Review: Park Hyatt Toronto

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I spent about 36 hours in Toronto this past weekend visiting friends, which was my first time spending a night in the city. In the past I’ve visited the city for an afternoon during a long layover, and I’ve spent the night near the airport, but I’ve never spent a night in the city.

As a Hyatt and Starwood loyalist I took a close look at the options — Hyatt has two properties (a Regency and a Park), and then Starwood has several properties, all of which are mid-range and look cookie cutter.

So I decided to book the Park Hyatt Toronto, which had rates of 279CAD per night (~215USD). Best of all that rate was bookable through Virtuoso, which got me the following benefits:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily full breakfast, for up to two in room guests in restaurant
• $100 USD equivalent Resort or Hotel credit, to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full, not applicable to Spa Products purchases or Gift shop)
• Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability

Admittedly a lot of these perks overlapped with my Diamond status, but at a minimum I’d be getting a 100CAD hotel credit. The Virtuoso rate was the same as the flexible rate and just 15CAD per night higher than the advance purchase rate, so was well worth it to me.

I should note that before I stayed here, several friends warned me that this is one of the dumpier Park Hyatts out there, and isn’t really worthy of the Park Hyatt flag, so I came in with fairly low expectations.

I took an Uber to my hotel on Friday evening, which cost about 35CAD. The drive took about 40 minutes, as I was fortunately arriving shortly after prime rush hour.

This is one of the larger Park Hyatt properties, with 346 rooms. The hotel has two towers, which are connected by a long hallway and the lobby.

Park Hyatt Toronto exterior

As I pulled up to the hotel I was completely ignored by the bellmen. Not that I needed help since I just had a carry-on, but usually at luxury hotels (or any hotels, for that matter) they’ll at least greet you and point you towards reception.

Park Hyatt Toronto driveway

When facing the hotel, the lobby is located towards the left, and it’s definitely rather old world, though at least manages not to be too outdated.

While the bellmen ignored me, the front office associate checking me in was extremely friendly and efficient. I was checking in at around 7:20PM and told her I had dinner plans at 7:30PM, so she had me checked in within a minute. She informed me that I’d receive breakfast, and that I’ve also been upgraded to the hotel’s single renovated room, which they’re testing as a model for how to redo all the rooms

Park Hyatt Toronto lobby

I was also given a letter explaining the Virtuoso privileges.

Park Hyatt Toronto Virtuoso welcome letter

My room was located on the opposite side of the hotel, so I took the long hallway to the other end. I sort of loved the design of the hallway, which is timeless, in my opinion.

Park Hyatt Toronto hallway to elevators

At the end of the hallway were the three elevators to guest rooms (which are slightly less timeless, in my opinion).

Park Hyatt Toronto elevators

I took the elevator up to the eighth floor, where my room was located.

Park Hyatt Toronto hallway

I was assigned room 833, which had me turning left out of the elevator, and then it was at the end of the hallway on the right. Let me say once again that this is the one renovated room in the hotel, which they apparently completed a bit over a month ago. They’re testing it for a while to work out the kinks, and will then bring the design hotel-wide.

The room featured a wide entryway, with a connecting door on the right and the bathroom on the left. The room was quite large and it’s clear they wanted to fill all the space, though I found the presence of two benches in the entryway to a standard room to be a bit odd. I can see using one as a luggage stand, but two seems like an overkill.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated king room entrance

The room was a great size, with a king size bed, curved couch, and desk.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated king room

The king size bed was extremely comfortable, and I especially liked that the pillows were quite large (I really don’t like square pillows).

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated king room

Park Hyatt Toronto king room

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated king room

The desk featured a comfortable leather chair, lamp, and phone.

Park Hyatt Toronto king room desk

Then in the corner was a curved couch which could seat several people. There was both a side table, as well as a larger table in front of the couch. The couch was comfortable, so I really liked the design, as I haven’t seen one of these in a hotel room before.

There was a big lamp behind the couch. The only issue is that best I could tell you could only turn it on using the button which was on the floor behind the couch. There was no easy way to reach it, though.

