Canada Road Trip, Part 3 – The Eaton Chelsea Review

I recently told you about our awesome family trip to Canada. If you missed it (some friend you are!), you can still go read about our road trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto. Now I want to tell you all about the amazing hotel we stayed at during our vacation in Toronto.

We spent two fabulous nights at the Eaton Chelsea, and while we had a spectacular time, we only took advantage of a fraction of what this massive hotel offers.

First off, I got the royal blogger treatment, I have to say. When we got to our room there were a few bowls of colorful candy, as well as a bottle of Eska Water (so refreshing, and I loved the gorgeous bottle!) and box of Ninutik Coco22 chocolates. These puppies are apparently a limited edition, hand-painted white chocolates filled with maple butter fondant and hard maple sugar. To say they were sweet would be the understatement of the year!

The rooms themselves were spacious and very tastefully decorated. We were lucky and got two adjoining rooms, so Allie’s cousin Ivy and her family were right next door. Which meant, that connecting door was just about always open with kids running in and out.

Ryan did a quick bed test for us and gave it some passing marks.

Besides being quite jumpable, the beds were crazy comfortable. Normally I find it tough to sleep in different hotels. The mattresses are usually either rock hard or cotton soft, but to quote Golidlocks, these beds were just right! We all had a fantastic night’s sleep, despite someone’s rather loud snoring. (I… uh… plead the fifth.)

Next to a good bed, though, the most important part of a hotel room is the bathroom. And the Eaton Chelsea did not disappoint. It had a clean modern look to the room with loads of towels ready for use. I can’t stand when I book a room for four and the bathrooms have like two bath towels in them. This time, we actually had too many! The shower was magical, with plenty of pressure, as well as the perfect temperature.

Note the rose on the counter. Allie checked and, yes indeed, it was real!

After a good night’s sleep, we decided to try breakfast in the hotel. There are a number of different restaurants, but we picked the Bb33 Bistro & Brasserie. It’s a beautiful restaurant with a real relaxed atmosphere . They offer a breakfast buffet, so we decided to give it a shot.

The breakfast buffet was loaded with colorful, fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, meats, pastries, cereal and more.

Of course, they also had an area of hot food. Yeah, that’s where they keep the really good stuff like bacon, sausage, eggs and french toast!

I, of course, had to try everything. Uh, for the good of my blog review, that is. (Spoiler alert: The bacon was AMAZING!)

The scrambled eggs were great (not always easy at a buffet) and I could’ve eaten my body weight in those hash browns. I tried the Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce, and it wasn’t bad, it’s just not my kind of thing. I’ve never liked fried eggs or poached eggs at all, but thought I’d at least give it a shot. I wish I did like those kinds of eggs, though, because they just look so neat.

With Jason’s nut allergies, we weren’t sure what would be safe for him to eat. So we asked our waitress and she actually went to find the chef. He came out a few minutes later to talk to us and was great. He assured us the pancakes would be nut free (as were the chocolate chips!)  and they were even able to provide Jason with packets of syrup to really rule out any sort of nut contamination. So most of the kids ordered chocolate chip pancakes off the menu.

I’ll just add that the coffee was excellent too, and I don’t even recall exactly how many cups I downed to get the day started. All in all, the Bb33 is certainly a step up in breakfast from your typical fast food joint or even standard breakfast buffet. It’s a nice way to start your day in a real relaxing manner.

I loved the first floor of the hotel, as it seemed to just go on forever and ever. Yeah, the place is huge. There are even separate elevator banks based on the floor you’re staying on (each elevator bank is color coded, so you know which one to always go to). I think my favorite part was this grandfather clock. I’ve always been fascinated by them and just love that kind of touch in a hotel’s decor.

Like I said, the lobby was always hustling and bustling. And yet, the folks behind the counter always had a smile and moved things along pretty quickly.

One of the things my kids love doing best with their cousins is going swimming. Doesn’t matter if it’s the height of the summer or the middle of winter, whenever we go away together, we have to make sure there’s a pool. Not only does the Eaton Chelsea have a pool (two in fact!) but the main pool has a water slide. Not your rinky dink water slide either, but a full-on, corkscrew waterslide that would be right at home at your average water park.

The kids actually had to take a quick swimming test for the life guard before they could get a wrist band to go on the water slide!

The kids loved it and went on a number of times. If the place was empty and they could just keep going without a line, I think we could’ve spent all day here. As it was, there were only about four or five other kids on line regularly. I even gave the slide a try myself. And no, I didn’t have to take the swim test, though I’m pretty sure I’d pass.

The kids loved just playing around in the pool too, which eventually led to synchronized (and hand holding) jumping.

If we had more time, we would’ve stayed more than an hour or so at the pool. But we needed to get dressed for dinner and then off to the CN Tower for some gorgeous views of the city. While we never had a chance to take a look, there is a second pool at the Eaton Chelsea. This one is for adults only (19 years old or older) and sits on the 27th floor, along with a full-on fitness center. Oh, wait. Sorry. Forgot this is Canada. Make that a full-on fitness “centre.”

Like I said, there’s tons of amenities and activities available at the Eaton Chelsea that we just never took advantage of. If you have kids, the Eaton Chelsea is a great choice. Besides the corkscrew waterslide, they offer a Kid Centre full of loads of entertaining and educational activities (plus a Wii!) and a Club 33 Teen Lounge for loads of video games, pool tables, air hockey and more. Check out the Family Fun Zone page for more details.

Anyways, after showering and getting ready for dinner, we headed down to the lobby to a fun restaurant called Monarchs Pub. The place had a definite sports bar/pub feel to it, with typical bar food you’d expect, and then some.

The place is full of sports memorabilia all over the place. You know how Canadians love their hockey.

There was even a seat from the classic Maple Leaf Gardens!

As for food, I can sum it up in one word: tastastic!

The kids ordered their usual: chicken tenders and fries and they got a big thumbs up from the crowd. Yes, I even tried one and they were really good.

As for the adults, we all shared the nachos. We were starving and pretty much devoured them in a series of grunts and chomps. And as I write this post, it’s nearly lunch time. I could sooo go for a plate of nachos like this!

Allie ordered a grilled cheese sandwich packed with avocado, pickles and a slew of different kinds of cheeses. For the record, there were three different Grilled Cheese sandwiches on the menu!

I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and it hit the spot perfectly. Real juicy burger and crispy fries.

Definitely great grub at Monarchs Pub all around. I downed my burger with a pint of Sapporo Light beer too. Later on that evening, we noticed the place was blasting music and packed wall to wall with dressed-up patrons getting their groove on. Apparently we only dine in the hottest clubs around.

We were sad to leave the next day, but unfortunately our time was up. The Eaton Chelsea was a fabulous destination for us and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Everything was top notch and the service (at both the hotel itself or the many restaurants) was impeccable. There’s so much to do right in the hotel itself (restaurants, spas, pools), that you don’t even need to go out if you don’t want to!

It’s also in a great location, just a block away from a large indoor mall, and the subway (which we took to the Rogers Centre for the Yankees vs. Blue Jays game). If you’re looking for some fabulous accommodations for your next trip to Toronto, definitely look into the Eaton Chelsea. Whether you’re just going as a couple or bringing the entire family along, there’s plenty for everyone.

 

Visit the Eaton Chelsea

 

Disclosure: While I received a complimentary night’s stay and meals at the Eaton Chelsea, all opinions expressed in this article are my own.