Mosiah L.
Yelp
When planning my Toronto vacation (for September 1-5, 2017) the toughest decision I had to make was in deciding where I was going to stay. I wanted to be in or near downtown but the hotels in the heart of the city were so expensive around Labor Day. After searching a few other travel pages, I went to the trivago.com site and was fortunate to find out about Victoria's Mansion. The first thing I noticed was the affordable price, then the location and finally the positive reviews. I'd never stayed in a vacation guest house but in this case affordability outweighed fear of the unknown.
The trivago site switched me over to hotels.com and from there I made reservations. I'm an early planner, so it was in March when I booked a basic single room for my September vacation. I paid about half the cost right away and didn't have to pay the rest until I checked in. The total price was only $277.98 in US dollars! After making the reservation, I got an email from Victoria's Mansion thanking me and telling me other things I needed to know (like check in times are between 3-7pm, they don't have elevators and if you're driving you need to make parking arrangements ahead of time). Their courtesy made me feel even better about my decision.
Victoria's Mansion is in a very convenient location. After I got off the subway at Wellesley Station, all I had to do was turn left and walk about half a block until I got to Church Street. Then I made left down Church St., walked maybe two blocks until I got to Gloucester St., made another left and it was right there. One thing I immediately discovered while walking there is that the neighborhood is in a predominately gay/transgender area. Rainbow flags are hanging outside most of the nearby stores and I saw gay couples & a few TG/TV while on my way to the house. Also there is a gay nightclub and another club that has nightly drag queen shows close by on Church St. This wasn't an issue for me because I respect people's sexual orientations. Besides, the neighborhood is safe and clean. There is a local grocery, pizzerias, a Baskin Robbins & other fast food restaurants like Hero Burger.
It was a little after 1pm when I arrived and the front door was locked. After I called on my phone, someone came, let me in and I completed my check in even though I was early. I was given a passcode to dial when entering the front door and manual keys (not a card key) to room 5. I had to walk down some steps and my room was on the same floor as their laundry room. The house looks & smells older in person but it's well managed. It's not really a mansion but a large house with lots of rooms.
My room was very small, with a low ceiling that had a light I kept hitting my head on even though I'm only 6ft tall. With the exception of some dust on the phone (which looked like it hadn't been used in a long time) my room was clean. It has a television, a little refrigerator, a microwave, a cabinet with dishes inside, and a tiny restroom. The bed was about the size of a twin bed but was very comfortable. My room was small enough to where I once had to leave the room so housekeeping would have enough space to clean it. But since I was traveling alone the size of the room wasn't that big of a deal to me. Not all rooms are the same size as mine but I chose the cheapest one available.
Here are a few other things you should know:
1) There is only one iron & ironing board and everyone staying there shares it. They keep it in the laundry room.
2) One of the rules there is that you cannot bring people who aren't staying there inside. So if you meet someone you're attracted to, you're going to have to take that person someplace else for a "nightcap."
3) There is no check out process. When you leave, all you do is just drop your keys in a slot by the front desk.
4) There is a dark, grungy 24 hr internet cafe on Yonge St. about a 10 minute walk away. I went there to print my airline boarding pass for the flight home. You'll see the weirdest people in Toronto at that internet cafe though.
5) I left early in the morning before the subway was running. I paid a whopping $65 (Canadian dollars) for a taxi from Victoria's Mansion to Pearson Airport!
6) Just about everything (CN Tower, the Toronto Island Ferry, Rogers Centre, Royal Ontario Museum) is easy to get to via public transit. Dundas Square (Toronto's answer to Times Square) and the Brass Rail strip club (read my yelp review on this club) are within walking distance.
7) I only saw one housekeeper while I was there, so the time your room is cleaned varies.
I really enjoyed my stay at Victoria's Mansion. The little room grew on me and even though there were other guests staying there it was quiet and I never really saw them. It was like crashing at a relative's home where they let you come and go as you please, so long as you obey the house rules. It suited my needs perfectly and I would definitely stay there again.