The Clarence Park

When we entered our room (#16), we were hit with the smell of chemicals from two Glade Plug-ins. The air, sheets, pillowcases, and towels were all permeated with the smell. We opened the back door (there were no windows that opened), changed the sheets and pillowcases, and did everything we did to get rid of the stench. My eyes burned, and my fiance had a scent allergy, so she felt nauseous and dizzy and got a headache (which was still present 18 hours later). We had to leave (after asking if another room was available) and book a last-minute, more expensive place to stay. We asked for a refund but were denied as we cancelled within the hostel's stated cancellation window (not sure how that was possible as we weren't aware the room was going to smell of a chemical factory). Nice staff, though.

The first thing that shocked us was the standard of the room. The room did not look like the pictures online. The walls were filled with marks and stains; the heater in the bathroom was hanging off the wall and the curtains covering an emergency door were filthy. Secondly, the room did not have a window. The room therefore was not only dark, it also had a musty smell due to lack of ventilation. We were not informed at any point that the room would not have a window, as we would not have booked the room if we had known this. On the website and on *********** you only show private rooms with windows. Thirdly, the biggest issue with the room was the complete lack of soundproofing. Every time somebody in the room above or opposite flushed the toilet we heard it as if it was in our room. As you can imagine the toilet was being flushed throughout the night. This kept us awake and had a significant impact on our trip. The toilet was not the only sound keeping us awake. The walls were so thin that we could hear every footstep someone made above and with people coming and going throughout the night we were unable to have a fully restful night. There was an encounter on one night where a person sounded as though they were being sick outside our room at 2am. We were also concerned that the plugs on the wall and the heater in the bathroom were not secured properly on the wall and therefore in our view were dangerous. Finally we were disappointed by your staff. We encountered a negative experience when trying to leave our bags on Tuesday morning. After seeing the reception locked up and no member of staff in sight. We contacted the hotel by WhatsApp and sent an email. We received no reply even to this day! After some time in the reception, unsure what to do we found out that a member of staff was sat on the sofa and could clearly see that we were looking for a member of staff, but chose to ignore us. It was only after another guest asked her a question that we realised she was a member of staff. This wasted a lot of time on our final day and left us with negative sentiments on our final trip. We understand that staying in a hostel is not a glamorous experience but for the money we paid and the glowing reviews we were expecting a clean room with a window, enough sound proofing to have a decent night's sleep and friendly and helpful staff.

Be aware that this hostel is directly opposite a homeless encampment and a dog park. Our room was fairly quiet, but we were still woken by dogs barking very early. Otherwise, the private room was clean if a bit shabby. Convenience store right nearby and location good to access the airport etc.

Nice place to stay, Tv room sofas, nice kitchen, free breakfast, good for meeting new people. 15-20 minutes walk to union station. beds were comfortable, clean room and common parts, free breakfast, small but at least something. No hot water for 2 days, had to ask the receptionist 2 times to fix it, but still not working after the morning hours. very noisy AC unit in the room late check in fee, they have a security on site until late, they charge extra if he does the late check in.

Just 5mins walk to rogers centre and 15mins walk to train station, so location is central. Big enough living area and kitchen that is comfy to hang out. Apples, bananas, different cereal and oats, toast, coffee, tea available for breakfast. Boss is efficient but staff's level of hardworkingness can be improved ;p

I stayed at Clarence Park for quite a few months in 2021 before leaving midyear to move to Miami. The Clarence Park occupied a warm, fuzzy breezy section of my memory hole where I met great people who i kept in touch with for 1 year and even more (the kitchen being the scene of many a welcome random meetup). The staff at that time was mainly top notch and run by an Argentinian lady Maria who kept everything shipshape. Imagine my disappointment on my return to the Clarence Park after two years to be discriminated against by the front desk person on staff. As I waited on my last legs to be served (I had been up for 3 days nonstop at that point) this agent visibly curled her lip in my general direction and actively ignored me. When I finally approached her to find out when I could be served (approx 9 to 9:30am) she was aggressively rude and denied the ability to do anything check-in-wise until 3pm. Right after doing this she proceeded to help some other guests pre-check-in their bags. She did this several times literally right next to me, after completely refusing to help me with anything before 3pm. Oh, I forgot to mention my condition, which I explained to her. I was, and still am, visibly bruised and battered, dirty and smelly. This is because i had just been rescued from a violent 3-day incident which required police intervention to free me. I began to explain this to her but could see she was not listening to a single word. The judgement on her face had already congealed by that point. This VERY SAME REP then coincidentally assigned me one of the worst rooms in the hostel (outside, up to the top flight of stairs, poor to inexistent wifi - my phone has been stolen so my laptop is my only means of communication). I happened to know this is one of the worst rooms from my previous time at the property. Now, it could be coincidence that I was assigned this room. But imagine emerging from literally the most violent confrontation ever in one's life, booking a hostel room to recover as instructed by the police, and having to contend with all this on checking in. It's so egregious (some other things happened around this incident but for brevity I omit) that I STILL haven't slept, I needed to write this review first. The owner in 2021 seemed a nice gentleman who wouldn't tolerate this type of representation - maybe ownership has changed but I needed to post this to counterbalance my previous glowing recco of Clarence Park (which was almost solely due to Maria's work)

In the heart of downtown clean and calm

First, Kendra at reception was awesome. Very welcoming, professional, friendly, and helpful. So nice to arrive somewhere after a 9hr flight to that kind of service. Give that lady a raise! Second, location is perfect. Lots of pizza shops/Tim Horton’s/Subway nearby as well as a liquor store. For a laughably expensive place like TO, you cannot beat the value of The Clarence Park. Third, although better than an airport floor, the beds are indeed equally backbreaking, there was no privacy curtains around my bunk, the room was very dark, and the air conditioner didn’t work. The room was so scorching hot and the radiator around the base of the room was so hot to the touch, it could seriously burn someone. I ended up just opening the window, laid on top of the sheets, and sweated the night away. Can’t imagine the room temperature in summer! Wow! And apparently there is a resident mouse (rat?). I personally missed the opportunity to say hi, but he was spotted by fellow guests at breakfast, who screamed in terror while he played peek a boo under the kitchen cupboards. To end on a positive note though, the bathroom and shower were completely spotless and the complimentary coffee and toast/fruit for breakfast was very nice. The wifi was also strong and solid and I was happy to share the breakfast area with some wonderful fellow travellers. Glad I stayed here. The 60 bucks was worth it in the end. Happy Holidays to all!

The worst place to stay in the best area of the city The rooms are just horrible, Bad smell, very small place to leave your luggage, I didn't get cover in my bed, the bathroom is extremely small. The only good thing is the free wifi and the location.