A second stay at Toronto don valley hotel.... wish I could say it was good.

ok so it didn't totally suck......but boy what a change from the first trip....and sadly so. Check in was easy...we upgraded to a newly renovated room for our 2 nights (extra 30$ a night)  The renovated rooms only means you get a kurig coffee maker, a different colour theme, new carpet and shower.....not a big deal. Oddly our door did'nt even really close unless you really pushed on it....

Our room had a balcony which I thought would be nice as I was with my son....however the view into the condo's next door and the parking lot left ALOT to be desired.....why you would put a kid in a balcony room with no view is beyond me.....I felt like it was perhaps the only room they had available at the time. If I could say one good thing about the view it would be there were rabbits in the garden....but that's about it.



We spent our first day relaxing and not doing much....we went swimming...but this time it was dofferent....there was tons of rust seeping down from the skylight. I understand it's winter and there's condensation but there was ALOT. It wasclear this had been occuring for some time. The pool was kinda scuzzy.....like nobody ever cleaned the tiles around the inner edge and all the scum had affixed to the tile...certainley not like it was on our first visit...and it wasn't even as busy as our first visit.


Dinner was excellent again!



The evening was  a never ending lullaby of the screen door above our room opening and closing all night and people spitting off the balcony......gross



As with most hotels there was a hanger for room service breakfast so  I filled it out and left it on our door and went to bed...IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when breakfast didn't show up......well you see...nobody bothered to collect the card off our door...then I was blamed by the bitchy woman for not putting it out in time when I had put it outside at 10pm......it says to place it there before 2 am... So needless to say I had to give my order to this total bitch in room service who told me to just give her the order as she was very busy. I ordered eggs benedict which was great...and for the boy, croissant french toast....which never arrived...what came instead was 3 tiny croissants that my son would;nt eat. I called downstairs and explained to a very nice man what happened and it all got fixed and my son's food arrived in about 10-15 mins...and he did enjoy it.


We spent the day at the science center.....while leaving our room it smelled grossly of cigarettes. My son has asthma and I am allergic to smoke so this is a reason I only stay in non smoking hotels....I mentioned it to the woman at front desk and her reply was "that's odd they have a balcony, I'll have someone go spray it"  yeah cause that solves the problem.....


it all just kept going wrong.... We did have an awesome fellow at front desk that saved me when the vending machine would not give my son his chocolate bar....he brought us 2 and our twonnie we lost..... sadly this was a highlight of our stay.

Upon returning from the science center exhausted I got to walk with my son down the endless hallway thru the cigarette smoke filled hallway that now also smelled like pot.....when I arrived in our room I called down to front desk....nobody did anything to help...again she informed me she would spray the hall....which most adults know does nothing as far as second hand smoke goes.... my husband was so pissed he told me to phone the cops about the pot....but since I was spending the nights alone with my son I didn't want to start an issue.  But at this point I was getting pissed. The fellow who handles their twitter account who had actually addressed the issues we had sent up some fruit and candy for me and my son.....which was nice but I would have been happier not popping benadryl into me and my son because of smoke allergies (it wasn't slightly stinky...it was the entire length of the hall and especially in front of a select few rooms)

dinner again was great!!!! it always is


After more swimming and my son falling asleep, my husband passed by for a bite to eat on his way to work. I ordered him the burger and cheesecake.... It arrived...wrong. the Burger was fine but the cheese cake was apple pie...the man who brought our food let me know that it was wrong and he would be back with the cheese cake. I wish he'd left the pie....cuz the cake tasted like the cardboard it was packaged in....it was sooooooo bad.....but at this point having 2 of 2 failed room service deliveries I just wanted to go to bed and go home the next day!


Between the smoke, and the staff not doing anything but spraying the hall (which if they did you sure couldn't tell) the 2 out of 2 room service fails, the pool, and the view it was a really really sad stay compared to our first stay. You see, I like to find a place and stay there....almost exclusively. I'm fiercely loyal and spread the word of good places. I told everyone I adored this place....but after our recent stay....well I'll keep looking for a place that will at least honor their non smoking hotel policy......

I'm almost a little sad.....if they could get staff that valued their jobs or customers they would do very well. There were 2 people in the restaurant that were great, one guy at front desk and the fellow I'd talked to on twitter several times....but dealing with the bitchy woman for room service and the twit that did nothing but order others to spray the hallway when it was REALLY REALLY CLEAR where the pot and cigarette smoke was coming from but still did nothing.....  Well if you don't give a shit....than why should I.

