I recently stayed at the Hotel X in Toronto, and was blown away by this glamorous new hotel. The service was excellent, the rooms were bright and airy with stunning views, and it has some of the best fitness facilities that I have come across at any hotel. As an avid tennis player, the appeal for me was the indoor tennis courts located on the 4th floor. Tennis with sweeping views over Lake Ontario was something I was keen to experience!
WHERE IS THE HOTEL X LOCATED?
Hotel X is located in Ontario’s Exhibition Place, within the iconic Princes’ Gates, opposite the Enercare Centre. The hotel has magnificent sweeping views over lake Ontario as can be seen from the view from the rooftop pool!
The hotel is well positioned for visiting many of Toronto’s main tourist attractions, such as CN Tower and aquarium, but it is a little further away from the majority of restaurants. It was around a 15-20 minute walk away from the popular Queen Street restaurants. This was the only real downside to the location in my opinion. On the plus side, the hotel definitely felt a lot quieter and less busy than stays I have had in the heart of downtown.
The hotel is around a 30 minute drive from the airport, and has underground parking available. The self parking is charged hourly up to a daily maximum of $35. A taxi fare from the airport costs around $70 one-way.
CHECK-IN EXPERIENCE
The hotel makes a great first impression. I arrived at the hotel in the early evening and the staff on the check-in desk were extremely welcoming and checked me in promptly. The staff explained the restaurant and bar options in the hotel, along with the extensive fitness facilities that were available. I was given a number to text the concierge if I needed anything at all, although I didn’t use this service.
THE LUXURY ROOM
The Luxury Room is a single King Bed room, and is around 275 ft in size. My first impression of the room was ‘wow’ as I was instantly blown away by the amazing view of Lake Ontario. The room was beautifully decorated, had a huge floor to ceiling window and was full of light – a nice change to many hotel rooms.
The blinds on the window were controlled by a control panel on the wall, with the option to move the blinds and / or the blackout blind up or down as you wanted. Very cool! If I had my kids with me I’m pretty sure this would have been a hit!
The bathroom was nicely decorated and impeccably clean – everything you would expect at a hotel of this caliber. For coffee, there was a Nespresso machine with a small number of pods, along with a fridge that came stocked with lots of bottles of water.
DINING EXPERIENCE
On the night I stayed I ate at the Valerie restaurant, which is located on the 27th floor. This rooftop restaurant has a classy feeling to it, and it is definitely complimented by the stunning city and skyline views.
The restaurant served mainly Japanese inspired dishes and I opted for the chicken skewers and the sushi – both were excellent. It isn’t cheap by any means but it’s worth heading up for a drink even if you aren’t planning on eating – just for the view.
THE ROOFTOP SWIMMING POOL
The Hotel X has a fantastic rooftop pool, that as you would expect, offers some seriously impressive views! I visited in the winter and the pool was fairly quiet, but I can imagine that in the summer, it will be the place to be! There are plenty of pool loungers and a food menu so you can relax, work on the tan and do some people watching!
HOTEL 10XTO FITNESS FACILITIES
One of the best aspects of the Hotel X was the seriously impressive fitness facilities. The 10XTO fitness centre is a 24/7 state of the art gym, encompassing various rooms, that is equipped with pretty much every type of machine or weight that you could dream of. There are separate rooms for classes like yoga, pilates or spinning, plus a steam and sauna room for some relaxation. There is also FOUR indoor tennis courts (across two levels), NINE squash courts and a golf simulator! Not many hotels can boast that! The tennis, squash and golf simulator were an extra fee, but well worth the money for the experience alone.
SUMMARY REVIEW
In summary, I really enjoyed my stay at the Hotel X and would love to stay again when returning to Toronto. It’s always great to experience something different, and I can honestly say I’ve never experienced fitness facilities like it before in a hotel, and I’ve stayed at a lot of hotels! A rooftop pool and those stunning views makes me want to return in the summer!
Comments