Clarence Castle

My friends and I booked a reservation with this hostel for two nights. The owner of the hostel confirmed out reservations so we were all set and ready to visit Toronto. After a 10 hour drive from USA to Toronto, we arrived at this place and could not get in (the door was locked). After about 30 minutes of trying to get in and constant calling, we were able to speak with the owner only to find out that he has cancelled our reservation (without notice and without reason). He specifically told us to «find a hotel to stay in.» I am not sure what caused him to ruin our plans like this, but to prevent such a terrible mishap to yourself, I recommend not trusting this place one bit.

My boyfriend and I have stayed here for about 2 weeks and we just checked in for another week. It’s a super convenient old French-​style place close to everywhere, yet very quiet because it’s near a mini park. All the managers are very helpful and friendly. We stayed in deluxe private room. It’s very warm and cozy and we can see CN tower through our window-​door. The lighting jobs in our room is fabulous unlike any other hotels. The cleaner guy is very responsible. He always show up with sort of humorous personalities.

This place took my hostel virginity and I have to say it was a great experience. Me and a friend decided to ring in the new year in Toronto so we drove for about 9 hours from Washington, DC to make it happen.
This was also our first time in Toronto so we chose this place sight unseen after checking out a few super positive reviews on Hostel World and Trip Advisor.
It took us a few days to get oriented before we realized we could definitely walk, catch a streetcar or the subway anywhere we wanted to go. Such a wonderful location!
The first night we stayed in the 8 woman dorm. It was a great set up and I really enjoyed how each bunk had little curtains you could pull back for some privacy.
But I’ll admit even though everyone was extraordinarily nice I was definitely overwhelmed by having to share space with 8 other women. The next day we opted to get a private room. We were much more comfortable and could still enjoy all of the amenities at more than half the cost of a hotel.
Overall I felt very clean, safe and most importantly welcome.
I seriously can’t wait to come back to Toronto in the summer… um when it’s not –30 degrees outside. But man what a beautiful city. I’m so happy we had such a wonderful, place to come back to after a long day of exploring.

We got a private room with private bath for about $ 46 per person, per night. If you stay here and need parking, make sure to RESERVE your spot ($ 10 extra a night).
The location here is EXCELLENT– seriously within walking distance of almost everything you could want to see. The vibe of the place is very laid back– not a party place. I saw more older couples than I ever have in a hostel. Nice!
The kitchen is beautiful and is stocked with instant coffee and black tea. Free wifi in the main area but I do wish it reached all the rooms.
The host was really friendly and helpful.
I’d say that our room was the emergency exit (fire code?) but it didn’t cause any issues.

Great atmosphere, excellent location. I was staying here to be close to downtown and the convention center. I think it was closer than most hotels. Boy was this a good decision. And there’s an excellent café around the corner — really can’t be beat.
Didn’t have a lot of time to use the common ammenities, but the wifi was fast. The kitchen looked great, appeared to have plenty of space. Outside was quiet at night, and I was always warm.
Very comfortable. High marks all around. If you like Ikea, you’ll appreciate the décor of Clarence castle. Modern and tasteful while remaining simple. Lots of remodeling has been done too, so it really felt clean and hospitable.
I also booked through hostelworld. I have stayed at a few hostels in the US, and a few internationally. The value for the price paid is quite high.

Cool budget place to sleep.
Staff is friendly and the location is incredibly quiet even though it’s downtown. You can basically reach all the cool and interesting places by walk.
As you get off the place you rather deal with squirrels than cars, ’cause a small park is just out the door.
A convenient and big kitchen can make you feel home and is the perfect place to meet other people.

I booked through hostelworld and it said it was near downtown Toronto. They really weren’t kidding! It’s pretty central to everything.
It’s right near the CN Tower, maybe a 5 – 7 minute walk from it. They have parking available for an additional $ 10 per day, which is quite a bit cheaper than any other parking nearby. The wifi was pretty fast too. I didn’t use it for much other than finding routes to specific places. The room was pretty nice too, it was a 6-​person suite. The staff were friendly and helpful right from the start. I would definitely stay there again next time I’m in Toronto.