When I blog I also post reviews too yelp, twitter, facebook and a handful of others..... I also provide good word of mouth randomly as I think of it.....I always pay my way and am never given rooms free for reviews.....which is why I can be so honest..... I don't even know if I would stay here again.....unless I got the room on sale or thru a group plan (which luckily i did)  Even the fellow I was talking to on twitter seemed to all of a sudden stopped our conversations when I mentioned how disgusting it is to stay in a hotel that doesn't even uphold their non smoking policy....but at this point....I'm not at all surprised.


I read a review on yelp about this hotel that said "even if you put lipstick on a pig it's still a pig" I'm wondering if the first trip I had was just a REALLY REALLY REALLY done up pig.......

Hotel Review - Toronto Don Valley Hotel And Suites

Having had a horrible stay at the Radisson, and a disappointed boy on my hands (swimming is one of his great loves) We got an offer to stay at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel And Suites.  It was an offer to good to pass up so we decided to go.

Andrew, who was on staff at night was amazing to deal with. After thoroughly confirming and re-confirming my stay he let me know early check in was fine. When we pulled up to the hotel it was beautiful. It's located in an area of the city that sits on ravine land. A BIG winding driveway led up to a beautifully enclosed entryway where, once we exited the truck we could hear music playing...My son said "mom this IS a fancy hotel..they play music outside!"

We did have a few hiccups checking in with our breakfast vouchers from the girl at the desk who we were not overly fond of....she explained that the breakfast vouchers were not an option, after Andrew had clearly stated it was part of our package...she kept trying to get us to upgrade our room explaining that the new rooms were recently renovated and a totally different color (like I care what color the room is for my sleeping hours)

Our room was an executive king room and was EXACTLY as pictured.

I will say that on their site they rave about the views.....however my view was of the highway and parking lot...this may be off putting to some but my son ADORES watching the highway at night so this was fine for us. The room was FREEZING but warmed up REALLLLY fast with an old fashioned window unit that was a bit complicated to figure out but worked REALLY well!

Our room was SPOTLESS...baseboards and all! Even the old school TV is our room was wiped clean and dust free (I'm not one to care if the TV is flat screen) Our room did not have a fridge or microwave and if I wanted one they were 20-25$ EACH. Thankfully my son is not a baby anymore and we didn't really need it!

The bathroom was BIG and SO clean. I liked the old style red granite counter tops and a HUGE GIGANTIC bonus was HEATED TILE FLOORS  ahhhhhhhhhhhh.....what a treat in the morning. 

Our Internet was free which in Toronto is saying alot as may hotels charge 8-25$ a day for Internet, and it was high speed wireless! 

We were spending the day at the science center so we left for the day.

Upon our return we had some dinner....I can honestly without a doubt say it's one of the best hamburgers I have ever had EVER! it was great! My son had a cheese pizza that he FINISHED so it MUST have been great! I also had a whiskey sour which was soooo good! The waiter was very pleasant and understanding towards my son (the boy has adhd, autism and odd, so his behavior is sometimes difficult in places new to him) The fire place across from our table and tv's were a great distraction. I was also REALLY surprised about the bill...it was far lower than expected and way better than many hotels. The teal, white and cream decor in the restaurant and thruout the hotel is so lovely and clean!

To top off a great day we went to the pool.....WOW. The pool is amazing! first of all it's a perfect circle and the entire roof is a skylight. But better yet it's WARM!! the first hotel we have stayed at where the pool is so warm it's surprising!. As it got darker, several big ornate coach lamps turned on automatically....and as it got darker the ambiance almost became a romantic candlelight pool....had it not been for my child, and several others that is! But it was so beautiful! The hot tub was REALLY hot, and they even have have a family change room which is so smart. Upon our return in the morning, it was a totally different feeling. Bright and welcoming!

(the lounge chairs are not the same and I saw no drapes but the rest is the same)

Would I stay here again? I'm already trying to find an excuse too! With INCREDIBLE winter rates starting at 99$ or 2-4 night packages from 84-95$ a night why not enjoy a STAYcation! 

Other incredible features

The most comfy bed and pillows ever!!!

room service from 6pm-11pm

a little shop open from 9a-11p

Some rooms have balconies

a seasonally available outdoor pool

it's SO quiet! 

Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites - Toronto, Ontario (ON)

175 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario M3C 1J3

Contact: 416-449-4111 | Fax: 416-385-6700 
Email: reservations@torontopreferredhotel.com
 Website http://www.torontodonvalleyhotel.com/