Holiday Inn Express Toronto Downtown — Hotel in Toronto

I booked in here as there was a good deal through a hotel booking website, although because I booked and paid that way, I am not sure they will add my stay to my loyalty points with IHG. I arrived a little early, about 2 pm. But fortunately there was a room ready for me. The receptionist was very warm and welcoming. He gave me some helpful information about the area and the hotel. I was also allowed a late check out, for which I was quite grateful as my plane was early evening. ||My room was on the 11th floor and from the window I could see the square outside the hotel. There were a few tents in the square indicating a local homeless population and when I left the hotel later, there was a man shooting up on some steps at the side of the hotel. I guess this could happen anywhere in downtown Toronto. There was also noise from sirens most evenings, again every hotel downtown will be similarly affected. ||Every morning, although I was on the 11th floor I was woken by cooking smells from the breakfast kitchen on the ground floor. This suggests that all the air is being circulated through the system that is used by the extractor in the bathroom and is definitely a design flaw in the hotel. ||My room had a coffee maker, fridge, microwave, iron, safe and hairdryer. But no kettle, and unfortunately they did not provide them either. However there was a coffee station on the ground floor with hot water available and I could use the microwave to boil water for tea. There was a desk under the television but again, as with all the hotels I have stayed in in Canada, no dressing table and not particularly good lighting in the bathroom either. As well as the chair at the desk, there was also a very comfortable armchair with a small side table and footstool. There was also a guest laundry room on the 4th floor, with a single washer and dryer costing $2 each. ||My room included breakfast which was OK, a buffet with some hot food, I mostly had cereal and toast. They used compostable plastic cutlery but it was fairly ineffective in cutting up anything, not sure why they used this, nor why they used paper plates. I did have crispy bacon with pancakes and maple syrup one morning and it was good. There was also a fridge with yoghurts, cream cheese and small cartons of milk. ||Across the square from the hotel and through a walkway was the Metro supermarket. The streetcars 504 also ran from across the square so the location is very good. And it is two blocks from the Saint Lawrence Farmers Market which was excellent. The main asset of this hotel seems to be the staff who were all unfailingly helpful...

The Good... the room was clean and comfortable. The room had a mini fridge, Keurig and a Microwave. The hospitality staff that we ran into in the hallways and elevators were polite and courteous.

The Bad... The reservation member that I booked my reservation with misinformed me about the hotel.. I needed a hotel within a 10 min. walk to sick kids hospital as my son was undergoing testing that required him to be close to toilets so a lengthy walk was a risk for him, and as a teen.. I didn't want him to suffer more than he was. I was very explicit about our requirements and I was reassured that this hotel was within the 10 min. Walk. (That part.. not a reflection of the hotel.. but their reservation staff, just an explanation as to where we went from there) When we arrived at the hotel, the "gentleman " that greeted us was kurt and impatient when dealing with us.. not very welcoming. He seemed bored with having to greet us. Once in our room.. I google mapped the walk to Sick Kids Hospital (I completely own that I should have done this at home instead of trusting the reservations department.. but I actually believed her when she told me it was) It was approximately a 25 min walk.. way too long for my son to make it safely.. I contacted what I thought was the reservation line but turned out to be the front desk.. the "gentleman " was impatient and redirected me to the reservations department.. who sent me to Customer relations.. whom hung up on me. Back to reservations.. who once again redirected me.. ( this went on for quite awhile.. between reservations, front desk and customer relations) in the end.. no one helped..I was snapped at and cut off while speaking to the front desk staff who was simply dismissive and rude. It's odd how having to deal with 1 individual can ruin what could have been a pleasant stay. Reservations offered to try to book us elsewhere.. but it was around 8 pm.. and all hotels in the area was booked up according to them. I wasn't asking for freebies etc.. just some help to figure out why it happened and what my options were from the dilemma they put us in.

Summary: Hotel was nice.. clean and comfortable. All staff was kind and considerate.. except the one. But because of that 1.. I would seriously...

Will never stay here again and will not recommend to anyone. Thirty minutes PRIOR to checkout, a person from housekeeping unlocked and opened our door without knocking while we were inside. I was feeding my baby on our bed. Fifteen minutes prior to checkout, our door keys were deactivated. My husband was loading our bags in the car and got locked into the garage. There was black mould in the caulking around the bathroom shower. There was a whole chunk of ceiling above our bed that had very visibly been patched up and not done very well. Our TV remote barely worked. Couldn't navigate guide, and couldn't scan through channels backwards, only forwards. While I was in the shower and my baby was sleeping, our phone started ringing and woke her up. By the time I got to the phone there was noone there. Price kept increasing every night while we waited to be accepted into Ronald McDonald House for medical care for our sick daughter, as I was only booking a night at a time. GOOD customer service would keep the same rate. Right across the road from a park full of homeless tent camps. Felt rather unsafe especially at night. This should be disclosed. Hot water was shut off the first night we arrived. This should be disclosed. Parking was an absurd $35 PER NIGHT. Breakfast sucked, albeit complimentary. The packages of maple syrup tasted like gasoline. Coffee tasted burnt. Cinnamon buns were tough and not warm. I needed to bathe my daughter prior to surgery and had to use the sink due to no bathtub. I gave it a scrub first and there was CHUNKS of brown gunk around the edge and the overflow drain...