We stayed at Isabella during our recent visit to Toronto. The hotel is clean, convenient and affordable. However, the staff wasn't very helpful nor did it seem like they knew what they were doing. When we arrived, they lost our room and parking reservation because their system crashed. Luckily they had a room available for us - but we didn't get a parking space. So we had to park on the streets, and get up at the crack of dawn to feed the meter every two hours. In addition, our room was incredibly HOT. The thermometer appeared to be broken, and when we asked the staff to fix it, they always claimed they did. We lived in 82 degrees heat for the 3 nights we were in Isabella. The cleaning lady also came at weird times. One day, she could come early in the afternoon to clean, but other times, the room still wasn't cleaned when we came back at 5 pm.

Stayed for a week for the Film Fest and the price was reasonable for that over-inflated time of year. The first room I was put in felt like a prison cell as it only had one small high window. Luckily the staff were extremely helpful and I was moved to another room which was fine. The hotel was clean throughout and had all the facilities you'd expect at the price. The location is also good, just 2 mins to Bloor Street and the Sherborne St subway. However the best thing was definitely the friendly staff - they made my stay.

We just got back from a weekend stay in Toronto, where we stayed at the Isabella Hotel and Suites. Overall, we enjoyed our stay. The hotel is very nice looking from the outside, a pretty building with a nice patio for sitting outside and enjoying a drink (which you can do, as there is a bar in the lobby). It seemed to be in a generally safe neighborhood (we saw a young woman jogging by herself after dark, and there were several people out and about on Friday evening). The man at the front desk, Dann, was extremely welcoming and gave us some very good tips for things to do around the city. We had some great conversation with him the first night we were there. The rest of the staff was also very friendly and helpful, and there was free continental breakfast in the morning. Our room was small, but that was fine with us. The bed was extremely comfortable and the bathroom was very clean and modern. Our only complaint with the room was that the carpet needed to be replaced...badly. There was a large splattery stain on the carpet just next to the bed, which was a bit off-putting. The only other thing that was less than ideal was the parking...the hotel has only 5 parking spaces, which are generally full unless you reserve them when you book your room (calling the day you are to arrive does not work). Thus, you must park in one of the public parking lots. There is a garage across the street from the hotel, which we used the first night, but we then discovered a municipal lot only about 2 blocks down the street (on Sherbourne between Wellesley and Carlton) that was cheaper to park in. Expect to pay about $15-20 per day for parking either way. Other than the carpet and the parking though, we had a good experience at this hotel. We would stay there again.

Neighborhood could use some TLC but the subway is close as is Bloor street, cabbagetown neighborhood is about a 1/2 hour walk away. Room was clean but tiny as was the bath, and elevator had to be taken one at a time when coming and going with bags. Quiet at night ... if your staying soon beware of construction across the street that starts at 7:30 am .. and they are getting ready to start a big condo development about a block away ... desk staff friendly.. if your on a budget, not a bad choice. went to the groundhog pub on a recommendation of another review, a nice close option for a cold beer and nice service