Park Hyatt Toronto king room seating area

Across from the bed was a large flat screen TV on a chest, and next to that was the minibar.

Park Hyatt Toronto king room desk & TV

Park Hyatt Toronto king room desk & TV

There was an illy coffee machine inside the minibar, which made some great coffee — I actually liked it more than a Nespresso machine.

Park Hyatt Toronto king room minibar and illy coffee machine

Park Hyatt Toronto king room illy coffee machine

The refrigerated items in the minibar were all in a pull-out drawer, as I’ve found to be the case at many hotels.

Park Hyatt Toronto king room minibar

The room faced views of the surrounding streets and buildings, though since I was only on the eighth floor, there wasn’t much to see. At least the immediate area was pretty quiet.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room view

The bathroom featured a sink, toilet, and then a walk-in shower.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room bathroom

The toilet was located to the right of the sink, and wasn’t partitioned off in any way.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room toilet

Then there was the shower, which had fantastic water pressure and two heads, but there’s just one major issue — the shower controls are on the opposite side of the shower of where you enter. The shower controls aren’t labeled, so the only way to turn on water is by getting in the shower and getting soaked. It amazes me how many hotels screw this up — have the people who designed these showers never stayed in a hotel before?

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room shower

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room shower

All bath amenities were the Bergamote 22 line from Le Labo, which is tough to beat.

Park Hyatt Toronto renovated room Bergamote toiletries

I’ve never stayed in the old rooms, though I think the hotel did a fantastic job with their new model room, all things considered. The decor is modern and (for the most part) functional, so I assume this will be a huge improvement over their old rooms.

The first morning I had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, Annona, which serves breakfast starting at 6:30AM.

Park Hyatt Toronto restaurant entrance

Park Hyatt Toronto restaurant

The breakfast menu read as follows:

I selected the “Leisure Weekend Breakfast.” While breakfast was included, I couldn’t help but think it was an especially good value for breakfast at a luxury hotel, especially when you consider the prices are in CAD and not USD.

The breakfast came with illy coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Since the breakfast included waffles, I was brought a cute maple leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup.

Park Hyatt Toronto breakfast — orange juice and maple syrup

Park Hyatt Toronto breakfast — illy coffee

The breakfast began with a yogurt parfait, which was tasty as could be.

Park Hyatt Toronto breakfast — yogurt, granola, and fruit parfait

Once the main arrived I realized I had ordered way too much food. Breakfast consisted of toast, waffles with strawberries and bananas, scrambled eggs (which I requested well done), breakfast potatoes, and a side of fruit (which I was offered since I didn’t want any of the meat which usually comes with breakfast).

Park Hyatt Toronto breakfast — scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and waffles

Breakfast was tasty, though service was slow. There seemed to be one guy serving the entire area, so when I was done it was 15 minutes before I could flag him down and sign the check.

I also ordered room service lunch one day (I know, Anthony Bourdain would be appalled), and ordered french onion soup, chickpea curry with broccoli, and coffee.

Park Hyatt Toronto room service lunch

Both dishes were excellent.

Park Hyatt Toronto room service lunch — french onion soup

Park Hyatt Toronto room service lunch — chickpea and broccoli curry

I also used the hotel’s gym once, which is on the basement level. I’m not sure if they’re renovating the gym and just have a temporary setup or what, because the gym was abysmal.

Park Hyatt Toronto gym

It had more than enough treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes, but other than that just had a set of weights and three weight machines. That would be acceptable for a secluded resort, but for a city hotel that seems rather underwhelming.

Park Hyatt Toronto gym

Park Hyatt Toronto gym

My flight on Sunday morning was at 8AM, so I left the hotel at around 6AM. Check-out was efficient, and the drive to the airport took about 25 minutes.

Park Hyatt Toronto bottom line

Is this property to the level of the Park Hyatt Maldives, Park Hyatt Sydney, etc.? Nope. But it’s a solid city hotel, and given the price point, I’d definitely return.

