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The Anndore House used to be an Apartment Hotel in the 1950’s and was revamped into a boutique Toronto Hotel in the Yorkville neighbourhood, in 2018. Now part of the JdV by Hyatt portfolio, The Anndore House is the first JdV property in Canada. A stones throw away from Yonge Street, and major downtown attractions of Toronto, the property is centrally located within walking distance to most things one can desire in the city.
Beware, while the hotel boasts of being fully operational, including a restaurant on site, there are several COVID restrictions still in place that can impact the overall stay experience. What if I told you you could not have breakfast, and would struggle to get fresh brewed morning coffee on hotel premises? Well, read on.
Booking – The Anndore House
The Anndore House is a Category 3 property in the Hyatt portfolio, which prices at 12,000 points per night. Trying to save my points towards a more luxurious stay, I booked the Advance Purchase rate of $296 CAD, which translates to $347 CAD with taxes, per night. The room type booked was a ‘King Loft’, a standard room at the property.
Check-in: No Breakfast, no room!
At Hyatt app’s prompt, I checked-in online, a straight forward process, and the property confirmed a Suite upgrade thanks to my Globalist status with Hyatt – upgraded to ‘The Master Suite’ for my stay.
After a short hop in Air Canada Business Class (A220) to Toronto, I took an uber ride to the hotel. Not having researched the hotel or seen any street view pictures beforehand, I found it difficult to locate the property. Well, I stood right in front of the doors looking for ‘The Anndore House’, a Hyatt Logo, anything really. Turns out, the only signage visible in bold letters (at street level) is for ‘Constantine’, the hotel bar. The hotel building is pretty unassuming if I can be honest, more a residential condo than a typical hotel.
Hotel Exterior
I walked up to the small lobby area , towards the check-in desk and presented myself. While the verification was quick, I was informed that the hotel does not offer any breakfast in the morning due to COVID measures in place. The only restaurant in the hotel opens at 5:30pm for dinner service, so guests are offered $40 credit at the restaurant instead. $40 that cannot be used for breakfast since the restaurant only opens at 5:30pm. What?!
As I processed this bizarre compensation, I was also told that my room was not ready yet. This too came as a bit of surprise since it was just after 5:30pm, and the standard check-in time was 3:00pm. I had a 10-15 minute wait while the room situation was sorted out, finally being assigned suite 901, on the 9th floor.
Wont lie, didn’t feel much of that Hyatt Gobalist love at this point. I mean, no breakfast, really? Basically, the $40 credit for the restaurant was useless to me since I was checking out the next day, by noon. So the only option was to cancel my dinner plans and force myself to use the $40 that night. I am sure the food served is nice, but I had previous plans with family. I wish this major restriction was presented at the time of booking. What good is a stay if I can’t even roll up for breakfast and get fresh brewed coffee? Speaking of, in room coffee was a disaster as well, as I explain further.
Check-in and Reception desk
Two really slow elevators
Elevator Lobby – 9th Floor
The Master Suite – Andorre House
The Master Suite is one of the largest suites on the property, with 550 sq. feet of space, with a separate living room and ensuite. Very much a downtown condo feel to it. The room itself was well appointed, with fun and quirky artwork, and an iPod-compatible vinyl record player! Although the AC units were dated, and bit loud, the overall setup of the suite was really nice.
Just as I was trying to get past the no breakfast situation at the hotel, I realized that there was no coffee machine in the room. Only a kettle to boil water. My spirit was shattered to find out that the Master Suite came with two sachets of instant coffee. Oh come on! Sigh. Here are the pictures of the suite, the only good thing about my stay;
The Master Suite – 901
The Master Suite – Living Room
The Master Suite – Bedroom
The Master Suite – Shower
The Master Suite – Bathroom
Vinyl Player in room
Instant Coffee in The Master Suite
The Anndore House – Morning After
In a way I was glad that my booking was only for one night. And yes, I tried the dreadful instant coffee in the morning, it lived up to my horrors. What’s worse than no breakfast at the hotel? Offering instant coffee in room. And its not like I could call the reception and ask for some fresh brewed coffee, remember, the restaurant only opens at 5:30pm and there is no food or beverage service at the property until that time. More Sigh.
On the bright side, window views were nice. It makes locating neighborhood cafes easier.
