Let me share a bit about the Sheraton with you (Sheraton Centre Hotel (Toronto))

Member Name: allybally

Product:	Sheraton Centre Hotel (Toronto)
Date:	27/04/07 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great location

Disadvantages: rude and inflexible staff

I am Canadian. As such, I go back annually to visit my family. At the same time, my partner and I try to have some holiday time away from my family as well and generally spend a few days in Toronto as that is where we fly into. We aren't loaded, but as we save money on accomodation when staying with my parents, we always try to treat ourselves to a nice hotel somewhere for one or two nights.

Last October I managed to get a fabulour deal through CanadianAffair.com for two nights at the Sheraton Centre on Queen Street in Toronto. As I had booked our flights and car hire through Canadian Affair I got a great rate of £28 per person per night with no charge for our son who was 18 months at the time. ***This price was not relective of Sheraton Hotel prices!*** Unfortunately, the wonderful deal turned out to not be so great afterall although the hotel certainly has some redeeming qualities.

Accomodation
The Sheraton has recently redocarated most of their rooms. Their website boasted pictures of lovely, modern rooms with a gorgeous warm and relaxing mulled wine and taupe colour scheme and a custom designed bed which guaranteed you a goo nights sleep. We didn't get one of these rooms. Our room, which hadn't been upgraded had standard travel lodge decor although obviously more expensive. The bed was however, was huge and the most comfortable one I have ever slept on! The bathroom was done in a sort of beige marble effect which made me think of kitchy dynasty or dallas design. When booking the room I had told the customer service agent that we were travelling with a small child and would need a cot. Instead, we got two double beds. When I went to the desk to ask about this, they wouldn't even look to see if there was anything more suitable and refused to give us a cot because it would break health and safety regulations to include it in a room with two beds. Apparently, a cot can only be used in a room with one bed otherwise it is a fire hazard due to lack of room.

Facilities
Bars
There is a large sports bar (sports bars are everywhere in Canada) in reception with tv's, comfortable sofas and seating. Like all bars in Canada, it was non-smoking

Restaurants
One of the restaurants is quite a posh, which wasn't suitable with a toddler, however they did have a steakhouse as well which suited us well enough. It was quiet and comfortable and reasonably priced ($38.00/£18.65 for three main meals, 3 desserts 3 drinks and 2 cofees )and there was a kids menu for our boy to choose from. This was handy for us however, we didn't know about it until our last night thanks to the hotel staff (see below for more details).

Gym/Spa Facilities
There is a great view overlooking the city as it is on the top floor
-Swimming pool
-Fully equiped Gym
-A sauna
-Whirlpool
-Spa
Prices were quite varied depending on the treatment but all in all it seemed a bit pricy (starting at $55.00 for a basic facial up to $300+ for more intense treatments) With a toddler to deal with I didn't get the chance to indulge.

Shopping
There were shopping facilities offering mostly touristy things like teddy bears with I love Toronto T-shirts on or silk scarves with Native American designs hand painted on them. In addition the hotel has a mini-mall which offers mostly designer label clothing (for older folk).

Attractions
The hotel has the most beautiful garden which covered two floors, both inside and outside. A gorgeous waterfall starts outside on the top floor and falls into the main reception area one floor below. Their are paths that take you through the exotic plants and flowers upstairs. The garden was possibly the highlight of my stay there.

Parking
Parking is very limited and it isn't free. It turned out to be cheaper for us to park across the street in indoor parking (£18.00 instead of the $32.00 it would have been in the hotel for 2.5 days)

Conferences/Events
The Sheraton is known for being a centre for conferences. While we were there the reception for an international Marathon which had been run that weekend was being held there.

Staff and Service
This is the area the hotel was most let down on. The staff at the Sheraton for the most part were completely unhelpful and disturbingly didn't seem to know their city very well. Besides the incident with the cot and their total inflexibility we struggled to find anyone who was remotely interested in being helpful. This is unusual for Canadians as they will jump over hot coals to help you most of the time. It seemed odd to me that they were willing to risk my son's safety by not providing a cot or a reasonable alternative without making any effort to accomodate us. When I had approached them the topic was quite literally not up for discussion which I found appauling. There are 1,377 rooms in the hotel. I am sure they could have found something if they had tried.

When asking for advice on where to go for dinner the first night that was child friendly, the concierge wasn't able to help and instead stared at us blankly. We ended up walking some distance and having to settle for sandwiches at Subway. The next night, we stumbled across the steakhouse located in the hotel itself and wondered why we hadn't been told about this. Even when checking in and out of the hotel, the staff seemed completley discouteous and uninterested in us.

Location
There is no faulting the hotel on this level. Although also very close to the business centre (5 minute walk) it is situated near a large park (where a Hollywood movie was being filmed while we were there) and cultural centre. A five minute walk takes you along the vibrant and exciting Queen Street which hosts a selection of fantastic and interesting stores perhapos geared towards a younger and slightly more alternative clientelle. This is a great place to find cd's as there are a number of second hand and vintage shops where great deals and rare findings can be found. There are also a number of 2nd clothing shops as well as fantastic shoe shops if you are into trainers and skate shoes (Pumas, Vans, Converse etc.) I picked up a pair of one star converse for $64.00 - about £31.00. For the most part shopping in Canada is a great deal.

Affordability
I got a great deal on this hotel at £28 per person per night however, this deal had nothing to do with the hotel. Rooms start from $239/£117 per person per night and go up to $560/£274 per person per night for a standard room. To be honest, I was happier staying at the quality inn down the road a couple years previous and apart from the nice waterfall garden and the comfy beds, I can't understand how the Sheraton can justify charging this amount.

General Opinion
I wouldn't consider going back to this hotel at any cost. The most important thing to me when choosing a hotel apart from accomodating my kids is the staff and service. In this case the hotel fell short on both ends. It was a complete disappointment.

Summary: a few nights of luxury...or is it?