After two years of delays, the highly-anticipated W Toronto will finally be opening its doors and welcoming visitors as of today, July 21, 2022.
Toronto has no shortage of luxury hotels within the Marriott umbrella and beyond, so let’s take a look at how the W Toronto stacks up.
W Toronto: Canada’s Second W Hotel
The W Toronto is Canada’s second W Hotel location, following in the footsteps of the W Montreal. It’s the third luxury-tier Marriott property in the city, following the St. Regis Toronto and the Ritz-Carlton Toronto.
With this opening, Marriott has established a lead over its competition in terms of Toronto luxury hotels: IHG offers only the InterContinental Toronto and Kimpton Saint George, Accor only has the Fairmont Royal York, and Hyatt only the Park Hyatt Toronto.
Interestingly, the W Toronto isn’t an entirely new build – it replaces the previous Toronto Marriott Bloor/Yorkville, which closed in 2019. After a $40 million renovation, the previously aging and drab interiors are now nowhere to be seen, and everything but the exterior exudes the classic W flair.
Rooms & Suites
The new W Toronto offers 255 rooms spread across nine floors. This is right on par with the St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton, and appears to include a decent number of suites.
The suites here mostly follow the standard W naming conventions, including Studio Suites, Fantastic Suites, Amplified Studio Suites, and then the higher-end WOW Suite and Extreme WOW Suite. (“Fabulous”, “Spectacular”, and “Marvelous” are reserved for standard room naming.)
Pictures for the majority of the suites are not yet updated on the hotel website, but based on the renderings of the standard rooms, they should be, well, fantastic. 😉
Like all Ws, Marriott is looking to redefine modern luxury with clean lines and vibrant furniture – a far cry from the historic old-school designs we might associate with some of the legacy brands.
Location
The W Toronto is located at 90 Bloor Street East in Toronto, where locals and tourists alike will notice it’s directly adjacent to the Bloor/Yonge subway station.
The previous Toronto Marriott Bloor/Yorkville was connected directly to the subway station, and guests didn’t have to brave the great outdoors to hop on the train, so that should continue to be the case here at the new W.
The W Toronto sits squarely on the Mink Mile, an upscale shopping district located in the posh Yorkville neighbourhood. Indeed, the Park Hyatt is only a few minutes down the street.
The location is perhaps less ideal for first-time visitors, as it requires a 10–15 minute subway ride to reach Union Station and its nearby attractions (Scotiabank Arena, the CN Tower, and Ripley’s Aquarium).
However, the Bloor/Yonge neighbourhood is still ideal for those visiting the Royal Ontario Museum, the Bata Shoe Museum, and Casa Loma, which is a half-hour walk up the hill, as well as simply soaking up the atmosphere of Toronto’s busiest intersection and wining and dining your way through Yorkville.
Dining & Amenities
The W opens with three main dining venues: Public School Coffeehouse + Kitchen + Bar, Living Room, and Skylight.
Public School is an all day coffee house and bar opening at 6:30am and closing at 12am, with a plant-forward menu that rotates throughout the day.
Based on the number of “+” signs in the title, I’m expecting this to be a coffeehouse and breakfast venue in the morning, before turning into a restaurant and bar as afternoon approaches.
Living Room is the W Toronto’s lobby restaurant and bar, and is also open all day long from 6:30am–1am. On the menu are light bites and tapas, along with coffee and tea, cocktails, and sparkling wine.
Speaking of lively, we can’t miss Skylight, the hotel’s rooftop patio. This appears to be the hub of social activity at the W Toronto, and may well be a worthy competitor to the Writers Room over at the Park Hyatt.
Lastly, the W Toronto features an aptly-named fitness centre, FIT, which is said to be over 3,300 square feet. FIT should feature an excellent range of equipment, given that Ws place a particular emphasis on fitness and wellness programming.
Best Ways to Book W Toronto
The W Toronto can be booked with between 40,000 and 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. Cash rates hover in the range of $700 (CAD) per night.
Both the points and cash prices of the property are less than the St. Regis and the Ritz-Carlton, perhaps signalling how Marriott plans to situate the W Toronto within its overall luxury portfolio in the city.
On points, most of the summer is pricing in the range o 40,000–50,000 points, making it a decent redemption of your Marriott Bonvoy points and a spectacular redemption using any Free Night Awards worth 35,000 points, since we can now top-up these awards with an additional 15,000 points.
Weekends are noticeably more expensive, though still within reach with a Free Night Award worth 50,000 points.
For the rest of 2022, the W Toronto has the “We’ve Arrived Opening Offer,” which is a prepaid but refundable rate. Guests receive 20% off the room rate, a $50 hotel credit, and two SIP drink tickets.
While weekends cost more in points, they’re close to the same as weekdays using cash, so that’s likely the optimal way to book – especially with some discounts currently floating around.
Currently, there’s an Amex Offer for “Spend $250, Get $50” at Marriott hotels, which expires on October 5, 2022. For stays past that date, you can simply pick up a gift card to use anytime.
For those residing in Ontario, there’s also the Staycation Tax Credit available, in which residents can receive 20% back on stays within the province. Individuals can receive up to $200 back, and families can receive up to $400 back.
And for those looking to use the American Express Platinum Card‘s $200 annual travel credit or the Amex Offer a $50–150 credit on Amex Travel, note that the W Toronto shows up in the Amex Travel portal at the same rate as booking direct.
If you’re booking a Marriott hotel, consider making your booking through the Prince of Travel affiliate link, which helps to support the website.
Lastly, if you have Suite Night Awards to burn, the list of available suites goes up to the Fantastic Suite, which I’m happy to see, especially with some properties only offering marginally-upgraded rooms these days.
Conclusion
As of today, the W Toronto is open for business, representing Marriott’s second W Hotel in Canada and third luxury-tier property in Toronto.
The W aura is strong with this one, with purple and green accents sprinkled throughout the design and plant-focused dining establishments. Food and drinks will no doubt be the highlight of the W Toronto, from the all-day coffee shop and bar to the rooftop terrace.
For those looking to book a stay at the newly renovated W Toronto, using Marriott Bonvoy points or Free Night Awards can be a very attractive value proposition, especially on weeknights.
Wrong brand for the property…. W Hotel conversions are usually a let down and this one looks like it will be as well. The ugly concrete building doesn’t give you the W Hotel vibe you find in Singapore, Maldives, London, Istanbul or Oman, no matter how many letter W’s they schlep on the property. And $500 a night .. LOL!!