La Grande Residence At the Sutton Place Hotel

We stayed at the La Grande Residence at the Sutton Place for one night. Booked a two bedroom suite. No mention on the site where I booked renovated or non renovated. This property was listed as a 5* hotel. What we received was not a 5* hotel room. There were chunks out of the walls, the front door looked like it had been forced open and broke the wood, there was grease on the cabinets, the balcony was filthy, no AC vents in one bedroom, wire coming from under the carpet to a phone jack in the wall with extra wire bundled up and hanging there, two bathrooms but only one tub/​shower other bath only had sink and toilet. The room was a joke. I do believe they have nice rooms. This room should not be sold until it is renovated unless they want to continue to get reviews like this. That is a management decision.
I did show the front desk pictures I took of the room and they still said there was nothing they could do. They did offer another non renovated room that looked the same. And they did comp my internet access fee of $ 20. I have read reviews online from 2013 apologizing for the condition of the non renovated rooms and to come back and try one of their newly remodeled rooms and here it is 2015 and they are still renting the same rooms. The front desk asked for my email so management could respond. Still no email.
Think twice or be very careful about what you book if you choose La Grande Residence at the Sutton Place.

Great location, within walking of tons of restaurants and bars! Booked online and got a good price, especially considering how large the unit was. The bedding was comfy and the livingroom space gave us tons of room. Would recommend.

Stayed here on 8÷20÷15. Horrible experience. Terrible construction noise from the spa remodel ALL day long! Trash in the hallways and the world’s slowest elevators. A really poorly managed hotel. Rooms close to the construction noise should not have been used.

Stayed in Aug 2013 (La Grande Residence Suites) and had an awful experience!
Plain and simple– it was DIRTY! Mildew in the shower, floors sticky and carpets were stained and filthy! Non-​luxury all the way! The furniture looked like it came from a garage sale with peeled off formica revealing raw plywood. Grandma’s swap-​meet dishes and foil wrapped stove-​top burners in kitchen– very ghetto for a 5 star supposed hotel! Room service disappointed when they ran out of soup (which happened to be one person’s sole order) and they just didn’t bother to call to offer a replacement– brought the rest of the order and said «we took it off the bill» and they forgot the other soup that they did have. LAZY! Stepped on a lego that was in the middle of the living room floor (we didn’t bring toys). Pull out sofa was lumpy and uncomfortable with extra blankets that had big holes in them like something had chewed through it! Extra bedroom has a bare open spot against the wall with a cable outlet, but no TV, no console– looks like someone stole it from the room! Lamp in room with no outlet near it so they didn’t bother to plug it in to anything– just sitting there with no function. Patio was filthy from run off of upper floors/​frequent rain– desperately needs power washing! When I went to front desk with my concerns on the cleanliness, they seemed uncaring and only addressed half of what was discussed. Had to call downstairs at 6 pm for housekeeping when our room was not cleaned one day during our 4 night stay. Took photos, and will post but not sure if they can be linked to my review. Will try. Do not recommend staying here! Many other options in the same area of city.

Not impressed at all. First the front desk staff are not reliable. Five of us were staying here together, flying in at different times. When we checked in we were given different information on when we had the rooms booked. Also, when we tried to add someone’s name to the room so they could get a key when they arrived, it didn’t happen. They arrived at the hotel while we were out and had to wait for us to return.
Also, the rooms — not that great. We got a two bedroom suite with a living room, dining room and kitchen. One bedroom had a queen bed. The other bedroom had a king bed with ensuite toilet. There was another bathroom in the hall with shower. For $ 350+ per night I expect 4 star quality. This is more like 3 star. Reading the fine print the nice room with the fancy furniture and miele appliances are the «modern» suites. Unfortunately we were in the un-​modern rooms. They were like standard holiday inn style rooms. The furniture was okay but the layout was like a warren. It felt cramped with weird closets all over the place. The dining area barely fit the table with 4 chairs. The living area had more room but it was really dark with hardly any sunlight getting in. The kitchen had cheap whirlpool appliances. Felt like cheap corporate housing. I tried to avoid hanging out there as much as possible.
For some reason our suite didn’t have an iron or ironing board — not in any of the 5 closets. We double-​checked. When we called to ask for one they didn’t believe us and asked us to double-​check again. When we called back they eventually sent someone up. Except they showed up without the iron. They didn’t believe us still and just sent that person to go through our suite personally to make sure there wasn’t an iron there. What? Did they think we would go through all this trouble to try and steal a cheap iron and ironing board from the hotel? Our iron and board showed up hours later.
The 1 star is for the concierge service which is super helpful and knowledgeable — not to mention patient.

our vancouver trip started with the wrong foot. first, i booked our flight way in advance and ended up paying too much for it. then i waited too long to book a hotel, and that left us with no availability in any of our first choice hotels. la grande residence at the sutton was not even a contender, but its location and price were very attractive for the last minute booking. up until the moment we stepped into our suite, i was regretting my haste decision and procrastination, but i was pleasantly surprised.
recently renovated, our suite was HUGE. the separate livingroom had large windows leading to a small balcony and the kitchen, although not big, was equipped with every appliance and kitchenware needed to make it feel like a home away from home. the dining space was an added luxury a family or an extended stay guest could take advantage of. closet/​storage space was not an issue at all with 2 in the bedroom and 1 by the entry door. however, the bathroom was tiny with just a tub and one small sink.
the décor was basic and simple with clean and modern aesthetics, but everything was functional and inviting. it really felt like someone’s apartment rather than a cold hotel room.
the location of this hotel is a big selling point to both business travelers and tourists. with the metro station less than 15 minutes away and 2 bus stops around the corner, we had no problem navigating the city without a car. in fact, many of the landmarks and trendy places were within walking distance from the hotel. we stayed on 4^th floor, so there was a lot of street and traffic noises, but the windows did a great job in blocking them out, and we quite enjoyed looking out the windows to see the hustle and bustle going around us.
we hardly interacted with the hotel staff, but service seemed friendly and on point when needed. we also didn’t use any of the facilities such as the pool and fitness room, but i assume they were more than adequate since other guests seemed to enjoy them.
the reason i can’t really give 5 stars to this nice hotel is due to lack of complimentary internet. it didn’t really bother me since i am usually not wired at home, but the hubby thought it was unforgivable especially since the business center was not free to guests (to quote him, «even hotels in costa rica offer free internet!’).
also, the renovation is still on going, and we could hear the construction noises coming from other rooms. but this only happened during the daytime and weekdays.
overall, we had a pleasant stay at la grande residence. i’d definitely stay here again if the price was right. did i mention that japadog cart is right outside of the hotel? who can say no to these late night treats while in pajamas and hotel slippers?!

