The Westin Harbour Castle

1 Harbour Square, Toronto, Ontario M5J 1A6.  Voice: 416-869-1600.  Fax: 416-869-0573.

Description

The Westin Harbour Castle hotel is one of my favorite weekend get away hotels.  It has all of the things that I like about hotels.  Their rooms are quiet, at least on the upper floors.  The staff is well trained, courteous, helpful, and efficient.  The hotel provide provides parking, at a fee.  There is a good sized indoor pool in a glass covered conservatory-like enclosure.  Their rates are a bargain for what they provide and an even better bargain when traveling from the U.S. and enjoying the favorable currency exchange rate. 

Rooms

The rooms at the Westin Harbour Castle are so well maintained that on every visit, even years apart, the rooms feel like they were just built and furnished.  They had the feeling of having never been used before my arrival.  Everything in the room, including lamps, TV, thermostat, and telephone, worked.

The hotel's location on the harbor and its dual tall slim towers provides almost every room with a spectacular view.  If you get a room on the harbor side you can watch the ferries cross the harbor.  If you get a room on the city side, you have a wonderful view of the Toronto skyline.  This view is spectacular at night.  If you take a room with a less expensive view of the other tower or an apartment building.  However, this less expensive view is much better than it sounds.  The other buildings are far enough away to still provide excellent views of the harbor and the city skyline.

The worst rooms are those on the lower floors overlooking the ferry dock.  The ferries blow their horns when the leave the dock.  They leave often starting early in the morning and end late at night.

Location

The hotel is located on the water near the end of Yong street in the heart of the business district and close to the theater district.

Food

I often stay at the hotel during the Christmas holidays.  The hotel does an adequate job of providing food for their guests at Christmas, but food has always been their weakest offering.  Their breakfast buffets provide marginal quality hot breakfast foods.  My wife appreciates that they serve cold cereals, fruit, and yogurt. 

At one Christmas breakfast buffet I saw a cockroach on a serving table.  It is likely that every hotel in the world has cockroaches in their kitchens.  What separates one hotel from another is how well they hide the cockroaches from the guests.  The Westin Harbour Castle failed to hide their cockroach from me.  That cost them points in my book.

Over the years that I have been staying at the Westin Harbour Castle they have gone through several restaurant renovations.  The current restaurant at the of one of the hotel's towers is named Toul�.  A review of Toul� can be read at Toronto Life.  The restaurant rotates atop the 38 floor tower.  If you are reader of Calvin Trillin's food humor books like American Fried, you will be suspicious of restaurants that move.  I haven't eaten at Toul�, so I can't comment.

What the Westin Harbour Castle could use is a Starbucks or a Tim Horton in their lobby.

Until I have had a chance to eat at Toul� I recommend that you walk to Yong Street and turn north.  Your destination is March� Movenpick at 42 Yonge Street (Yonge and Front Street).  Additional reviews of March� are available at Toronto Life and an excellent description is available from TorDine.