When I needed a night to stay in Toronto on a brief trip, The Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel was the best off airport option of the Marriott hotel brands. In addition to offering everything that is expected from a Marriott, including a pool, gym and a concierge lounge, the property offered very pleasant interactions with it’s staff who genuinely made my stay more pleasant.

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This post is one chapter on our trip during the pandemic to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Buy a Car. This trip was enhanced through Air Canada Aeroplan Elite Status and Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“An older full service Marriott near Toronto Pearson International Airport, that offers exceptionally friendly service at every interaction”

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Booking the Toronto Airport Marriott:

I was only in Toronto for the sole purpose of inspecting a car for purchase. It didn’t really matter to me where to stay. As a result, I ended up staying close to the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

There were a usual list of hotels at or near the airport in the Marriott chain. I bypassed the in terminal Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto Pearson International Airport where we had stayed previously, as it was pricing at around the $250 CAD mark. Most of the other airport hotels also had soft demand and were pricing around the $100 – $140 CAD range. 

As I was going to have a rental car, I ended up staying at the Marriott Toronto Pearson International Airport. I was able to find a rate for $129 that included free parking and a grab and go breakfast. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, I would also have M Club Lounge access at this property. This would be an advantage over staying at the Westin, the Residence Inns’ the Element, Aloft’s or the Four Points that did not offer a lounge.

The hotel participates in the Marriott Bonvoy rewards program. The rates under their new variable pricing ranged from 19,200 (point savers) to 24,000 per night. As the cash price was so reasonable, I stuck with the paid rates. If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.005 cents per point, you’d have to have a paid room rate of more than $120 to come out ahead redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points versus paying cash.

Getting to the Toronto Airport Marriott:

After arriving off Air Canada Signature Business Class Vancouver – Toronto, I found my way to the Hertz garage at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One.

While the Toronto Airport Marriott hotel offered a shared shuttle service, it was easier for my needs to rent a vehicle considering I was going to be zipping around Toronto over my visit. The shuttle service was running every 30 minutes on 0:00 and 0:30 during my visit. It didn’t appear to be getting much use from travellers that I could see as I rarely saw it in use.

Hertz at Toronto Pearson International Airport is the only location in Canada that offers Hertz Ultimate Choice. As a Hertz President’s Circle member, I was able to choose any car in the aisle.

Today’s President’s Circle Ultimate Choice selection was pretty underwhelming. With only 5 President’s Circle vehicles to chose from between a few Toyota Camry’s and a few Dodge Chargers; unfortunately not super aspirational vehicles in the rental car world.

I ended up doing a $30 upgrade to an Infiniti Q50 just for giggles and because you only live once.

It was a short drive up to the Marriott Toronto Airport. The Toronto Airport Marriott is located a short seven minute drive away from the airport in a pretty middle of nowhere light industrial neighbourhood.

On my drive out, I got a little turned around thanks to a little slow uptick on the Google Maps GPS under the parkades and overhead viaducts. However, it was only a 6 minute drive away, with the hotel being easy to find.

Checking into the Toronto Airport Marriott:

On arrival to the Marriott, I self parked out front. The hotel was built in 1986 and the rooms were last renovated in 2008. As a result, the hotel environment is consistent with the nineteen eighties era. The Toronto Airport Marriott hotel has a somewhat monolithic and brutalist architecture look to it.

I was received at the door by an actual door man which I was not expecting for an airport Marriott. I was pointed towards the front desk and helped immediately.

There was no wait at check in and a friendly reception provided instructions to the room, along with certifying my vaccine status for entry into the restaurants, lounge and pool areas. The check in was unusually pleasant for a high turnover airport hotel. My vaccination status was checked, and I was given a card with an expiry date and a Green Check Mark which was to be used for all restaurant, pool, meeting space and M Lounge areas.

My room rate included complimentary parking and a grab and go breakfast. The parking did not need a voucher or a pass displayed on the dash, but I had to present a licence plate at the front desk. The Marriott Bonvoy Elite breakfast was offered in the M Lounge (which was thankfully open) or the hotel Showcase restaurant located in the lobby. I took the 1,000 points as the Marriott Bonvoy welcome bonus.

I was also provided a $10 Food and Beverage Voucher as a result of the lounge “offering reduced services”. I think this was more of a courtesy touch as the lounge experience was pretty typical for a North American lounge in my recent Marriott visits.

I was also able to get a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium late check out of 4 PM without any negotiation or haggling. This was appreciated so that I could manage my work calls during the day.

The Room: Guest Room, One King

I led myself up to room #856. While I didn’t receive a room category upgrade as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, I did get a high floor which was one down from the top with a pleasant view. It was a bleak winter view from the elevator foyer windows that somewhat represented the cold realities of a winter Toronto stay.