Very chill, less stressed out than most other youth hostel that requires a passport or Driver’s license. Long story short, i was referred by another person to this Hostel which like the picture shoes, doesn’t look like one. I got there after being awake 22 hours and walking and walking and I was about to simply sleep on a park bench. I came in, the guy was watching TV and I booked in, I was ready to pay when he told me: ahh don’t worry, I got into my room and slept a 4 hours. The day after, I was happy to see, the staff is very nice, the place is relaxed, I booked a with with 3 bunk beds and one decent size bathroom. Pretty comfy and very close to all nice spot of Toronto. Open access to Internet (2 computers), a decent size living room and in front on clarence square park. A nice Green park (which I found there’s is not a lot in toronto) in front. Near the corner of Spadina and King. Walking distance of Chinatown, 20 minutes walk from kesington market and very frequent pass for the Streetcar. So Location is great. The fact it’s close to CN Tower, makes it very easy to get back to the Hotel. That’s a great plus.
I paid 30 $ for a public room per night, really nice room mate except one that was having heavy snoring issue. So I didn’t stay a lot, but i had fun the time i was there!

CC exceeded my expectations at all levels! I stayed in a private ensuite room for three nights. First of all, the place smelled like soap! A refreshing surprise as I have stayed at hostels that smelled like smoke. The place was nicely furnished with comfy beds, well-​appointed bathroom, and even a flat screen cable tv. I didn’t even realize this when book and got all of this for $ 90/​night. A great deal compared to the hotel that is a block away and charges twice as much. I had no problem getting anywhere in the city and was able to park my car for the duration of my stay without a problem. I definitely recommend staying here as it was the best hostel I’ve ever seen.

Location, location, and did I mention the LOCATION? I made last minute reservations here on a whim, and was absolutely blown away by the excellent value of this place. It’s located central to nearly everything you could want — shopping, bars, restaurants, public transportation, CN Tower, theaters, parks… again, the value of this place is incredible.
I didn’t stay in the hostel part, but rather in one of the private rooms. The room itself I found adequate, with clean linens, reasonable space to spread out in, and a securely lockable door. The only gripe I really had was that there was no outside window — rather, the octagonal-​shaped frame merely looked out into the narrow hallway. I was also not informed that the room rented was going to be in the basement, and I found it rather stuffy due to lack of air circulation. Having the door open for ventilation wasn’t really an option, as the hallway lead directly to the room housing the washer and dryer, and was thus subject to a lot of traffic.
However, a lot of things are eminently forgivable due to this place’s incredible location and overall cleanliness. I figure that if I’m looking for the height of hospitality, I would hunker down and pay out the 350 bucks a night required to stay at the Hyatt. But for 80 dollars a night in the center of the city? Especially if you’re traveling with a buddy — like I was — then this place is an unbelievably good deal.
You can also park here for ten dollars a night, which is a fair price. The great thing about it is that once you get here you can park and then forget about your car for the rest of the time you’re there, unless you’re heading out of the city proper. The location is so central you can get virtually anywhere you’d want to go by walking or taking the metro.
Apparently they do offer a free breakfast, but I can’t speak too much on it — my friend and I were too busy hitting up the coffee shops. As far as the place being social, it seems relatively friendly, with a large screen television in the main room and a room with computers in the back should you be traveling laptop-​less. I had brought mine, and found the wi-​fi excellent. I did find it a quieter place, so if you’re seeking a raucously social hostel environment, you might want to look elsewhere.
Overall, I highly recommend this place based on the location and the cleanliness. No, it’s not as nice as a hotel would be, but a hotel in the same location would easily cost at least two, if not three times as much. Basically, I’d recommend it to anybody who asked, and when I find myself back in Toronto, I’ll be looking it up.

Super duper, fantastic location. Right next to everything, and by everything I mean public transportation, stores, and more importantly, bars!
Comfortable beds, rooms are kinda stuffy, upgraded kitchens and bathrooms, common areas have satellite cable tv, and computers with free internet available.
Didnt ever see the breakfast mentioned, but since I was broke I ate breakfast bars anyway.
There was definitely large groups of people that were traveling together and were very clique-​ish. I stayed in the 8 bed dorm the first night, and it was a lot roomier and quiet than the 6 bed in the next building. When I switched the the 6 bed, the room was smaller, and there was less storage space for my stuff. Plus it didnt help that the 4 other girls in the room had a million and one bags of luggage, and the girl on the top bunk would get ready on her bed at 8am. When I tried to tell her something, she looked confused, spoke French and didnt understand me…
Would definitely stay here again the next visit!

Could be that «Hostel» movie or my mom’s persistent warnings, but I’ve never been curious enough to stay in a hostel. This place has changed all that. The rooms are clean. Staff is helpful and friendly. Everything is very secure. and they serve breakfast daily! Right off of the main strip on Queen st, this is certainly the place to be. I know where I’ll be staying for my next visit to the T-​dot.