Shangri-La Hotel

Ostentatious crowd, very Hong Kong, and the $ 88 drink on the menu caters to those kind. They took our credit cards in advance so we wouldn’t dine and dash without paying. Insulting and in poor taste. This is Canada, be trusting and friendly like us, not look down on us.
Food in the lobby lounge was nothing great, not much variety either, drinks too were average to below average. If you don’t mind a $ 21 club sandwich that is. The dessert was pretty good though.

Always have a nice time at Shangri-​La. The valet parking is quick and reasonably priced, and the hotel staff is always courteous and unpretentious as I enter eating a large bag a pop-​corn and wearing a full denim outfit. Often very good music in the lobby bar… and steps away from ice cream at Noodle Bar.

I stayed at the hotel and had afternoon tea here. It is an amazing experience.
For more details and photos you can visit my blog

We had a terrible and embarrassing experience on Dec 23,2015 that I hope no other guests especially those on business would have to endure.
My wife and I had taken out a business partner and his wife for a night out to a dinner and show. We decided to head back to the Shangri-​La lounge for drinks and live music before calling it a night.
Normally we could just seat ourselves down, but this time around it was busy due to the holiday season. We spent a long time walking around awkwardly finding our own seats and only after we did sit down; the host came to vacate us — a pretty embarrassing ordeal in front of guests in the lounge.
We were told there was a waiting list and we would be 2^nd/​3^rd on their list and not a long wait at all. We felt a little foolish having to give up our seats in front of everyone at this point but we were told to wait in the bar area. We found it strange that they didn’t take our name or contact information but assumed that since we gave up our seats and told to wait in the bar area, they would recognize us by face and come and notify us when lounge seats were available.
At this point there was no space at the immediate bar area, but there were several high tables beside the bar. All of the tables had seats except our table. We commenced to order our drinks and about 45 mins passed while other tables with chairs emptied yet we were still standing on our feet (keep in mind the ladies were in high heels all this time). You would expect the servers to offer up the chairs at the tables to us once those tables were vacated. This is something you would expect as common sense customer service but not from this 5-​star hotel you call Shangri-​La.
After we had our drinks, we inquire with the server on the status of our seats in the lounge — he went to check with the host only to find that we weren’t on the waiting list all along! Can you believe that? We were told there were now 5 or 6 parties ahead of us! Basically the host totally forgot to put us on the waiting list after kicking us off the lounge seats that we found when we first arrived. We had been waiting and standing at the bar tables like fools! What are these bar tables doing without chairs anyway? And how can your server not offer us some chairs when they became available? This is definitely not 5-​star customer service as you would expect it.
My advice to management: with absence of a reception area/​waiting area you shouldn’t expect your guests to know where to find your host to put our names on such a waiting list. You come find US before we look like fools stumbling around. If you kick us off the lounge seats because there’s a waiting list and advise us to wait in the bar area… DON’T forget to take our names down because as guests we are thinking you would come and personally find us to seat us when seats became available. Finally… your lounge host advised that the lounge manager would call me the next day to discuss the situation. It is Dec 27^th (3 days after the day you promised to call back) and I haven’t heard from you.
To all guests: Definitely not a 5-​star hotel. We felt awkward, embarrassed, mad, foolish and tired to the feet. In the end our night was ruined and we were so bitter about the whole situation. Definitely a night to forget. To add to this, I was treating my business partner and his wife… not a good taste to leave in their mouths. I had to apologize profusely to them.

We went here for the Nutcracker high tea yesterday. Beautiful presentation of everything, but the taste of the pastries/​sweets portion was lacking.
My friends and I all agreed that the finger sandwiches were very tasty, especially the mini lobster roll, but the cakes and mousse weren’t really that great. Even my friend with permanent sweets cravings didn’t feel like eating all of the cakes. I think we agreed that the only on that was okay was the marshmallow gingersnap cake.
In addition to food, you also get your own personal pot of tea. My friends and I all chose black teas. The Blue Mountain was pretty good at first but became really tarte after being steeped for a bit too long. I really liked the Kenyan Purple tea. My friend got the $ 15 Chinese black tea but she didn’t like it at all. It smelled like a Chinese herb shop/​bitter Chinese medicines. She only had a few sips and then left the pot untouched.
My friend has a nut allergy, and they gave her her own portions and a few replacements for some of the treats that may have nuts in it. Super nice of them!
It was a good experience, but for $ 60 a person, this isn’t really something we would do often, especially not if the food isn’t all completely amazing.

