I've stayed here when it was The Westin Prince, at least a dozen times over the past number of years. It was always a beautiful upscale hotel, in a park-like wooded setting, with excellent full service restaurants, and a respectable and respectful clientele.
Now, it's been taken over by The Pan Pacific Hotel Group, and as I've heard from family who live nearby, the vast acreage of the property will be "better utilized for high-rise, residential, office, and retail space. Much like the rest of The over-built GTA; Toronto, Markham, and North York. If that's the case, maybe that explains why this place is run so poorly and has been allowed to lapse into disrepair.
It also attracts some really sketchy people despite the prices of rooms starting at $220.00 a night CA. Here's what we saw:
At 5:00 AM, a young, poorly dressed young man got off the elevator, and strutted through the lobby, blaring unreasonably loud rap from his phone, while glaring at the employees, daring them to say anything to him. No one did. No courtesy or respect for anyone....especially at this early hour. There are no managers visible, and no security was ever seen during the week.
Groups of young men stood at the hotel's main entrance door, while smoking cannabis. The hotel is supposedly non-smoking, yet the hallways reeked of that skunk smelling cannabis odor, from the afternoons until the early morning hours.
Unsupervised children loudly roam the hallways, doors are slamming, and even just some peace and quiet in the room is elusive.
The main restaurant is only open for breakfast, with five very basic, and very over-priced choices on the menu. For example; three small pancakes served without butter $18.00. No lunch, no dinner, no room service. The Japanese hibachi restaurant has never re-opened. A third restaurant is vacant on site as well.
Well-dressed business people have been replaced by slovenly, loud and rude people that look and act like boisterous high schoolers on the last day of school.
The license plate recognition system used to control the once free, but now $18. daily parking lot rate, simply does not work. Once you have registered as a hotel guest, your license plate is supposed to be recognized by the license tag reading cameras and software, automatically opening the gate for each vehicle entry and exit, but it never does. You need to intercom the parking service provider each and every time; Target Parking, to recite your license plate number to them, and then they check their database, to ensure that you have paid, before letting you in or out by remotely opening the gate. If it was just my car that would be one thing, but no - every car was initially denied entrance/exit by the the system. You have to wait...very frustrating day in and day out.
The rooms have old, worn mattresses that were ok but put to shame by the Holiday Inn Express (Oakville, Ontario) that we stayed in days prior. There are 55" flat screen televisions however. Not many TV channels are received unfortunately. The toilet was not working properly, and "amenities" like soap, shampoo, and cups were not always replenished each day.
Despite the statement online that the pool is open - it was closed the entire week due to "high levels of bacteria present" in the water. This should give you some idea of the filthy, unwashed masses that have used the pool, and the caliber of their current hotel guests.
Like so many businesses today, there is management presence, no employees taking charge of anything except taking your money. It seems as if no one cares. A supposedly full service hotel, with bare bones service.
This establishment has gone to hell, has become decidedly downscale, and I will not be returning. With the number of other choices in the area, almost anywhere else would be an improvement. read more