Dorian B.
Yelp
I have never written a review on the internet for anything in my life, and as a young person I have been on the internet pretty much since it was invented. But I feel a responsibility to write a review, or rather a warning, to any future renters about 88 Bloor St. E. These are my experiences over 2 years.
1. Fire alarms every week, sometimes more often than that. Imagine a police siren going off in your apartment. Now imagine that at 2am, 4am, 5am. The speaker system, like everything else in the building, is old. This means that you have some muffled, distant voice, yet as loud as the alarm, speaking nonstop for at thirty minutes. "Attention, an alarm has been activated, await instructions" on loop the entire time. Nobody moves, not a soul gets up because we all know the drill here. There has never been a real fire, at least nobody has ever needed to evacuate. The problem is that the building is attached to the old Hudson Bay/mall basement, as well as the hotel next door, so any wisp of cigarette smoke from anyone will set off an alarm in all three buildings at the same time.
2. No security, front entrance is often unlocked. The homeless people etc. can come in as they please. They like to sleep in the foyer, and half of them will throw up, piss all over the floor, sometimes shit on the floor, and shoot up their veins. The smell is unbearable. I was high up in the building and even with the windows closed, at that distance, you can hear screaming at all hours of the night.
3. Old apartments. Like someone else said on here, do not fall for the big, fancy entrance. This is the only part of the entire building they will invest in. Nothing has been renovated or fixed in years because the budget/funding is nonexistent. The hallways smell. The elevators regularly break down. The air conditioner/heater will make the most annoying screeching noise when you turn it on. There are no lights in the kitchen or bedrooms. If there are lightbulbs somewhere, they do not turn on. The only light that turned on was the bathroom light and the one in the hallway. There was no net on the window in the kitchen. The insulation on the windows is terrible. There is no air extractor in the bathroom. The caulk is yellow on the bathroom tiles and wall. The sink never completely shuts off water - there is always a constant, small steady stream leaking. The toilet does not flush unless you hold the handle down the entire time. The closet doors are flimsy. The fridge door pops open.
4. Bad management. I dreaded any day that I needed to deal with them. They are incompetent, uninformed, slow, rude, no matter how you approach them. Even the day I was shown my apartment when I was just looking at places, the woman who let me in could hardly pretend the minimum politeness. I dreaded going to the office every single month to pay my rent. Also, they do not accept e-transfer or credit cards, which was extremely inconvenient one month when I was out of town and could not find a way to get my month's rent paid. They are also often not in the office during working hours. Basically, if you have a problem, you're on your own.
5. On top of the already sky-high rent, you have to pay for parking. It can be up to $30 on weekdays, maybe $12 on the weekend.
6. There is a major roach infestation in the building. I had massive roaches in my kitchen every night for 6 months. Even when you get them treated, it's more of a temporary solution because they really just go into someone else's apartment until the chemical spray wears off and they just crawl back into yours again. If you haven't gotten them yet, you will eventually. It can be a few small ones or 5-10 at once at the worst. Horrifying and disgusting. Yes I kept my kitchen clean, and regularly deep-cleaned as well.
7. Rent is ridiculously high and getting higher. You can get a BETTER place for this price, even in the same area. The location is used to justify the price of rent I suppose, but honestly, while the location may be convenient, it's far from ideal. It is extremely dangerous, specifically the corner of the street where this building is located. Even in the daytime, I do not recommend walking down the street beside and behind the building. It goes without saying then at night it is also dangerous, once you pass RBC and make your way toward the building. The mall basement (where you go to the subway) is dangerous as well, but at least down there you tend to have one security guy somewhere (but not after 10pm).
8. They also try to sell it to you talking about the grocery store next door ("The Market"), but it is the worst grocery I have seen in a developed country to be honest. You can smell the rotting meat and fish from the street on a hot day. I once got food poisoning from eating a piece of salmon I purchased from there. Of course the prices are as high as anywhere else you go, and do not reflect the true low quality of the food.
Good luck y'all.
