Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre

The location is great since you’re right in the middle of dozens and dozens of places to eat, shop, and drink. I did find the room to be a little disappointing; there were some marks on the walls showing wear and tear, the television only got a few channels, and the towels were as coarse as sandpaper. However, the shower is lovely and bed comfortable. It’s decent for a HI; if I had to I’d return.

I’ve stayed here a few times and always found it to be a fine enough option for the price, but I came tonight and realized that I had (i) accidentally booked my room for tomorrow and (ii) accidentally booked through a third-​party site that I thought was the holiday inn site (Hotelsavings).
The lady at the front desk made it seem like my mistakes were a giant inconvenience to her, offering the dismissive «can’t help you, third-​party site» line. I called Hotelsavings and they just wanted to make sure the hotel was okay with everything and they spoke with the front desk on my phone and everyone confirmed that the same rate was available for tonight and the change could be made. The agent seemed extremely annoyed that I asked if she could talk to the third-​party site that I had on my phone. The agent required a fax or email from Hotelsavings authorizing the change, even though she had spoken directly with a representative on the phone. I was not able to check in until the fax arrived.
I know that employees need to follow procedures and that the hotel is likely not being paid without the fax and that third party sites are THE WORST, but a cheery, creative can-​do attitude can make such a difference in these situations and in the hospitality business in general. I wouldn’t have minded waiting in the lobby or even losing my money for my mistaken reservation if I felt like the front desk cared at all or was trying to be helpful. As it turns out, while still waiting for the fax, I eventually just cancelled my reservation (probably losing the full cost to Hotelsavings) and went to the Courtyard Marriott down the block because I was extremely tired from a long day of travel and my phone was dying.

Good location. Room’s are nice. Customer service is mediocre. Nice staff but they just don’t seem to care much. Internet is absolutely horrible. No faster than dial-​up and spotty wifi throughout. I enquired about it and the from desk just said «we have high speed internet, you should check your phone settings» without offering help.

Before scrolling down and reading all the comments, it’s important to take into consideration that this is an ECONOMY hotel, and I am a firm believe in «you get what you pay for». This hotel is one of the cheapest hotel rooms in Downtown Toronto (if not the cheapest), so keeping this in mind, you should set your expectations accordingly. Of course, this is not a luxury hotel! As far as economy hotels go, my experience here has repeatedly been a good one, especially compared to any other large chain lodging.
The rooms are small but fine for business trips or short stays where you won’t be spending much time in your room anyway. Everything from the room, to the sheets, to the washroom is very clean. As for Wi-​Fi, I’ve always used it on both my work laptop and iPhone simultaneously and have never experienced any connection problems.
The main reason this place gets 4 stars from me is that the staff is consistently some of the most courteous bunch of people I’ve ever come across in Toronto. I’ve always been impeccably served by staff, whether it be at the front desk, room or valet service.
I usually would not stay in the financial district if I wasn’t in town for business (I like to have more than Starbucks or the popular fast food chains as dining options) but overall I’d recommend to anyone traveling on a budget for a short getaway.

This hotel is right next to Maple Leaf Gardens.
It’s an older hotel. The lobby looks dated.
The room is surprisingly small! This is one of the smallest rooms I’ve ever stayed in. Try and find a place to set up an ironing board is a challenge.
The elevators are slow and backlogged.
But worst of all — when paying cash with American dollar, they exchanged at PAR!!! The rate is $ 1.20! PAR! That is highway robbery. I wouldn’t allow them to exchange cash.
US DOLLAR BEARER BEWARE!!!

Definitely not the nicest hotel I have seen, however the location is great!
Downtown Toronto, close to Yonge and Bloor, a block from College subway station.
Many cafes and restaurants around, 20 min walk to The Bay, cinema, Yorkville and Bloor line.
The room we had was very small, washrooms — tiny, one of the elevators was not working properly. We were given a room with horrible view, so we changed the rooms and it was much better (facing apartment building).
The good part: it was the first hotel were they had small size and soft pillows! While traveling in US I was carrying around my own pillow, so I was glad I didn’t have to sleep on a huge brick.