Ryan C.
Yelp
--STREET CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL, ALL ALONG QUEENS QUAY
--NO RUNNING WATER FOR ONE NIGHT
Despite these problems, I still had an "A-OK" stay at the Radisson. The city is pouring money into renovating the area, and the hotel can't be blamed for that. The room felt contemporary and well maintained. There is a small business center on one of the floors, where we were able to print our flight boarding passes. There is a really nice rooftop pool area with a great view of the harbour.
The Radisson sits on Queens Quay W between Rees St and Lower Simcoe St. At the time of this review, Queens Quay W is only allowing one-way westbound traffic. To access the hotel by car, you have to come from Lower Simcoe and not from Rees. The hotel could have had the courtesy to tell me this before my arrival, but it didn't.
The plumbing was shut off at 10PM our first night (June 18, 2014). We did not find out until AFTER we checked in, got into our room, and read the notice letter sitting on the table. The hotel could have had the courtesy to email/call me, or even tell me at the front desk when I checked in, but it didn't. (What if we checked in at 10PM?!)
As far as I know, the hotel did not offer any alternate arrangement to get running water for that night. No toilet flushing. No showering. No brushing your teeth. They could have had the courtesy to offer some alternate arrangement, or compensate for the inconvenience, but it didn't. We made sure to shower when we checked in at 6PM, but then headed out to dinner and didn't get back until after 10PM. The water was already off, so we couldn't brush our teeth that night, which was kind of gross.
The rooftop pool area was really nice. We sat on the patio for about 15 minutes, waiting to order a drink, but the server didn't come. So, I had to go inside to order my drinks at the Watermark bar. I ordered 2 happy hour mojitos, but was not charged correctly. I had to point out to the bartender the happy hour menu, in order for him to notice the error and correct the bill. That said, he corrected the mistake promptly once I pointed it out.
If I were to come back to Toronto, I'd probably only consider staying here again after the street construction is complete. The waterfront location is scenic, however I wish that the hotel had a closer subway station. It was about a 10-minute walk to the nearest subway station. If you plan to explore downtown Toronto on foot or by subway, it may be more convenient to stay further north closer to the downtown core.