Review: the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Toronto International Airport
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This article is a quick review of the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Terminal 3 of Toronto Pearson International Airport, where I spent Sunday evening.
My Mum and I are in Canada this week, where I am chaperoning her to a family wedding and visiting Niagara Falls. BA99 lands in the early evening at Toronto Pearson but, of course, it is after midnight UK time. There was no way we were heading off anywhere that night. The Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Terminal 3 beckoned.
My golden rule of airport hotels is to stay in the airport if you can. It will cost more, of course, but that is generally outweighed by the ease of access – especially after a long flight and especially if you have quite a bit of luggage.
You see the Sheraton Gateway clearly as you land at Terminal 3. I had originally booked it as a Starwood Preferred Guest redemption for 10,000 points, but switched it at the last minute to a HotelTonight booking to use up some referral credit I had. My Mum had a cash room because she has been targetted by Starwood for a ‘stay 2 nights, get 2 nights free’ promotion.
(Redemptions are not a fantastic deal at this hotel – cash rates generally run to around £100-£120 including tax and I would look for a better redemption result than 1p per point. That is why I was happy to switch to HotelTonight and get my points back.)
I wrote recently about how Starwood is relaunching Sheraton because, in general, the hotels are dumps outside Asia. This is a prime example. Apart from new beds, I don’t think that any money has been spent on refurbishing this hotel since Wham! last topped the charts.
However …. what it DOES have is big rooms. And, to be honest, I forgive a lot if I have space. The pictures below are of a Deluxe Corner King room which is where I ended up. Our other room was a standard one which was a more traditional ‘shoebox’ layout – but still large.
To be honest, I expected a ‘corner’ room to have windows on two sides. After all, what other possible benefit can a ‘corner’ room have over a normal room? But it didn’t. I am baffled as to why these rooms are classified differently.
The room is old and full of beige. There is good stuff and there is bad stuff. There is an easy to use coffee machine with Starbucks Pike Place coffee (free). The beige bathroom is let down by no shower gel (you get a bar of soap instead) and an in-tub shower which was tricky to figure out. Plus points for a robe in the wardrobe, even though I didn’t use it. Breakfast is a la carte unless you have room service, and fairly priced. The internet was fast and free. The view was of the car park.
A bit of good luck is that the car rental pick up offices are in the car park directly under the hotel. It took under 30 seconds to get from the lobby to the Hertz office. You can’t complain about that.
If you ask for my verdict on the Sheraton Gateway hotel, I would say ‘I would stay here again’. I liked the spacious rooms, the convenience to Toronto’s Terminal 3 and the convenience to the car hire pick up desks.
That said, if you are not picking up a car the next day, only have hand baggage and don’t arrive too late, I’m sure you can find somewhere at least £50 cheaper that is easily reached by shuttle bus.
You can find out more about the hotel, and book, on this page of the Starwood (now Marriott) website.
How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)
There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.
You can apply here.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
20,000 points sign-up bonus and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review
You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.
Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card? It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status. We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:
- American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)
and for small business owners:
- American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
- American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)
The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.
(Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
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