“Family Friendly Service at its best.”
*Please note that this is not a sponsored post and there were no discounts or special treatment in exchange for this review. This is an honest review on our stay and experience.
We are not ones to travel much or stay in places that we don’t call home but recently we had a family trip to enjoy three events in downtown Toronto. To make it easier for us to access the events at a more convenient way, we decided to book a hotel close to the facility to make the travel with a toddler a little less stressful.
We booked our 2-night stay with Novotel Toronto Centre which is located at 45 The Esplanade which is in the heart of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. The neighbourhood itself is very intriguing as it gives you an elegant old city feeling. Almost like an intimate community in itself.
As you enter the beautiful hotel you can’t help but notice the beautiful seating area right away and then on the left side you are greeted by a friendly staff member who is ready to serve you if they are not already helping another guest.
We were checked in quickly and were given all the information we needed in order to get settled in. There is sheltered parking available at the hotel and it costs $29.50 (CDN) per night. This could be considered expensive parking; however, we had in and out privileges and when you see parking options available in the downtown core, this price range is the norm. On our last day at the hotel, our check out time was 12PM noon but we were able to leave our car in the parking lot until midnight that same day which worked perfect for us since our last event was that day.
We had a double room with a linking door between them. They were clean, spacious and included two queen size beds (very comfy!) in each room. Our bathrooms were also clean and we were thrilled to see a bathtub available for our toddler’s bath time. We had requested a fridge for our room as we needed it for our daughter’s Lactose Free milk and we did get one. But all rooms have a cooler where items are kept cool for you. There is also a safe available in each room which was easy to use.
The staff was friendly from start to finish and they ensured that we had everything that we needed. We felt it was a very family friendly hotel and they even gave my daughter the choice of a stuffed toy keychain which she picked an adorable sheep! What a nice touch and it made my daughter so happy, especially since I always tell her “no toys.” This was an exception.
Novotel also has Café Nicole & Lounge Bar which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bonus for families is that children under the age of 16 are free (limit of 2 children per family). We did have breakfast one morning there and we enjoyed every bite!
But if you want to explore your taste buds outside of the hotel, you do have options in downtown Toronto. Across the street you have access to some great restaurants such as The Keg Steakhouse, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Scotland Yard and more. We had the opportunity to have dinner at The Keg Steakhouse and Scotland Yard which were both fantastic. For more food options, you can check out the food court located at Brookfield Place which is located by the Hockey Hall of Fame nearby (about an 8 minute walk from the hotel).
The hotel is conveniently close to great Toronto attractions and facilities such as the Sony Centre, St. Lawrence Market, Air Canada Centre, Hockey Hall of Fame, Ripley’s Aquarium Canada and many more.
Location alone was ideal for us since all three of our events were being held at the Air Canada Centre and it took us approximately 12 to 15 minutes (in toddler walk time).
Now onto “the” question that is usually on everyone’s mind when looking for a place to stay and that is price! We felt that the price was right for a 3 star hotel (rating is according to their website). Momma Braga Tip: check different sites to get quotes on prices but a little trick that many do not know is to call the hotel directly. When we did we found out that they were having a two room special promotion which worked great for us.
Overall, we had a great time and our stay was family perfect for us. Our family was accommodated well and we felt that we got a little piece of home away from home. For this #MelandNikkiReview we give the Novotel Toronto Centre Hotel 5 “toddler high fives” out of 5.
We would recommend this hotel to other families who are looking for a comfortable family friendly hotel that is conveniently located to many attractions in the Downtown core of Toronto.
Until next time…Happy Parenting!
– Momma Braga
