Hotel Review: The Westin Bristol Place Toronto Airport

A few weeks back I took a quick weekend trip to Toronto and took the opportunity to stay at a couple of hotels. My first night was spent at The Westin Bristol Place Toronto Airport.

My flight to Toronto wasn’t direct and I was on a red eye flight, so I was pretty tired when I landed in the morning. I knew that the hotel provided a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, and all I had to do was call them from the information desk at the airport.

As soon as I cleared customs I went straight to the information desk to make the call. I was told to wait outside at the post marked “F5, F as in freedom, 5.” After  a quick bathroom break I went outside to wait at the post. I was freezing in the 45 degree and windy weather (keep in mind I’m a southern California native). I waited and waited, then went inside to wait because I got too cold. After 40 minutes of waiting I decided something was wrong, so I went to call again.

I spoke to the same person on the phone, who this time told me to go downstairs and wait at “S5, S as in Sam, 5.” I said “OK, but last time you said ‘F as in Freedom 5’ and I waited there for a long time.” He brushed off the comment and said he’ll be there in 10 minutes. He was there on the tenth minute.

I was too exhausted to be upset at him when I finally got picked up, and we were at the hotel after a literally three minute drive. It was about 1pm at this point and a few hours before the normal check-in time of 4pm, but my room was ready. I was upgraded to “The Bristol Suite” thanks to my SPG Platinum status,  and I didn’t even have to ask. I love my SPG Platinum status!

So I walked into my room, which was at the end of the hallway, and I was pretty surprised. The suite was very large compared to what I was expecting.  Here’s the grand tour of the suite:

After I walked around a little bit I realized I hadn’t seen the bedroom yet, and walked down a small hallway to find several closets and the bedroom.

Once I got through the hallway and looked right, I saw there was another entry door. I completely missed it in the hallway walking in, but there are two entry doors to the suite. The bedroom and bathroom were also on this side of the suite.

There was a second hallway between the bedroom and bathroom. It had no light in it, and the opposite door didn’t open. It was actually a bit creepy, so I closed and kept that door locked for the duration of my stay.

The suite was pretty nice, aside from the creepy hallway. The five closets is kind of ridiculous, and one of my Twitter followers noted that she doesn’t even have that many in her apartment. I think I’d prefer a half bathroom instead of one of the walk-in closets, because honestly…who needs FIVE closets in a hotel?

While the Bristol Suite was nice, it was also starting to show some age. This was most apparent in the kitchen with the very old appliances, but the carpet in the rest of the suite also was quite worn. The TV’s and the internet connection were great though, and the bed is what you expect to get from a Westin.

I only spent one night here so I didn’t get to look around the hotel much. There are several restaurants within walking distance, and quite a few within a one-mile radius if you have a car. I didn’t hear any airplnes going overhead, which is pretty surprising considering the hotel’s proximity to the Toronto Airport.

Other than the hassle of waiting an hour to get a ride to the hotel, I was pretty satisfied with my stay. I was upgraded without having to ask, and the room was huge. While the room was a little bit worn and had a hilarious amount of closets, it was definitely nothing to keep me from staying there again.

The whole shuttle thing, however, is a different issue. I did not appreciate having to stand out in the cold for that long. I was literally forgotten about after the first time I called, and the driver didn’t even acknowledge it. I received an email from the hotel afterward thanking me for my stay, and said to contact the General Manager if I had any comments. I did, and never got a response back.

Because of this, and despite the room upgrade, I don’t think I’d stay at this hotel again. There are plenty of other SPG options in the area for the next time I’m in Toronto, and I’ll soon be reviewing the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Center that I stayed on on the back-end of my trip.