One of my favourite places in the downtown Toronto core to grab a quick drink. Although, the live music always has me staying for much longer. The soul, r&b and jazz band on Wednesdays is just fantastic! So much soul.

Stayed here for 2 nights with a few friends. We booked through hot wire or priceline, cant remember but the price we got was amazing!
The lobby was spacious and smelled really pretty, the rooms were modern and comfortable. The location is also really good. We didnt get to try out any of the amenities but I really want to go back soon.

Four stars for the high tea experience; five for the ambience, live music, service, and people-​watching.

We had afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge on a Sunday afternoon for eight guests.
The ambiance is wonderful, with live musician playing a piano rendition of modern songs.
The quality of the food platter was excellent. There was a large selection of sandwiches, biscuits and desserts for everyone and it was quite filling. Each bite had a unique and vibrant flavor. I was blown away, everything just tasted so good.
There is a big variety of teas. We poured ourselves a cup of tea and then rotated our teapots so that we could try everyone’s selection. Each tea had its unique aroma and taste.
If I had to complain about one thing, it would be the speed of the service. Our waitress was friendly but there were only two wait staff in the dining area serving a lot of guests at the same, so it took a long time to get our bill and leave. It was an 1 hour and 30 minute seating time but we stayed for 2.5 hours because of the wait.
Overall, I had a great experience and I would love to come back.

This review is only for the afternoon tea service located in the hotel’s lobby lounge. At $ 300 plus a night, It doesn’t look like I’ll be staying here anytime soon.
Pros:
Excellent service
Food was well done and presented
Extensive selection of teas
Cons:
desserts were not proportioned per person
I had the day off yesterday and decided to take my GF to afternoon tea here. Reservations are required and they will need a credit card to hold the table for you. There is a 1 hour and 30 minute seating time limit but it’s really on enforced on the weekends if they’re super busy. Being held in the lobby of the Shangri-​La, it’s a very upscale feeling experience.
The afternoon tea is set up right in the lounge of the hotel. They have chairs and tables available, but there are also couches and tables set up as well. I actually prefer the tables to the couches. While the couches appear more cozy and comfortable, they just weren’t comfortable at all for me. To sit and have tea as well is touch when you’re not comfortable. My personal opinion here
You’re presented with a menu right at the beginning that lists all the teas they have. They have a huge list to choose from. My GF says most places only offer about 15 teas to choose from. There must of been close to 100 teas to choose from here. If you’re a tea buff, you love the choices to choose from. The teas range from $ 15 to $ 70. The $ 15 teas are all included, the more expensive ones will be an added charge.
The food quality here is excellent. It was well presented and tasted good. The scones were freshly baked. They were soft and warm on the inside though not as good as my GF’s. (sorry everyone, I had to put this in for my own good. lol) The sandwiches were all very unique and again well done. The dessert were the stars of the show. The only problem was they don’t give you one of each for every person. We got 2 of only one of the 4 items on the menu. We were only given just one each of the other 3 items. Little weird. You will need to share some no matter how many people you come with.
The service was excellent. The servers were all very nice in answering all of questions. My tea was iced and as soon as they saw the glass was empty, they came by to make me a new one. They were very knowledgeable about the items offered and it was a great experience overall.
I like this place. It was a much better experience than my last afternoon tea adventure. I’d recommend this place to anyone who hasn’t given it a try. At $ 40 a person, it might not be something you do all the time though.