The room itself is the traditional Marriott yellow and red themed room. The room was quite compact at 340 sq feet. It was fine for a solo traveller, although two travellers together would probably be pressing it a little bit.

The room featured lots of available plug ins. I was able to plug in two computers (a laptop and a table) along with two phones.

The bathroom was compact. The sink was located just off the entrance way in a semi public area which wasn’t very private.

The toiletries were the standard “this works” branded soaps, shampoos and conditioners.

Based on the floor layout, there appeared to be limited suites at this property. Many of the upgrade opportunities appeared to exist with corner rooms as there appeared to be only a few suite per floor.

Like many airport hotels, the views from the room were not super impressive. In the best case scenarios, an airport hotel will give you a view of runway or airside operations. In this case, the Toronto Airport Marriott hotel is located too far away from the airport for this to happen. While there was a view of the winter snow covered golf course, there were also views of a less inspiring container facility. Occasionally, there were views of aircraft on final approach to their runways.

There was the usual Marriott filtered coffeemaker in the room, in addition to bottled water.

The room offered a straight forward room service menu from the Showcase Restaurant. This was perfect for those experiencing late arrivals to the property.

There was a little airplane noise from the adjacent runway. The hotel is close enough in proximity to the airport that the hotel has red aircraft landing lights on the roof. This background went on until about midnight, until flight operations pretty much wound down for the day.

The room noise itself was pretty quiet without much noise coming from the hotel itself. However, the area was quite windy and rainy. I had a pretty sleepless night overall at this property with the wind weather noise, which has nothing to do with the hotel.

Around the Property:

M Lounge (Executive Lounge),

The property offers an M Lounge located just off the lobby and adjacent to the Showcase Restaurant. During our visit, it was open and accessible for those staying on a Concierge Level Floor and on a complimentary basis for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador Bonvoy Elite members per the terms of the Marriott Bonvoy program.

The meal timings were as follows:

• Breakfast 06:30 AM – 11:00 AM
• Lunch 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
• Dinner 5:00 PM – 10:30 PM
• Grab and Go Items: 5:30 AM – 1:45 AM.

I redeemed my $10 food and beverage voucher against a 9oz Glass of J Lohr Merlot in the lounge. It was brought over with waiter services along with a bag of chips, along with very kind offers to adjust the television from news to sports to whatever I wanted to watch. They were very hospitable and went above and beyond what I was expecting within an M Club Executive Lounge.

Food was also available to order within the lounge from the adjacent Wayside Bar and Restaurant. The food could also be enjoyed in the lounge for those looking for a more casual eating experience, instead of from within a proper restaurant environment.

Food and Beverage:

The Toronto Marriott Airport hotel is located within a bunch of airport hotels in a neighbourhood that has all the charm of a light industrial complex. While there are a few steakhouses within a short walking distance, chances are if it’s a wintery evening during your stay, you’re likely to remain on property at one of the hotel options.

Wayside Social Café and Bar:

Marriott Platinum Breakfast:

The next morning I went to Wayside Social Café and Bar is the hotel’s all in one food and beverage offering that offers table seating, in addition to bar seating in the form of bar seating and high top seating.

I was presented the whole menu to order from which included hot items. I was asked to sign a bill that would be deducted off the room folio.

I ended up ordering a Continental Healthy Plate with Yogurt, Multi Gran toast and fresh fruit. As it was about 3 AM Pacific Standard Time when I was up for breakfast, I went with the light option.

The bill came with “M” Lounge written across the top. There were no issues with billing and the matter was handled promptly.

Much of the same items were available to order in the lounge. As with the M Lounge Experience, all the staff were older and exceptionally friendly.

Hotel Gym and Indoor Pool:

The hotel offers a moderately sized gym and indoor pool. The operating hours were as follows:

• Gym: 05:00 AM – 9:00 PM
• Pool: 09:00 AM – 9:00 PM

At the time of my visit, an advance reservation through the front desk was required for both facilities due to the health pandemic.

While I didn’t use the gym or the pool, it was nice to have the option available. There was nothing special about the place; there were no feature walls or amazing views. Rather, the emphasis here was on functionality and having an available space to work out, if needed.

The Toronto Airport Marriott Bottom Line:

The hotel offered everything that you would expect from a full service marriott. The hotel happened to be located in a less than exciting neighbourhood without much around it in terms of restaurants or attractions to see. While it didn’t beat the convenience of the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto Pearson International Airport, for those looking for a Marriott to stay when it doesn’t matter what the local neighbourhood looks like, the hotel will meet your needs. Lastly, it was well worth noting that the staff at this particular property were terrific to deal with and pleasant in every regard.

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If you regularly stay near Toronto Pearson International Airport, is there an airport hotel that you prefer?

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