View from 9th floor elevator lobby
The common areas of the hotel looked pretty blah, out of commission in the morning. Even the tables and chair were laid as barriers, to keep any guests from venturing in areas that were ‘not in use’.
The Anndore House – Lobby Bar
The Anndore House – Lobby Bar
The Anndore House
The hotel has a long way to go in living up to its ’boutique’ status, let alone meet the ‘Hyatt standards’. I was truly disappointed (in case you can’t tell) in my overall experience. While I sympathize with the tough times hotel industry have been enduring, it shows them in bad light when 1 of 4 Hyatt properties in the city refuse to offer basic amenities, while other hotels put their best foot forward given the circumstances. The lack of upfront communication about breakfast (lack thereof), and a forced $40 credit for dinner instead, is a major let down. It’s an awkward arrangement at best. And I paid $347 CAD for the night.
The Anndore House joined the Hyatt portfolio as recently as June-July 2021, so I want to give them the benefit of doubt and assume that its a learning curve towards the true Hyatt standards. Long story short, I will not be returning to The Anndore House until the restaurant is back to full service, including breakfast, and some fresh brewed coffee for its guests. Instant coffee, instant no.
Title Image Credit: Hyatt
10 comments
Notepad: “There was nowhere to go but everyhere”. Good attention to detail.
Haha, that did comes across as trying too hard (on hotels part), or maybe I am too old for their cool..
They could not provide breakfast but they gave your $40 for dinner. And you don’t think that’s nice? Think about what Marriott would give to you? 1000 points! And you had to wait 15 minutes at check in because they were probably getting the suite ready for your upgrade.
I think the $40 for dinner would have been nice if I was able to use. But dinner credit for missing breakfast benefit assumes I want to spend dinner at the hotel. Also, its nice not having to worry about coffee and breakfast first thing in the morning when you are on vacation – no? On a one night stay, if I check-in at 8pm, and leave noon next day, what good is a dinner credit?
My complain is more about the communication not being upfront about this. And room delay is just poor management when guest shows up well past the standard check-in time. No major gripe, just not something I have experienced at a Hyatt property. Perspective I suppose.
We just stayed here two weeks ago, but actually kind of liked it. But I had called in advance to ask about the breakfast status. The $40 dinner credit is per guest ($20 per child), so my wife and I with our son received a total of $100 for dinner. I understand how someone could be upset if dinner wouldn’t fit into your travel plans, but I will say the restaurant was really exceptional for dinner. We loved it so much that we went back the second night with another $100 credit. The waiter explained to us that they can’t find enough people to work breakfast because the Canadian government is paying for everyone to not work until Sept 30, and every hotel restaurant in Toronto is having the same problem.
Also – we drove into town rather than fly from DC (driving back to the U.S. rather than flying avoids a second 72 hr covid test – the trip TO Canada requires it either way) and we received free parking in the hotel as Globalists. That was worth $45/night and really made a difference for us too
And I’m a coffee snob, but the instant coffee in the room was actually quite nice. It was an unusual brand that I priced on Amazon back home and it’s $2/cup.
Overall, we loved the charming room and really enjoyed the hotel, but I totally get someone not liking if they can’t use the dinner benefit.
I had the same experience in Montreal at the Renaissance. The ‘breakfast’ amenity for elites consisted of a weak grab-n-go bag. Spoke to the manager there whom I know personally and he said it’s all because of the pandemic and the downstairs restaurant is closed, can’t find the staff as they’re paid by the government. Canadians need to wake up and get back to work.
Wish I could disagree, the extended CERB is definitely causing distress in the service industry. Incredible that it has come to this, hard to pass by a restaurant that does not have a ‘help wanted’ sign up.
Hi Tim – I have heard nothing but great things about the dinner as well. Am sure my perspective would be very different had I had the chance to use that $40 perk. $40 per person on the reservation is clutch indeed!
The hotel can be awesome, and I am sure it will be, as soon as the staffing issues in the industry is sorted out.
FYI….for return to the US by air, only an Antigen test is required, not a ’72 hr covid test.’ Plenty of video-administered kits you can get prior to leaving the US to handle this, or $40 CAD test at some (but not all) Shoppers Drug Mart, done on-site with results in 15-30 minutes. Requirements are much less strict flying to the US than traveling to Canada.
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