Review is for Afternoon Tea in the Lobby
2 stars for Overall experience and 1 add’l star for ambiance & setting
Having had High Tea throughout the city (King Eddy, Royal York, Windsor Arms and also little indie coffee/​tea shops) this one was rather disappointing.
LOCATION — you dine in the hotel lobby
— I don’t like to eat at coffee table height (I know, this is a personal preference, but I like a tablecloth to hide the carb-​baby from the scones!)
— As it is a hotel lobby, there’s too much chaos. For example, there was some tourists settling down after a day of shopping, chatting and regrouping, using lobby WiFi to plan their evening and there were people that would come and go as their group got larger/​smaller. No problem because they’re staying there and this is what you do in a hotel lobby, but it was chaotic. When I go out for tea, I like the atmosphere to be serene and almost reverent, I get dressed up, linger a long time with my g’friends chatting, etc. and this is in stark contrast to what’s going on around you.
— the additional star was given because we were given a reserved table right by the fireplace. The gesture is a wee bit moot, as it’s July; but I appreciate the forethought to giving our table one of the prime locations in the lobby.
SERVICE
— the women who work in the lobby are better suited to serving (liquor) drinks to lobby patrons, than to serving tea. If you’d ordered a cocktail, you would be checked-​in on, asked if you wanted another drink, etc. If you’re there for tea, you get your tea pot, your food and that’s it. No one checked-​in to see if we liked the tea they had helped us choose. No one asked if we needed our pot filled with additional water.
— When ordering our tea, they were explicit that it was one choice per person, no switching. She said that the menu might mislead you in to thinking you can sample tea from the seven sections, but you only get one kind of tea. Fine, that’s about par for any tea service; but if other patrons have been confused/​misled by the menu, why not change it? The tea is delivered and then we waited over 30min for our scones/​sandwiches/​dessert tiered tray. By the time the food came, our tea was tepid. But we were so hungry that tea was an afterthought. After they put the food down, no one ever came by to check on us. Least of all, no one ever came by to ask if we wanted additional hot water, (which is unheard of, during tea service!)
FOOD
— servings are very small
— Desserts: not portioned out per person. Some desserts, you have to cut in half to share. There was a vivid yellow dessert that was very artificial tasting, I couldn’t discern whether it was suppose to be lemon or passionfruit, irregardless, it tasted like yellow Flintstone vitamins.
— Sandwiches: Egg Salad tasted no better/​worse than what you get from a sandwich tray ordered for corporate catering; Cream cheese & cucumber, all 4ppl at our table had a bite, and no one finished more than that. It was tasteless, quite literally tasted like Philly cream cheese on Wonder bread. Curry chicken on brioche was divine! If I was given 4 piece of that as part of the sandwich tier, I would have given them one more star in my review! Alas, you only get one and it’s the size of a toonie.
— Scones: each person gets two types, plain and cardamom. Both tasted the same. Rather good, but other than one looking speckled, like whole wheat, they tasted the same. For four scones (2ppl), you only get one small ramekin of clotted/​english cream and two ramekins of jam. When I say small, I mean that it probably holds the same amount as one of those packages of jam you get with your toast at your local diner.

Came here for drinks, the atmosphere here is nice, they had live music and very comfortable seating. Service was decent although not as attentive as I would have expected.
Drinks were good and some very interesting cocktails to try. A bit pricy but worth it!

