Ace Hotel Toronto — Hotel in Toronto

I recently visited Ace Hotel to have a coffee, some food and a little catchup with a friend. When I arrived the server who helped me, a young gentleman who was either South Asian or Middle-Eastern, asked me if my friend and I were going to be using laptops. I said yes but not continuously as we planned on ordering food. He then told us laptops were not allowed in the dining area, only at the side tables which were all full. He said the tables in the middle were all reserved and laptops weren't allowed there.

We understood the tables at the sides were full were but thought this rule about laptops was odd because we previously visited Ace on three other occasions and were allowed to sit at the middle tables with our laptops before 5pm. We were there at 1pm. He ended up seating us at some nearby couches and we decided to wait to see if a table, not in the middle, opened up so we could move there.

We order some drinks and then I see a table opens up, so I immediately ask if we can sit there but the server shakes his head and says no. He doesn't give us a reason why. I ask if it's reserved and he says no. I then see him go over to a white gentleman who arrived after us and offer the table to him instead. The gentleman looks directly at us and shakes his head and says he's fine where he is. So we ask again if we can have the table and now the server is fully avoiding us. He dodges us and then goes to group of three young Asian women who also arrived after us and offers them the table instead... We definitely got the impression that this server didn't seem to want us, two young black women, to be in the dining area because it makes no sense why he offered the table to other groups but not us.

Again, HE SAID that the side tables could have laptops. The table that opened up was in fact a side table and not reserved according to him. We made it clear we would've preferred to sit there from the get go and asked more than once POLITELY if we could have the table and he gave it to other patrons who arrived AFTER us.

After this, a couple of other side tables opened and yet again he refused to give us tables and kept seating other people who got there after us. Eventually we order but we are not at all happy because we now had to eat oysters and sandwiches in awkward positions on couches over very low tables.

I should also mention that when bringing my order of oysters, he dropped one of the oysters on the floor. An accident sure, but then he grabs it and as he is about go back to the kitchen to get a new one from the chef, he sees a young woman he recognizes from his past and stops to chat her up. We watched this conversation absolutely dumbfounded. First he seemingly discriminates against us and refuses to give us the table, then he takes his sweet time getting a replacement order because he wants to catchup with this young woman. As she was sitting directly across from us, we heard the whole conversation. She was polite at first and trying to subtly make it clear she wanted to be left alone to go back to her work on her iPad. When she glanced at us and saw our reaction, that's when he looked back and seemed to come to his senses and went back for the oyster.

And guess what, when another side table opened up just as he was bringing the replacement oyster, he did not finally offer it to us. Nope! He turned right around and offered it to this girl and continued trying to chat to her. The girl declined.

We were so shocked by this absolutely rude and terrible service. We just started to make Ace our go to place for weekly meetings but we decided there and then that this was the last time. Something has clearly changed because their rules say no laptop at tables after 5pm! Nothing about laptops at side tables only. We strongly felt discriminated against.

But of course when it was time to pay the bill, he was super friendly. He was suddenly so nice in the hopes that we would tip well. After what he put us through? Michelin star place downstairs but discrimination upstairs eh?

The date was September 25th when...

