I had some apprehension when I booked this but I thought that the location (easy walk from Dundas Square, 10 minutes walk to CN Tower, 1 block from King St station, 10 minutes from St Lawrence Market) was worth it. No where is a perfect location but this is pretty great!
The Hotel Victoria is upfront about the fact that they don't have onsite parking- they give great directions to a safe, affordable lot about 7 minutes away. It's an easy walk and it gives you an excuse to walk near some great bars. We parked the car when we got there and didn't have to worry about it for 3 days.
The lobby was nicely remodeled when we first entered and I felt pleased to see this lovely little gem in middle of the city. I got nervous again when we got off the elevator on the 2nd floor. I had read that there is a lot of street noise from the 2nd floor and we got off the elevator to see that they were in the process of renovating the hallway... "uh oh", I thought.
As it turned out, there was NO street noise from our room. However, the hallway renovation was frustrating. The workers began scrapping wallpaper off the walls each of the 3 mornings at 7:30 am!!! Seriously?! How can there be that much wallpaper to scrape? I know that work needs to be done but that hour was NOT the time! Also, I felt like we should have been compensated in some way for staying on this floor during renovations (discounted room or some sort of incentive). It was disappointing that was not communicated to us when we made the reservation and the desk clerk never said a word about it when we checked in- some acknowledgement or apology would have been nice. It doesn't seem like a big deal but the fact that they were trying to pretend that it wasn't happening was odd.
The great thing was the room! Although the building is historic/ old and the rooms are small, they are SO well laid out. The bed, desk, 2 nightstands and love seat all for well into this snug little space. We never felt cramped and really enjoyed the upgrades bathroom (nice tiles, new vanity, etc). The air conditioner works very well, which is incredibly important to my hot- natured husband.
Overall, it was a great experience. I do not regret choosing the Hotel Victoria and I kind of wish that I could visit in winter to have the chance to sit in the lobby and enjoy the beautiful fireplace while overlooking the busy streets. I think that it's a great find, a good location and the price was reasonable. I would definitely recommend the Hotel Victoria to a friend.