Velvet Queen Hotel

The bathroom was awful for a dorm. It had a glass wall and an eastern Asian style, with the shower head in the ceiling. You couldn't take clothes or towels in, the floor was always wet so shoes were necessary, and everyone could hear you using the restroom. Towels cost $5 to rent. The property manager/owner was rude and unresponsive. Other guests were loud and obnoxious even after warnings. One woman in my room wouldn't keep quiet; she'd already been warned but was allowed to stay, so the rest of us had to set rules about lights out. Some long-term guests in the women's room were in a relationship that had become tense, and you could feel it in the room. Stay literally anywhere else.

The room and sheets were clean, there was hot water and a fridge, and thankfully no bugs. For the low price, it was good. I'd booked before reading the reviews and was a little worried, but things turned out fine. Still, the cancellation policy seems absurd. After paying for a room, you're charged more if you don't show up? That feels unbelievable and greedy. It wasn't bad in the end, but I felt like I'd dodged a mine.

My friend and I were pleasantly surprised by our first hostel stay. We came to crash after a concert, and the room was really clean, the location was great, and our roommate was kind and respectful. The manager came into the room in the morning before checkout without knocking while I wasn't wearing clothes. That was unpleasant, and he told me I should change in the bathroom, which could've been handled much better. Still, for the price, cleanliness, and location, I was happy with the stay. Thanks.

We were lucky to reach a booking representative who moved us to a proper hotel. The whole thing was incredibly frustrating, especially with less than 24 hours before we were meant to arrive. It felt unprofessional and disrespectful, scammy even, and I wouldn't recommend this place. Definitely not worth the money. My friend and I had booked a Queen Room about a month ahead for June 29. At booking, five rooms were shown as available and our payment went through shortly after. Then at 8 pm on June 28, the night before arrival, she got an email saying the card had been declined and needed updating. She messaged the hostel through Booking to ask why, since we'd already been charged, and whether another charge would be made. Two hours later, the reply was just, “So?” She tried calling several times; one employee picked up, said “One sec,” then hung up before she could speak. My call went straight to voicemail. Only after we reached Toronto did we get a message about an overbooking, and it came from the booking website, not the hostel. They didn't seem interested in telling us about the problem, hearing us out, or helping resolve it.