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| - I wrote a review of this on my blog complete with super cool awesome pictures by moi. Please feel free to check the detailed review there. I may echo a few of my points here. I do a bit of travel writing and review hotels and hostels, so I wanted to give a note on this one (is it weird for a local to review a hostel? It was kind of fun!) Here's the link to my review with pictures: http://nearafar.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/planet-traveler-hostel-review/
VIBE
Located on College, just past Augusta on the brink of Kesington Market, this is one of the best locations and stays in the city. Don't think for a second that this hostel is a bunch of eighteen year olds having sex in a dorm room. It's not. Many of the travelers here are in their twenties and thirties; many from Europe (Germany, France, Switzerland); Japan and Oz. Though I did meet a lovely Canadian here as well. When you look around the lobby, it's a bit of a Mac Nation in there. Everyone is on their lap top. That said, that's true for most cafes and common areas in the world. The people here I struck conversation with were really great and I felt like if I stayed longer, I could have made a few friends. And that is the goal of owner Anthony Arts (who really did such a kick ass job on creating the hostel travelers wanted). As I said on my blog, the cut outs of Canadiana on the walls are reminiscient of an ipod ad; the benches and couch really do bring people together and the top deck patio offers one of the BEST views of the CN Tower in the city. Who would have thunk?! Plus, free popcorn! FREE POPCORN! Bestill my heart. I won't repeat the information on the previous comments (they're pretty slam dunk minus the midnight reports...not sure about that).
SLEEP
I had a private room and it's a STEAL at $80 a night. For the amenities and the social aspect, this trumps a three star hotel room. Plus, you're right in Kensington Market, one of my favourite neighbourhoods in the city. The private room areas are sectioned into pods. So for instance, I will open the door and there are four other separate rooms to go into. They all share one bathroom. And I will add that the cleanliness of the hostel is impeccable. I saw the staff clean the bathroom twice in one day. Plus, the staff share all duties (from front desk to clean up). An annoyance is that you have to bring down all of your linens upon check out, which may cause for a repeat trip. It's not fun if you're four flights up.
THE BEDS: the private room does have a bunk bed - one bigger double bed on the bottom and a twin sized bed on the top. You can get free wi-fi in the room (though because of use, it was spotty around the peak time of 6-8 p.m.). There are three outlets as well (rejoice!). The beds are uber comfortable and clean; I really did spend a lot of time in the room which was refreshing after a long weekend trip.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY POINTS
I really like how this hostel is keeping up with the times. Anthony ensures that the hostel is kept up to its environmentally friendly standards. As stated on their website, the hostel has geothermal heat transfer, photovoltaic electricity, waste water heat reclamation and solar thermal hot water. There are solar panels on the roof of the hostel as well. What does it all mean? It means that the warm water in your shower is from the sun and that LED lighting throughout the whole hostel is run on the same amount of energy that it takes to run a hairdryer. And if you're having a party, it's all about the glass cups (no plastic here please). Pretty cool stuff!
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
The one hostel in Toronto that every traveler on the planet needs to know about. This one is definitely at the top of his game.
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