I was traveling solo for a business trip and some leisure on the backside of the trip, and the Ace Hotel in Toronto was the perfect location for all of it. It was in walking distance to the Blue Jays stadium (we took some bankers out for it), and great food and coffee shops, and great shopping. |Without question, I would stay here and again and even seek out an opportunity to do so again. The hotel staff was warm and kind (I loved Patience - she had amazing, fun energy and was super helpful with all my questions). |Additionally, my flights home got cancelled twice and the hotel staff was really kind and accommodating to help me extend my stay. The staff at the bar was really cool also and I recommend the salmon tostada appetizer and the pickle brined popcorn too as a snack. They had a solid happy hour also- I got a spritz. ||I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t mention how incredible Alder, the restaurant in the ground floor of the hotel is also. Only because of a cancelled flight did I even decide to go - but they had a phenomenal sea bream dish, and a delicious asparagus dish, and great wines too (including a sommelier on site, if needed). I just had a glass as it was an early morning to follow, and the rose was excellent and the menu was thoughtfully curated. I savored every bite of my solo dinner and I’m glad I didn’t skip out on the coconut creme pie that the Ace staff had hyped, deservingly so. Insanely good. ||Let me give some other recommendations closeby (from the lens of US female visitor):|Food:|-The food hall across the street had a Japanese place with amazing, fresh sashimi…and there were so many options I never got to try. |-pho: pho 90 (right on king street)|-impact Kitchen: like 1 sec away from hotel and has ALL the healthy, yummy food vibes I love. Great smoothie, great green goddess salad, great cacao protein balls, great turmeric lattes. |Coffee:|-forget me not cafe. Great cappuccinos and matcha lattes. |-Forno Cultura. Insanely great Italian bakery and beyond. Wonderful cappuccinos and pastries. Nice staff. |Shopping:|There are so many great stores around. I went to the big, nicely designed mall w the Indigo bookstore and Lululemon, and Sephora and got a few thing needed. |-Aritzia on King street. Very cool quality Canadian brand that has better prices in Canada than when you buy in their US-based stores. |-tons of local boutiques all over, just search or walk. |Other:|-Trove - after my flight cancelled, I spent a few hours at Trove to do a few evening yoga classes (1 sound healing, 1 Kriya yin) and red light therapy in between. The classes were phenomenal. I’m not sure how to know if the red light therapy makes an impact, but research suggests it has health benefits so whatever….😄|||I can’t wait to return to Ace because it felt like home away from home. Weather I was taking all day Zoom calls from the room or out and about, it was an unexpectedly special stay for which I’m...

Have been coming here every fall for 3 years for a 2-night stay. We loved the first two visits but this year had issues. TL;DR service is not at the level it used to be at the lobby bar/cafe and front desk/room service. Will be considering other hotels for our next trip - the level of service/quality have gone down since last years visit.

Service: I tried to order something from room service 20mins before breakfast ended (11am). The lady on the line had me hold for almost ten minutes before coming back to say they couldn't take my order. I asked if there was anything I could order between 11-5pm (when room service restarts) like a small plate of fries or something small and easy to bring up and she said no. I asked if I could still get my order in since it wasn't yet 11am, again, no. I don't know why she had me hold for so long, it felt like she was wasting my time so it got closer to 11am when breakfast room service is over. After hanging up, the phone rang 2mins later and a very nice man offered to submit my order (it still wasn't 11am!) so that turned things around, but overall just a weird experience/bad vibe. My partner went down to the lobby on the last day to get coffee and a tea, and they gave him coffee cream for tea instead of the milk he asked for. I knew it looked off and tried it anyway, and realized after drinking it it was coffee cream. When I went back down to ask for another tea, both young girls at the lobby bar/cafe looked totally depressed, not a single smile or good morning, just looked miserable to be there. In previous years, we never had an experience like this, so it just left a bad taste in our mouths overall. She didn't say sorry for messing up my drink, just made me a new one and they didn't tell me where the milk/sugar was or how I liked my tea... very strange interaction overall.

Room: Towels fraying, towel bar fell off the vanity, broken outlets (only 2 worked), shower water never got fully hot, just lukewarm. No hand held shower option, so if you shower, you'll need to get your hair wet. Room is not soundproof, I have to put towels at the bottom to muffle hallway noise. I could hear the room above us drop something, the room beside us had their TV loud, and the elevator throughout the day/night. It seemed louder than past stays, so it must've been busier. Snacks in-room are a bit junky, they had healthier/higher end options last year. Now it's just chocolate bars, candy corn. No nuts, etc.

I know these may sound like minor things but this is an expensive hotel that had AMAZING service in past years. Not sure what's going on or if it was just an off weekend for the staff, but it was disappointing and as a female traveler, felt the female staff didn't treat me...