The renovated room was well done overall, so it’ll be great when the design is expanded to other rooms. I found the hotel’s location to be good, though I’m also not an expert on Toronto. Service at the hotel was hit or miss, and the hotel lacked the lux feeling you get from some other Park Hyatt properties.

But overall Toronto doesn’t seem like an amazing hotel market, so I’d recommend the Park Hyatt (at least the renovated room, which is all I can speak to as of now).

Do you have a favorite Toronto hotel?

Pala Casino Resort & Spa Influencer Event

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Recently, Bill and I traveled south to San Diego County to attend the Special Influencer Event at Pala Casino Resort and Spa. Today I am sharing details and favorite highlights from our stay and the influencer event.

Pala is located in San Diego County not far from Temecula, Temecula Wine Country and Fallbrook. We took a winding road though some beautiful canyons and groves of avocado trees to the Pala reservation.

This Four Diamond resort is a getaway destination for many throughout California and the Southwestern states. Pala offers a variety of options for guests from Las Vegas-style gaming, full-service spa, 11 restaurants, venues for live music, meeting space, shopping, and more.

Bill and I checked in the day before the event. Pala’s Social Media and PR Specialist, Erika, greeted us in front of the resort and showed us around the property. Our check in at the front desk went quickly and smoothly. Soon we were headed to our guest room.

Pala’s 507 guest rooms are over 500 square feet and offer mountain or pool views. We were on the 8^th floor and had breathtaking views of the pool area and the Palomar Mountains. Each morning, the fog would hang over the mountain tops before the sun would slowly burn it off, making for another sunshine-filled day.

Our room was comfortable, spacious and had all the amenities I would expect from a Four Diamond Award Winning resort.

We were surprised with a big gift basket waiting for us in our room along with a dozen white long-stemmed roses.

PALA POOL

After we checked in and unpacked, we were ready for lunch. We decided to have a quick meal and a tropical cocktail at the pool. It was a lovely day, not a cloud in sight.

The pool area currently has 12 cabanas guests may rent. However, the pool will be closing this fall in order to make major changes and improvements. Next spring, the new pool area will be even more luxurious. I can’t wait to see the finished project.

PALA SPA

The 10,000 square-foot Pala Spa is located just across the lawn from the hotel and adjacent to the pool area.

It has a retail boutique, fitness center, spacious locker rooms – one for men and one women – with showers, steam rooms, dry sauna and indoor whirlpools. The spa has 14 treatment rooms and two Signature Spa Suites, which is where Bill and I were treated to a couples massage.

Our massage therapists gave us the option of an indoor massage experience or having our massages outdoors on the secluded patio. We opted for the patio. I loved the tranquil and somewhat tropical setting. We had Swedish massages and I have to say, my massage was the very best I have ever had. It was just the right pressure, the right amount of time and in such a perfect atmosphere.

After our 50-minute massages, we were told we had an hour to ourselves in the spa suite! The suite had a whirlpool bath for two, which was already filled and ready for us, along with a chilled bottle of local sparkling wine and heart-shaped chocolates. It was heavenly and so relaxing! The Pala Spa really knows how to pamper and spoil their guests.

LUIS REY’S

After our amazing massages we went up to our guest room to change for dinner. The friendly and helpful staff at Pala told us that Luis Rey’s, a casual outdoor/indoor lounge and bar that serves a variety of Mexican and California-style appetizers, serves $1 street tacos during happy hour. We’ve rarely met a street taco we didn’t want to devour and had to try one. It did not disappoint! If we didn’t already have dinner plans, I would have ordered another one…or three!

Soon Tamera Beardsley and her husband, Jeff who were also attending the influencer event, arrived. They checked in that afternoon and we arranged to meet for cocktails and dinner at Pala, just the four of us. I love spending time with Tamera. She is much more than a fellow blogger, she has become a dear and wonderful friend. I was so happy to have some time to catch up with her!

After drinks at Luis Rey’s we went to The CAVE for dinner. The CAVE has a restaurant and lounge, which is where we had dinner, as well as an underground wine cave that we would visit during the next day’s influencer event.

