I recently stayed with the family at the Park Hyatt Toronto. Even though the hotel has all the elements a Park Hyatt Hotel should have, the check-in experience left a very bitter taste. In fact, it felt more like I was negotiating with a 2nd hand car dealer. Not something I expected from the Park Hyatt! Please read about my shocking check-in experience at the Park Hyatt Toronto in this review!
Check-in Experience
After a long drive from Ottowa we arrived at the Park Hyatt in Toronto. For this stay I booked a 1-Bedroom Corner Suite. Our party consisted out of 2 adults and 2 children and I booked this suite via the Hyatt App. I had also consulted the Hyatt Concierge for this booking since I used a Suite Upgrade Voucher for this booking. I’m regularly booking 2 connecting rooms when traveling with the family, but if we can get a suite with a separate living room and the room allows for 2 adults and 2 children, we often ‘just’ book the suite.
A few days before checking in, I received an email from the Park Hyatt with some generic information. I replied that we were looking forward to our stay and confirmed again that our party consisted out of 2 adults and 2 children. All was fine.
When we finally arrived at the Park Hyatt Toronto, I expected no drama and a smooth check-in experience. After the front-desk agent confirmed my 1-Bedroom Suite confirmation, he started discussing in great detail how their 2-Bedroom Bi-Level Suite would be perfectly suited for us.
I’ve a special price for you…
Even though I was a bit tired from the car journey, I was patiently listening assuming that he had a complimentary upgrade for us in store. However, after the detailed explanation, the agent mentioned he could offer this 2-bedroom suite to us for a special additional price of 1300 CAD (almost 1000 USD) per night.
I told the agent I wasn’t interested. In fact, I now just wanted to get the check-in completed asap and get to the room. But the story wasn’t finished yet. He then turned his attention to the actual reservation and mentioned that they could put 1 extra roll-away bed in the room. I replied that we were with 2 children so either the sofa could be turned into a bed (very common in these kind of rooms), or one more rollaway bed would be required. The answer was not something I expected. The sofa couldn’t be turned into a bed, and no additional rollaway bed would be allowed in the room…
But of course he had a solution for us! He came back to the 2-bedroom suite again. He could now offer that suite for only an additional 900 CAD per night. I now got slightly irritated and annoyed and again mentioned I wasn’t interested in the 2-bedroom suite. He then replied what price I thought would be reasonable for the 2-bedroom suite…. I looked around wondering if I teleported myself somehow to a Moroccan Souk and was negotiating about the price of a Genie Lamp.
Let me talk to the manager…
But I was still at the Park Hyatt in Toronto. I replied I was only interested in the 2-bedroom suite if he could give that to me as a complimentary upgrade. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be interested. I told him, he had to find a solution for the suite we booked which – according to the booking and their website – could accommodate 4 people! Well, that wasn’t the answer he was looking for. So finally he mentioned he needed to talk with his manager.
Now while all this was happening, a group was standing next to us at the check-in counter. They were having a very loud discussion with another front-desk agent. It was about some issue they were clearly not very happy about. This was escalating pretty rapidly and they were clearly not getting the feedback they were looking for. Instead of the front-desk agent taking them apart, he let things get out of control. Clearly a situation you want to prevent at the check-in area of a luxury hotel. The manager didn’t show his or her face during all this. I guess he or she was busy thinking about how the upsell strategy could still be saved?
Trying to force the upsell…
Our check-in agent didn’t give up that quickly though. When he finally he came back after talking with his manager, he came back with an offer of 750 CAD for the 2-bedroom suite. I just couldn’t believe it.
By now, I was already looking for other hotel options. I was really getting fed up with this whole situation. In the end though – after spending another 10 minutes at the check-in area – of course it was possible to have a second roll-away bed placed in our 1-bedroom suite. And there really was plenty of space in the living room of the suite to accommodate 2 roll-away beds. Even 4 roll-away beds would have fitted easily.
Conclusion
This was the first time during all my travels that I really wanted to leave a (Park) Hyatt hotel before I had even stepped into the room. I really don’t know what they were thinking at the check-in desk. Is this upsell strategy something they try to apply more often? The total ignorance and persistence of just continuing to try and upsell a much more expensive suite while all the signals are there that someone is simply not interested, is just something I cannot grasp. Especially not at a Park Hyatt Hotel.
This shocking check-in experience at the Park Hyatt Toronto really left a very bitter taste in my mouth. And that didn’t go away during my whole stay at the hotel. For that reason, I cannot recommend this hotel. The front-desk is the first impression you have with the hotel. Like on a first date, if the first impression isn’t good, it’s never going to work out!
Also review my review of the Park Hyatt Chicago. A Park Hyatt which definitely didn’t disappoint and was everything you would expect a Park Hyatt to be!
For a review of my flight out of Toronto to Amsterdam, have a look at my Youtube channel. Please like and subscribe if you like the video!
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