The 24 floor, 83.72 metres (274.7 ft) hotel contains 1,590 guest rooms and suites, with 5 basements and 18 elevators.

The structure originally received funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to be constructed as a student housing cooperative and then was planned as a residential condominium building by Toronto architectural firm Crang and Boake.

It was reported that Great Eagle Holdings would not commit to renovations that Delta sought in order to upgrade the hotel.

"[1] Delta had announced that it was building a new flagship hotel (the Delta Toronto Hotel) in Toronto's South Core district as part of a development led by its parent company at the time, the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.

In addition to the 1,590 guest rooms and suites, the Chelsea Hotel also has several restaurants, meeting areas, conference rooms, an underground parking garage, a KidZone (as the hotel bills itself as a family-friendly destination), and 2 indoor swimming pools, one of which has Toronto's only downtown, indoor water slide.