We stayed at the Clarion at the end of our holiday. The main reason for visiting Toronto was to go to Niagara Falls on our way back to the UK so we only stayed 2 nights.

The hotel has a lot of character and is quite quirky. The front desk were helpful enough and the service was generally polite and friendly. There was free use of the internet which is always nice.

Breakfast was fairly limited with little choice. There was a very wide range of nations staying at the hotel whilst we were there which made for some interesting conversations at the toaster!

The room was fine with a very good air con unit - the day we arrived it was 91F and the room was like a sauna but within seconds the unit had it feeling like an icebox!

Location-wise the hotel is about 10-15 minutes walk from the main shopping streets around Yonge and Dundas, however there is a subway station pretty much across the street which gives good access to downtown.

If you're only going to be in Toronto for a couple of nights this hotel is fine, but anything longer and you might wish to consider somewhere else.

A reasonably priced, clean and well recommended hotel. The staff are polite, the rooms are well equipped (free wireless and an internet machine in the lounge). Breakfast is good (paper plates and plastic cutlery though). No bar and no restaurant but there is an excellent pub within 100 yards. Well recommended.

Very happy with our stay in this hotel. The hotel does look a bit wierd and "unfinished" at times but it was always in perfect working order. A typical example is the door frame to our suite which looked like it was all bent out of shape, and thus the door should be a few millimeters from stuck. But after seeing the frame I checked the door and it opens and closes perfectly without even a sound. The old building has probably shifted and they kept the door frame as is and adjusted the door.
There was no mention of breakfast at the website but when we arrived there was a free breakfast service. A good selection of different food as well, but they used plastic cutlery.
Everywhere you looked things might seem a bit strange, but the service level was very good.
We did have a slight problem with a special offer from Clarions website not sticking to the booking, but great help from the receptionist staff and they got that sorted.
Not very central location but subway station was only 1.5 blocks away so still very convenient.

Would surely stay here again.

We did get a free upgrade from room to 2-room suite for free (thought I'd mention that as well).

Stayed at the Toronto Selby for a 3 night stay in August 2007. Booked directly through the hotel website for a queen room on a higher floor and such was honored upon arrival at the hotel.
The hotel itself is an old mansion that has been converted into a hotel and an addition was added as well to enlarge the space for the hotel. The common areas of the hotel are well kept up but are also decorated in an antique type style which I believe adds to the charm of the hotel. The lobby is tastefull decorated in antique furniture and draperies and is very cozy if you want to just sit and relax at any time. The hotel also provides a guest computor with free internet access 24/7 which is also placed in the lobby.
My room was small (by normal standards) but extremely clean and cozy. In addition to the queen bed, there was an armiore with a TV, a writing desk, a small fridge and microwave, and coffee maker. The bathroom provided ample towels and toiletries which were replentished daily if needed. The room also had a walk in closet, which I think was almost the size of the bathroom and provided more than plenty of room to store your luggage and any clothing you wished to hang up or put on the provided shelving.
The hotel also provided a complimentary breakfast in their breakfast room each morning. **There have been previous reviews about the content, etc of the breakfast, however, I have to say, I thought it was great, and I AM fussy about this sort of thing. The room was nicely set up; there were several kinds of both hot and cold cereal, muffins, breads, bagels pastries, hardboiled eggs, sausage patties, several kinds of juices and yogurt, and many kinds of tea, in addition to regular coffee, provided with REAL cream and sugar. It was more than sufficient to start the day. There were also staff present in the breakfast room restocking items as they ran low.
The location of the hotel itself is just off Bloor Street in what I would describe as an older part of downtown Toronto but the area had alot to offer in terms of restaurants, local pubs, and the subway about a block down the street to get you anywhere in Toronto you wanted to go.
Overall, if you're looking for a clean, quiet, and well priced hotel, this is it. I'm not sure where the negative reviews come from, but my stay here was exceptionally positive. The staff there are extremely helpful and accomodate all of your requests and questions without any hesitation.
I've also noticed that despite the negative reviews, no one ever puts any pictures on here to portray the accuracy of their complaints, so have decided to put some on that will portray the good the hotel has to offer. Happy travels!