St Lawrence Residences And Suites

Good value accommodation in downtown.

Saint Lawrence Residences and Suites offers a range of accommodation from basic dorm rooms with shared bathrooms to deluxe rooms with en-suite facilities and a kitchenette.

I stayed in a deluxe single suite for 8 nights in February 2006. The cost was 60 CAD + taxes per night, rising to 70 CAD + taxes on Fridays and Saturdays.

I struggled to find any budget accommodation in the downtown area. The cheaper hotels seemed to be some distance from central Toronto, while all hotels within reasonable walking distance of the CN Tower were significantly more than my budget. This place proved to be a very good compromise.

Located on Jarvis Street (a street that runs parallel to Yonge Street) on the eastern edge of downtown, the location is excellent. The many shops, bars and restaurants of Yonge Street can be reached on foot in 10 minutes, while the CN Tower is a mere 15 minutes walk away. Located just 50 metres away is a Petro Canada petrol station which sells various groceries.

The facilities in my room were very good:

En-suite shower room - clean and reasonably sized, with 24 hour hot water;

Kitchenette - including a toaster, oven hobs, cupboards, cutlery, crockery and a sink;

A large fridge/freezer and a microwave;

Satellite TV - over 60 North American cable stations;

Good heating and lighting - despite the cold outdoor temperatures, the room was always very warm and was well lit in all areas.

Unique Quality: A few negative points:

Reception is basically a small desk in the basement amongst shelves of stationery supplies. No tourist information or services are provided and the reception is only open between 2pm and 6pm. If you want to check in outside these times, you must call ahead to make arrangements. You do receive a front door key in addition to your room key once you've checked in, so there are no curfew issues arising from these restricted opening hours. You will also be given the manager's number to call in an emergency.

During my 8 night stay, I never received maid service at all. My bed sheets were never changed, my bin was never emptied and my room was never cleaned in any capacity. In fact, I never saw a member of staff anywhere in the hotel after I had checked in.

All in all, I consider this hotel to be a good value option given its convenient location and well furnished rooms.

However, please note:

This review relates ONLY to my stay in a DELUXE SINGLE SUITE.

On Tripadvisor.com there are a number of very negative reviews about the Saint Lawrence Residences. The manager has answered a number of these complaints and has acknowledged that the standard of accommodation varies significantly between the different classes of rooms. He also acknowledges that the accommodation does have faults (particularly the cheaper rooms) and that he is on a steep learning curve and is keen to make improvements based upon feedback received from guests. The general impression I got from the manager’s comments is that some of the rooms aren’t that great - but that is why you pay less for them!

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Budget Travel, Backpacking

St Lawrence Residences And Suites Photo: Deluxe single suite, St Lawrence Residences

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