Hotel Heaven

It hurts to look at my bank account. I’ve been indulging a little too much.

Last week, I decided to be spontaneous so I booked a one-night stay at a luxury hotel. I needed a getaway from work, my family, my dog, my town and drama.

My friend and I had been talking about a fun day/night in the city on a day we both had off. Lucky for us, we had last Monday off.

The night before, I got home from work after 11pm and I was searching for hotels. I used hotwire.com to find some incredible bargains. But I was stuck in a dilemma. I had a choice between a 2-star hotel with free wifi and free continental breakfast; or a 4-star luxury hotel with great service, a great location and great comfort. Not to mention the fact that there was a $50 difference in price.

Ultimately, I decided to live a little and choose the 4-star hotel. I’ve never stayed at a 4-star hotel before [and all good things in moderation].

Because I used Hotwire, their policy is not to show the name of the hotel until booking is complete so I was slightly worried. As soon as I booked it [at nearly 2am] I found out that the hotel was better than I expected—The Westin Harbour Castle. It was right beside the harbour, it was walking distance from major tourist attractions like the CN Tower, it was close to the train station so I could easily get home, and it offered things like an indoor pool, fitness area, tennis courts, etc. I was super-duper excited!

I checked into the hotel without my friend who was coming from west of Toronto. As I approached the doors, it felt like a Vegas hotel with bright lights and valet parking. Inside was so classy I felt underdressed in semi-casual attire. There were guests at the bar and lounge, and everything was modern inside. The workers were so polite and friendly, apologizing for me having to wait 5 minutes in line and even offering maps of the city while I was waiting in line. I was asked where I wanted my room and I asked for something high with a nice view. Boy did she deliver by giving me the highest floor possible [just below the Penthouse suite floor].

I could feel my ears pop as the elevator escalated to the 34th floor. I walked in and immediately looked out the giant windows to see the incredible view of Lake Ontario, the Toronto islands and the Toronto Island Airport. I was amazed. I took advantage of jumping on the king-size “Heavenly” bed and checking out their “Heavenly” bath [registered trademarks of the hotel]. The bathroom lights were coming from the frame of the mirror so I felt like a movie star. While waiting for my friend to head downtown, I laid in bed watching The Doctors on the flat-screen TV before exploring downtown.

The whole night was relaxing. We spent some time enjoying harbourfront and the lake view, we took a nice walk to Dundas Square to have a classy dinner at Milestone’s, shopped for a bit at the Eaton Centre, then we took a stroll back to the hotel to sleep in 10 layers of comfy sheets and pillows.

It was so hard to get up and leave by noon, especially after just a one-night stay. It was nice walking up to Starbucks coffee/tea and The Globe and Mail sitting outside the door.

I am glad for the luxury experience I had and hope to have again when I’m older and have more money to blow.