Review for afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge
Would have love to give this place five stars, but service was below expectations and food servings was unusual for afternoon tea which makes for the okay rating.
Upon entrance into the hotel lobby, it was a wow factor with the high ceilings, grand piano, modern fireplace at the centre, lovely orchids at the tables and the jade planters near the back entrance. Everything looked simple, but elegant décor, plus pretty sophisticated servers dressed in lovely Asian inspired theme dresses. Their dresses reminded me of those blue and white china plates from the Ming Dynasty.
Seating was casual with sofas and chairs, but fact they wanted 4 ladies seated on the sofa was ridiculous. Sure we can fit or perhaps have the child in our group sit at the sofa, but it won’t make for a comfortable tea experience when we have to watch our elbows every time we reached for our teas, so requested an extra chair. We were a party of six.
Tea was served in large teapots and presses and they had proper strainer for individual servings. Choice of various tea selections from the booklet for everyone’s palate and teas were available both hot or cold.
Afternoon tea menu listed on a menu card placed on the table and selection was variety of finger sandwiches, scones and pastries. All the sandwiches were fresh tasting and quite delicious as the flavours of all the ingredients were prominent and blended well together. Pastries were also tasty, but some of the desserts were just too sweet. I have a sweet tooth and even I thought it was too sweet, so I didn’t manage to finish my desserts.
One complaint was the servings for the pastries as we’ve been to numerous establishments for afternoon/​high tea and were always served one pastry per person on the same tiered platter. We were expecting everyone to enjoy what was written on the menu card. When we brought this to the server’s attention, she informed us that some desserts were meant to be shared as that’s the afternoon tea experience to share. We were baffled at the explanation as we’ve never heard of this or experienced a shortage of food. Three of one dessert, two each of two desserts and only one dessert of another to share among three people, just doesn’t sound appropriate and fair when everyone is paying the same price.
Since I was a little late, server forgot my order on the tiered platter even though my friends told them number of people and I arrived just shortly before my friends had their teas served, so I wasn’t too late. Server simply forgot, but was apologetic and my tier came shortly after. I managed to have one of each desserts for myself, so lucky for me, but it didn’t seem fair that my friends had to share.
They do get bonus points for making everything in-​house, plus having options for gluten-​free and a kids menu which we had both of in our party. They were both served their individual tiered platters.
I had to ask for water upon my arrival and we also had to ask for a hot water refill which was only replenished once which we weren’t used to as normally the hot water would be refilled without us asking for it. Plus fact our server had disappeared after we brought the missing desserts to her attention seemed bizarre. Our empty dishes only got cleared once by another server. Perhaps we were used to places that cleared plates off the table as we finished each tiers.
Worse part we were told at time of phone call reservation reminder that we had an hour and half seating limit, but lucky we weren’t rushed out and ended up staying an hour after our supposedly seating limit. We still had some food on our tiered platter including empty plates, no water refill either cold or hot. The lounge was busy, but we felt ignored and no service available when needed. We even had to flag another server when we were ready to pay our bill as our server was nowhere in sight and didn’t inform us that another server was serving us because we didn’t have anyone.
It was nice going to the Shangri-​La for the afternoon tea experience, but we probably won’t be back because of the lack of customer service experience.

What a beautiful hotel! My friend rented room for her bachelorette and wow ! This place is gorgeous! YOu feel like your somewhere else ! You walk in, and your instantly greeted by people playing classical music on instruments. Wow. Rooms are lowly and have a great offering of room service and bottle service. Only downfall really is that you need a key to use elevator so if your a guest (as I was at this time) of a party or etc. it’s a pain to have to go up and down multiple times. I also love how they have a great resto– momofuku attached. Super swank.

Shangri-​la has officially become my favourite 5 star hotel in Toronto!
We decided to stay here the weekend of our wedding, simply because it was about $ 50 per night less than my old favourite, the Ritz Carlton. I am SO HAPPY we made that decision, because the Shangri-​La is unbeatable!
I love the modern décor and Asian influences. I love that I can control the lights and curtains from an iPad on my bed. I love that beautiful CN tower view that I had from my extremely deep master bathroom tub. I LOVED the customer service — they both sent a limo to pick us up from the wedding reception (a beautiful white sedan) and left us champagne, truffles and French macarons.
I honestly cannot express how amazing this hotel experience was. You will be treated like royalty!
As an added bonus, our room came with complimentary breakfast daily at Bosk, and it was an EXCELLENT breakfast with so many options and fantastic, friendly service.
Friends, it is worth the money even for a one-​night staycation. Stay in a suite, you won’t regret it!

