The Slate Hotel Downtown, Sonder — Hotel in Toronto

Customer service was the worst I’ve ever experienced in my history of booking accommodations.

I booked the Sonder on Adelaide St. in Toronto via Expedia, and there was bo disclaimer that construction was taking place right across the street. I saw reviews online and people were complaining about the noise. As a traveller, and I’m sure anyone would agree, a good night’s rest is what one seeks at the end of each day. I could have booked a hotel, but wanted to try out Sonder for the first time and see what the experience would be like.

I contacted Expedia and was told that Sonder had a no refund policy, and I would get no refund on my $1400 booking if I were to cancel it.

I contacted Sonder. I spoke to at least 8 different Sonder agents, and while they tried to help me, I had asked my issue to be escalated because I kept getting disconnected, whenever they would ask me for my email address. By the 4th agent, I asked to speak to a supervisor/manager/decision maker, and was promised to be contacted within 24 hours - but nobody from management got back to me. The next morning I contacted Sonder again, and was being provided the same offers which didn’t solve anything, and I just wanted to speak to someone higher up but was being refused.

The solutions I was offered from the several agents were:

1. To stay at the current Sonder booked, and be provided ear plugs and a white noise machine - which tells me that if you were handing these out, you are well aware of the problem and complaints, so why wasn’t a disclaimer provided online during the time of booking?

2. To be moved to another Sonder with a single bed for an extra $100+ or a Sonder with a King sized bed for an extra $450+ - which was a ridiculous suggestion. Why would I spend more money on something that isn’t my fault, and wasn’t communicated to me upon my booking? And why would I spend more money for smaller bed? Or more money for the size of a bed I had already paid for?

3. No solution. Because no changes could be made to the booking. And this is what upset me the most, because I spent hours trying to solve a problem that I did not cause. And I was not receiving the customer service I should have received, especially for someone who is new to the Sonder experience.

In total, I spent over 10 hours texting with agents, and getting the run around. I also spent 2-3 hours on phone calls trying to explain my situation.

I finally decided to contact Expedia again, explained the lack of service, and was the one to offer a solution that would work for me. I asked if I could shorten my stay in a new location without the noise, and the same size bed. By the time the Expedia agent got a hold of Sonder, there were no more King sized beds available. I ended up at the Sonder in the Liberty Village, at no additional cost, with the help of Expedia.

What I don’t understand is, why was Expedia able to solve my problem within a 30 minute phone call, but the same service and respect was not given directly to me - the paying customer.

It was extremely frustrating having to explain myself over and over to agents who’s job is to provide customer service. I detest that I had solve a problem I didn’t create. A problem that should have been avoided if only a disclaimer (about the construction site) was provided at the time of booking. Who would spend $1400 on a room beside a construction site?

I should also mention the Sonder on Liberty was above train tracks which was also noisy throughout the night. There was a broken table out in the balcony. One of the stools in the kitchen area has a broken leg, the toilet in the bedroom was not working, and we were given 4 pouches of coffee for a 7 day stay.

As much as we enjoyed the view of the CN Tower in our room, it does not make up for the headaches and stress it has caused prior to arriving, and the broken items during our stay.

This was handled so poorly, and has left the WORST...

I stayed at Sonder the slate on Adelaide west st for one week as a solo traveler. Overall I am happy with my stay. Below are the positives- easy online check-in, feels safe; communication with management team via the Sonder App was quick and I had my question answered straight away on a weekend. superb location, close to EVERYTHING! I walked everywhere. It is 9min walk to Osgood station if u want public transport. it is between two nice eateries and opposite to the pizza shop. The Sonder App was very helpful in giving you a list of grocery stores, shops etc near you. I found it handy. bed and toilet were clean. Shower was nice. no microwave, but there were a little fridge and a kettle. although sandwiched between Mother Tongue and the Halaam (two eateries) noice was not an issue. Everything quiet down by midnight. I never had an issue. They provide u with ear plugs and a white noise machine but i didnt need them. Yes u can hear people from the restaurants and on the streets a bit, but if u have had a full day and no underlying baseline insomnia, u will fall asleep just fine.

Downsides - 1 the curtain covered the entire wall facing the street, once u open the curtain the whole world can also see inside your room. But if u close the curtain the room is super dark even during daytime. If u want natural light to come into the room and feels not so exposed as a female solo traveller in a foreign country (for safety reasons)—- it is not possible. Please install a light layer of curtain underneath so that outside can’t see through yet the customer can get some natural light.

2 floor not clean, carpet dirty and stains on the wall which i had to clean myself upon arrival. Not a deal breaker but I noticed this. Your cleaning team should work better or have more attention to detail

Door to bathroom very heavy. Hard to push open. But not a main issue.

Overall there are things that Sonder can improve for better customer experience as I mentioned above but the stay was smooth. I still...

There is no personnel at this location, it is a self-serve hotel. There is no lobby, reception or parking. No breakfast, microwave or safe, no cable TV (there's a Roku). If you need anything you would normally get from a front desk, you need to call customer service and wait in line on the phone. The check-in procedure entails you creating an account, verifying your phone number, scanning and uploading your ID and driving licence online, and then undergoing a 3D scan of your face. The rooms are noisy, you can hear everything from the street and hallway (and there is contstruction in the street). Earplugs are provided as standard. The rooms themselves feel hastily renovated with lots of little signs of wear and tear everywhere that are too small to appear in photos but give a run down vibe. The highlight of the room is a huge, beautiful, modern bathtub... until you see the sign asking you to refrain from using it. Customer service explained to me that the bathtub is in fact not a bathtub (it has all the functionality, they just removed the drain blocker). They told me I should have read the fine print and offered to charge me a small fee of over $500 for a room with the exact same bathtub (this time apparently, it is a bathtub...). When I expressed my disapproval of the commercial practices, the customer service rep felt personally attacked, and when the conversation ended, she hung up without saying goodbye to the rude customer I was for asking annoying questions. Maybe they should just fix the bathtubs instead of coming up with an elaborate corporate explanation for broken amenities ―and then make people pay more to have a functional one. This is the most cold and impersonal hotel...