Based on other reviews on this site, we knew that one fault at this hotel has been that some people couldn't get the grade of room on check-in that they had booked in advance. We were arriving late on a Friday night, so we made a point of telephoning a few days before to confirm that we would be arriving, and to confirm our room grade (a regular suite.) We booked the regular suite specifically because suites have queen beds and the standard rooms have double beds (according to the hotel's website.) My husband is 6' 6" and a double bed is too short!

On check-in, the desk clerk directed us to a room on the ground floor which he said was a *deluxe* suite. We were dismayed to find that it could only be called a suite because it had one room for a sofabed (not in the best condition), the television, and a mini-fridge, and a separate tiny room for the DOUBLE bed. The room also had no remote for the TV, an iron but no ironing board, and no coffeemaker. (The coffeemaker which was provided the next day, along with the other missing items, did not work...)

Even worse, when my husband went to the front desk to ask if we could change rooms, he ended up in a shouting match with the desk clerk, who insisted that we were in a deluxe suite, and that the bed in question was so a queen! (I actually took the trouble to measure the bed and look up bed size specifications the next day. It was a double.) Needless to say, we spent a rather uncomfortable night crowded into this small bed.

The next morning my husband spoke with a different desk clerk, who was mortified to hear of our trouble and promised to move us to a proper suite on Sunday at noon, which was the soonest that onewould become available. The first desk clerk also apologized to my husband for the argument, although he did try to excuse the problem by saying that the hotel had been overbooked and he "thought he was doing us a favor." And the suite into which we were moved was exactly what we'd expected from the description of the hotel's suites, with the promised queen bed, desk, tub/shower combo, and *working* coffeemaker. The carpet was badly stained, but the room was otherwise pristine and very well maintained by housekeeping. The rest of our stay was quite enjoyable. I only wish that we hadn't gotten off to such an awkward start!

The Isabella has a bus on the corner and a subway three blocks away that takes you everywhere quickly and easily. The continental breakfast is more than adequate and the informal breakfasting arrangements, with newspapers always available, create a pleasant start for the day. Our room was clean, quiet and comfortable, with plenty of storage space. Desk staff were friendly and helpful. Good value, nice ambience, we'd stay there again !.We had a suite, so had an advantage over the regular rooms that are smaller.

Stayed at the Isabella last weekend. Paid $84/night plus $15/day for parking. I would suggest this establishment to many of my friends. The hotel rooms are tiny, however I expected that to be the case as the hotel is historic and I have stayed in other hotels in Toronto before - they have all been tiny as well. I didn't spend much time in my room - other than sleeping or showering, so size was not an issue. The rooms and overall hotel was very clean. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They did offer a continental breakfast. I didn't indulge, but it appeared to be decent for a quick bite. The parking lot is across the street. Had no problems finding a space. Upon checking in, you will need to park on the side street as you do not get access to their lot until you recieve your parking pass which opens the gate. The location was the biggest draw for me. It was within walking distance from many great restaurants, shopping, The ROM, and only blocks from Yonge. Across the street is the Sherbourne TTC subway stop which made it extremely easy to get around the city. I don't have anything bad to say about the place. It was perfect for my vacation.

We stayed at the Isabella Suites from August 5 to August 6, 2007.

Not having stayed in many hotels in Toronto, we were trusting the accuracy of the pictures and depiction of the amenities to be representative. This did NOT turn out to be the case.

First, we were lucky to get one of only 5 parking spaces available across the street from the hotel. If we didn't get one, we have no idea how far we would have had to park or how much it would have cost. Parking was $15.

The lobby and other common areas of the hotel are very clean.

The elevator is very small and could not accomodate more than two people with their luggage.

Now comes the big let down....We opened the door to our room and discovered that our 'suite' was the tiniest hotel room EVER! For $124 our room was approximately 10 feet by 12 feet, including the 'nook' for the double bed, the 'closet', and the mini fridge and tv. The washroom, although very clean and appearing to be newer, featured stand up shower only and was no more than 8 feet by 5 feet.

One good thing: The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful and got us checked in quickly.

Overall, our experience was fine because we had a good time in Toronto. But we would absolutely NOT recommend this hotel and certainly do not find it to be anywhere close to good value for the money. And we don't know what the true definition of 'suites' is, but we're pretty sure this isn't it!

Having said all that, there is a nice little place called The Groundhog Pub just around the corner on Bloor Street and our bartender, Alesha, was awesome.

Thanks....