I came here for NYE (December 31, 2014) to have a nice getaway with my boyfriend.
This hotel is absolutely gorgeous. With a very modern and chic appeal to it, this appearance of the hotel and service of the staff definitely makes you feel like a million bucks.
When we arrived, our room (1715) was not ready, but the staff did not make us wait (+1). One thing that I have found with a lot of hotels around the world is that in a situation like that, they often make you wait… and wait… and wait, and wait, and wait for your room to be ready. Shangri-la’s policy is not about that. Instead, they moved us immediately to another room, 1415.
Note that rooms go through 2 rounds of cleaning to make sure that they are absolutely perfect for guests. They do an initial round of cleaning, and then an inspection to make sure everything is good.
Our room, 1415, was a one bedroom suite. The room had a great view of University Ave. As stated by other Unilocalers, by mindful when booking a room, and be sure to request the view of University Ave./momofoku as most other angles of the hotel have obstructed views.
The living room was very cozy. Both the living room and the bedroom had 2 floor to ceiling windows with views of University Avenue. In addition, there are automatic shutters for the room (shears and blinds) for full blackout of your room to help you sleep at night. There’s a TV in the bedroom that addresses you by name on the screen when you turn it on (niceeeeeeeeeeee), with full cable (free) and «pay per view» service of movies — I believe that each movie in the selection was approximately 12.99 (don’t quote me on that price). The hotel also offers free WIFI for 6 days free of charge for hotel guests.
The bathroom had a remote-​controlled television in one of the rooms. With all of the crazy futuristic gadgets and do-​dads, I was a little surprised that the lighting in all of the rooms were not «clap-​ons». xD.
My only negative comment about the entire hotel was that the beds were really uncomfortable for sleep. I’m used to pillowtop feel, with extra soft pillows. My boyfriend said that he felt that the sheets felt very thin. We both had difficulty with the pillows, as they were super high (uncomfortable with the neck — felt like my head was against my left shoulder when lying sideways on my right side). Though, this inconvenience never really affected my outlook on the hotel, as a whole. I just advise you to bring your own pillows in case you ever find you’re in a position where you find the same.
We also visited BOSK — the hotel restaurant (we had a little mishap there, also… I had called to make a reservation two days prior, but I guess the woman that I spoke to never wrote it down, but I’ll talk about that in the review of the restaurant).
The hotel lobby had a big NYE party as well, with sexy red and blue lighting all over the area. I regret not staying for that party, but it’s nice to see that they like to give their guests an all-​in-​one experience (A+).
Be mindful that if you drive, there’s a sneaky entrance on Adelaide on the left. Valet for one night will run you at $ 48 CAD. Note that this price was not inflated due to season or time of the year.
Overall it was a very pleasant experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my NYE. I’m very grateful to have had the chance to stay here.

From beginning of my stay to the moment I checked out, my stay was fantastic.
The Shangri-​La Hotel in Toronto feels upscale and looks beautiful. The lobby is an open area with a grand piano and fire place. In the day, guests sit around reading the paper and chatting. At night, it’s lively and people listen to live music while sipping on fancy drinks.
The room was exceptionally clean. I actually checked out the floors and corners since I have a baby staying in the room with me. Amenities were excellent and the décor was stylish/​comfortable.
The staff were helpful and friendly. I dealt with about 5 different people and they were all wonderful.
No complaints!

I have never actually stayed at this hotel, only been here a couple of times for events.
The lobby is very cool, feels like you are in a movie or something. They usually have the fireplace roaring and tons of chic people hanging out socializing and enjoying cocktails. The last time I was here they also had live music, which was awesome.
I have had drinks and food here, both were great. Most recently I was here for a whiskey tasting, which had passed hors d’oeuvres. I loved the pulled duck mini sammies, beef burger sliders and lobster spring rolls.
Should also mention the service level of the staff who work here is excellent. If you ask where something is, they physically walk with you to wherever it is you were looking to go. If I ever need to stay in a hotel downtown, I would try this place!

I have to say this is probably the nicest hotel room that I have ever stayed in to date. The washroom were beautiful, the amenities were excellent. The room was really nice and had beautiful décor but wasn’t so over done that you felt intimidated.
I fell in love with the pillows like everyone else :)

Very, very good hotel.
Much like all of the other ‘cool’ hotels in and around Downtown Toronto — all with pools, great restaurants, chic rooms and stylish bars full of stylish people — this is probably a little level above those.
The furnishings are incredible. Bathrooms, beautiful. Bed, technology in the room, lighting, etc.
Lovely.
My favorite part is the healthclub and spa, which is top notch. Sauna, steam, lap pool, gym, robes, slippers, the lot. And the young indian gentleman who manages the place, treats it like his own business. What standout service. From a towel waiting on the floor in front of you as you turn around — the guy is incredible at making you feel welcome and in a manner so discrete you have to tip your cap, and him. And unlike SPG and some other chains — this is all available to guests without fee.
Nothing like a long sauna, then steam and swim before your morning meetings.
My new oasis in Toronto.