Jodi on 
Erin on 
Eric on 
Bill Evans on 
We just wanted to grab a quick, wind-down drink at the hotel bar of the Sheraton Centre we were staying at, but I should’ve known it wasn’t going to go well when we sat down and I asked the bartender for a wine list.
“What kind of wine do you want?” he asked.
“Um, well what do you have in red?” I said.
“We have merlot, shiraz, cabernet, whatever you want.”
Sigh. I went ahead with “the shiraz” and crossed my fingers it was decent. Jason got a Hoegaarden beer. Nothing fancy.
But I almost fell off my chair when we got our bill:
I’ve never been charged that much for any glass of red wine, and I’ve certainly never seen one pint of beer cost that much either. Do people really have to ask for prices before ordering in a hotel bar these days? Am I that out of touch?
By the way, this was no fancy establishment — just a run-of-the-mill, TVs over the bar, dark wood pub. It also has nothing to do with Toronto because I know most places charge acceptable prices for drinks. This just feels like a blatant ripoff of travelers to me.
I feel your pain. This is a ripoff indeed.
That is ridiculous. I paid $10 for a pint last month and I thought that was crazy. It was at the airport while I waited to board my flight so I let it slide. $12 and $15 for wine is just ludicrous.
Oy.
AND you had to pay PST! That bites. In April, I paid $8 for a watered down cup of coffee in Florence. It was in prime tourist zone – hence the rip off.
I think hotels assume that everybody is there travelling on business and they will expense the cost. But that doesn’t make it ok.
Definitely a ripoff. I’ve found that most higher end hotels do charge exorbitant prices. Hyatt, Sheraton, Westin, Fairmont – and i guess as everyone has pointed, they can get away with it because of business travellers. Of course, what chokes me is their properties arent even that nice – this isnt a Ritz, W, Mandarin, or some other ultra-premium hotel where you get the benefit of an amazing atmosphere.
I love your blog and I follow your “eat-outs” with great envy!!!! I went to the Sheraton hotel bar last weekend – wanting to get a fast drink before heading out for dinner – and I have to admit that for the first time in my life I walked out after checking the bar menu and instead we found a pub with 6$ pints…. The place just didn’t seem worth that pricetag!!!!
Tine: At least you were smart enough to check the prices first! Wish we had done that.
Wow, that’s a ridiculous bill. McWilliams, to add salt to the wounds, is a $15 bottle. Talk about markup.
I think the price might have included the glass.
yea you should have put the glass in your purse
Man, and I thought paying $7.50 a pint was bad here (at home I tend to pay $4 for what is usually far superior fare). I paid $28 for one bottle of Mikeller in a beer bar downtown. Mind you, I’ve also had the benefit of some awesomely strong (and reasonably priced) booze while I’ve been here. Swings and roundabouts I guess.