up everything and move the following day - I ended up doing the latter but by that point I was so put off by the whole thing that it was very hard to relax and enjoy myself.
You would think given the huge hit the hotel industry took as a result of the pandemic (and AirBNB), they’d try harder to take care of their guests.
This has completely put me off booking here or any other Radisson in the future.
The only reason I didn’t put 1 star is because the staff were very nice which I appreciated and I know only so much is in their control.
To upper management/the owner/head office - do better. Seriously.
Other cons worth mentioning:
-Several of the shutters were broken
-Some of the furniture was approaching the end of its life - the desk, for example, rocked back and forth when the slightest bit of pressure was put on it. The makeup mirror in the bathroom was knocked on an angle. The shower fixtures were loose in the wall
-Bottled water was listed as an amenity on the site but none to be found in my first room. I’d understand if it was due to covid, but there was still a coffee maker, kettle, and K-Cups…and there was water in my second room
Pros:
-The wifi was great
-Polite staff