Hotel is great, hidden charges excessive
Room is $ 149 on the web, taxes push it closer to $ 190, parking is $ 30 a day, Internet $ 18 per day etc. etc.
Room was magnificent though, just took my lap top to the nearest Starbucks for free wifi and paid for the parking

This place has 4 stars for quality, and 5 stars for value. We loved the location… loved that the 2 bedroom suites have 3 beds, a kitchen, dining room and huge balcony. The front desk staff was super friendly. We had a small issue on the bill, and without hesitation the staff fixed it and profusely apologized.
We’ll be staying here anytime we can in the future.

I’ve been staying at La Grande Residence for weekends at a time for the last three years and have enjoyed having a roomy living room and cooking space (microwave, dishwasher, sink, fridge, stove top — the works!).
The hotel looks fancy, the lobby area looks fancy, even the lobby and even the lobby restrooms are fancy. But the rooms here really vary in condition and definitely don’t reflect the same kind of fancy as the lobby — some rooms are more worn out than others and some have softer beds than others.
During one of my stays I asked the front desk to change my room and while one front desk clerk was not so nice about the process and told me there was only one available room, I called back a minute later and got another clerk who was much nicer about the whole process and offered a better room that was going to be available later in the day. She even asked if I wanted to check out the available room before committing to the change. I ended up choosing the new room and left my luggage in my old room while I went shopping. When I came back I went to the front desk to get my new room keeps and my new room was ready with all of my luggage moved for me. Love!
The décor inside the rooms is traditional and throughout the years gets less and less modern. I’m hoping the hotel gets an update in the next year or two or else it’s going to start looking even more dated! However, everything is functional and the living room sofa bed is extra comfy so I can’t bash too much on the décor if it serves my needs.
Housekeeping is sometimes a hit or a miss. Most of my stays have gone well and I love that housekeeping runs the dishwasher for us — it’s like a magic really. There was at least one time where the bathroom was only partially cleaned.
Overall I still keep coming back here because it’s comfortable, right in the downtown area which puts me an easy distance to all of the shopping and right next to the Japa Dog stand. There’s also a grocery store across the block which makes getting groceries a cinch. And if you’re truely bored there is also a movie theater across the block.
Cons about this place is that internet is not free and overnight parking is $ 30/​night.
I definitely recommend getting a room at the end of the hall, away from most elevator and hallway traffic! Also, try to get a room above the 4^th floor if you’re a light sleeper. Even though the «first» floor of the residences is really the 3^rd floor of the building, the noise from the street can be loud at night.

I would like to give it 3.5 stars, but the rating does not allow half-​stars, so I generously rounded up!
Things that are positive about the LGR:
— Big on customer service & pretty accommodating.
— Good location & in close proximity to many activities.
— Complete kitchen — with a large fridge so that you can purchase groceries.
— Seems to be pet-​friendly, (we didn’t bring any pets, but the people next door to us had dogs & I saw several dogs in the lobby.)
— Prompt, (but expensive) room-​service.
Things that could be improved upon, based on my stay:
— The dvd & the tv were difficult to work, (the dvd player was actually broken & they had to send an engineer to fix it, and who would have guessed that the channel you have to turn the tv to in order to get the dvd player to tune in is #45?)
— The stereo surround sound not working.
— The bed was uncomfortable (although it looked lush, it was not the most comfortable bed in the world, and I have had a sore back /​neck for days now.)
— PAPER-​THIN walls! Our upstairs neighbors partied like they were at a techno rave party from about midnight until 3am last night … It was pretty lame, but I retaliated with early morning cartoons on full-​blast!
— Card-​keys SUCK, mine got de-​magnatized about 4 – 5 times & I had to call the front desk from the hall-​phone or go back down there, (not fun when you have a whiny toddler on your hands!)
— Had to request a crib for my toddler 4 times … until they finally brought it up. THEN had to request a coverlet /​blanket to cover the flimsy mattress.
— Elevators take a long time, hallways are hot and stuffy, maids need to look under beds when cleaning, (i found some old wrappers and crap under there.)

I haven’t been to that many hotels so I thought the Sutton Place would be fancy. The hotel by nature is fancy, particularly the lobby and bar, but the rooms at La Grande Residence were so-​so. I guess I prefer a contemporary style. They seemed really dated to me and rather dark. The bed was super comfortable which is important, but the tub didn’t drain well leaving hair all over it. The kitchen was pretty complete but they had a strange assortment of dishes that were totally ugly and this very tiny bowls.
The service was bad. They forgot our newspaper both mornings. Didn’t send batteries for the dead remote. Had to be reminded about the champagne flutes we’d asked for. Only one deck chair and one robe despite booking a room for two people. I know I’m not a movie star but I expected more.

Loved it! May move in there and live permanently. Or not.