The Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel Toronto

NOT SO ROYAL SONESTA HOTEL The only positives of this hotel are the room sizes and location. In my opinion, it's not enough to outweigh the negatives. I stayed three nights. Upon arrival we noticed there was only one hanger in the closet. We booked a two queen room. We had bought a large pack of water bottles to put in the fridge. Our refrigerator was locked. We called the front desk. They said they would have someone unlock it as if they could do it remotely. We waited. Still locked. We called again. Waited. Still locked. We went to go get ice from the ice maker down the hall. That didn't work. We called for our refrigerator and the ice maker. They said they'd take care it. Day 2 - still with a locked fridge and no ice. Keep in mind, you can not go to another floor to get ice because your key card only opens to the floor you are staying on. They said they would bring up a new refrigerator... at no charge! Why would be charged in the first place? Didn't have to worry though because the new refrigerator never came. On the 3rd night, my son got sick from a stomach bug or food he ate. We called for housekeeping to remove our trash cans and give us new towels. That's when they said to our surprise, they don't have housekeeping until 8:30am! Being a four star hotel this should be unacceptable. Stay elsewhere!

You might have to sleep on the floor One of us slept on the floor because the promised rollaway bed was not available. I had booked directly with the hotel and clearly stated 3 adults in the search. It gave me a large room with one bed. As I reserved for 3, I assumed the couch was a pullout. When I called to confirm this more than a week before, I was told that it was not a sleeper couch, but that we could have a rollaway bed. When there wasn’t one upon arrival, I requested one and was told it would be $25 per night and I agreed. They asked if I needed it right away, and I said by 8pm was fine. . When it again failed to arrive, I called again and was told there were no more rollaways left. Hence the floor. In addition, I had also called ahead to say that my adult son would be checking in first, and gave his name and was told he would need to present a credit card. Fine. Despite this, when he arrived (with credit card and ID) he had to wait a late night hour before they allowed him to check in. It’s a nice looking hotel, but the lack of communication amongst staff was problematic.

No complimentary breakfast for Platinum We just finished a 3 night stay at this hotel earlier this week. When researching hotels in this area, I came across this hotel. I decided to status match with my other hotel status to get Sonesta Travelpass Platinum status. I also cancelled another reservation to try out this hotel instead. I regret my decision. The room was okay. It was pretty dark and difficult to get bright (even after turning on all the individual lights). The shower pressure was terrible. There is a main shower head and a separate shower wand with a lever to select one or the other, or both. The wand had the most power but was still pretty sad. Shower toiletries were okay but the conditioner seemed extra watery. The fitness center was not very large. 2 treadmills, bench+free weights, 2 arm machines and 1 elliptical. I wanted to swim laps in the pool but each time I passed by there were too many people in it. Worst part about my stay was not getting the complimentary breakfast as a Platinum member. I booked directly with the website but was told at check-in that since I used a discounted rate, that I don’t get free breakfast. This left a huge terrible first impression on me, especially considering I cancelled another hotel (that I would have gotten free breakfast at with my status) in order to try out this one. I was expecting the breakfast but didn’t get a chance. I have a lot of travel in cities that have Sonesta hotels and was considering adding them into my rotation of hotels to stay, but after seeing how the breakfast benefit is not as described, I will no longer consider staying at Sonesta hotels.

One night stay with children We enjoyed our stay at the Yorkville Royal Sonesta hotel. The front desk staff were well trained, friendly and very accommodating. One even helped secure a reusable bag from her personal bag when we had a bag rip on our way out! The pool was lovely and a nice temperature. It’s just over 3 feet deep throughout the full length. The beds were extremely comfortable and I appreciated that the duvet was fully encased by a sheet. None of this layering business like other hotels where everyone touches the duvet. The pillows were okay, not great. The sheet did smell a bit musty and one had what appeared to be blood on it. Thankfully we stayed on a Wednesday night and the hotel was not busy. I say this because what happens out in the hall sounds like it’s happening in your room. It was VERY loud. Thankfully we didn’t hear much after 11pm. The location was close to the subway and directly across from the ROM. Just keep an eye out for bicyclists. The front door opens onto busy Bloor street and there is a very active bike lane. I would recommend this hotel and would stay again.

Good location Staff was very friendly and helpful. Super clean and comfortable. It was noisy but it is downtown and road construction was going on out front. Several restaurants within walking distance. Pharmacy next door. Royal Ontario Museum and Bata shoe museum across street. Close to Casa Loma.