The CAVE restaurant has an impressive wine list that includes over 480 different wines and a Mediterranean style dinner menu that features a variety of tasty dishes from pastas, pizzas and flat breads to steaks and seafood. They also have a delicious selection of appetizers. We had a wonderful dinner and the service was impeccable and friendly.

What a fun evening we had with Tamera and Jeff!

SPECIAL INFLUENCER EVENT!

 Meet and Greet at The CAVE

The next morning the influencer event got off the ground. We would have a full day of experiences at Pala ahead, which would conclude with an outdoor concert performance by UB40!

First, we went to The CAVE lounge for a meet and greet. Our event had a darling pineapple theme. We were treated to a selection of Hawaiian cuisine and tropical drinks – both with and without alcohol. The prawns served in tiny pineapple halves were my favorite. And I loved the cute little paper straws with pineapple print.

Fellow influencers, along with their guests, trickled in and soon we had amassed quite a crowd of people! I always enjoy meeting new people so it was fun to chat with some of the other bloggers and influencers.

After spending some time taking photos with Tamera in front of the striped Pala backdrop and having one more prawn in a pineapple, we got ready to take our group to the casino floor. We would competing in a slot tournament!

Slot Tournament

We were divided into groups of about 10 then each assigned to a slot machine. For three minutes we did our best to rack up points by pressing button and tapping the screen. It was a fast-paced and fun contest and most of us had tired hands by the time three minutes was up. Neither Bill nor I won any prizes but we still had a blast!

I got a chance to meet and chat with Dawn Lucy of Fashion Should Be Fun who also attended the event. She was with her friend Rachel. They were both such a kick and I am so glad I got to hang out with them.

Pala Underground Cave

After our slot tournament concluded, it was time to eat again! Our large group of about 30 people was divided into two. Our group would go to The CAVE’s Underground Cave first for wine tasting and appetizers.

I was so impressed with the wines in the wine cave. Some of Napa Valley’s finest wines were featured including Far Niente and Joseph Phelps, as well as numerous Italian and French wines.

We enjoyed some local wines from Temecula wine country along with lots of nibbles that were passed around throughout our visit to the wine cave.

Pala Underground Cave also offers live entertainment on select nights as well as top shelf spirits and craft beer.

The Oak Room

Next we made our way to The Oak Room for a fine dining experience. This elegant restaurant is a world-class steak and seafood house with an extensive wine list, knowledgeable waitstaff and beautiful ambiance.

We were introduced to Oak Room’s sommelier, who led us through a food and wine pairing. The food and the wine were phenomenal, definitely meeting the high standards we have here in Sonoma and Napa. Chef Yee Thomas Feng also came to our table to tell us about the food we enjoyed. What a treat the Oak Room was for this wine and food lover – from start to finish!

Pala Casino

As part of the influencer event, we were each given $50 in casino play, which I turned into $160! I have always been partial to the poker machines and was thrilled to hit a four of a kind.

Having spent my childhood in Las Vegas, I know a thing or two about casinos. Pala Casino is very much a Las Vegas-style casino. They have 2,000 state-of-the-art slot and video machines, 80 table games, and a poker room. They also had live music going on every time we walked through the casino area.

Later that night we attended the outdoor UB40 concert. It was the perfect clear night for a concert and the music sounded great. What fun! Pala has a packed calendar of well-known bands and performers. One of my favorite singers, Olivia Newton-John, will be performing there in October.

The next morning, we packed up our things then met our influencer group for breakfast in one Pala’s meeting spaces. We enjoyed a tasty breakfast buffet, then said our farewells.

I definitely recommend Pala Casino Resort & Spa as a destination getaway to have fun, enjoy fantastic food, wine and cocktails as well as live music. Treat yourself to a phenomenal massage and try your hand at the slots and tables, if you like. There is a wide variety of activities and amenities to experience at Pala – something for everyone!

Disclosure: Our stay at Pala Casino Resort and Spa was complimentary as part of our participation in the Influencer Event. All opinions expressed here are, as always, my own. 

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