Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Chestnut Residence & Conference Centre offers accommodation in Downtown Toronto, with the look and feel of a hotel and the economy of a University Residence. Chestnut Residence & Conference Centre is located in the heart of downtown with Toronto's famous City Hall and Nathan Phillip's Square as our direct neighbours. Near shopping, business, entertainment districts and all major attractions.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
I stayed here because it was one of the recommended hotels for a conference that I was attending. I was a little nervous about it because of the reviews.
The best part is the location. It was walking distance to both the University of Toronto and Convention Center and Waterfront.
The included breakfast is extensive, as you might expect in a college cafeteria.
It was possible to make things work better than you are first led to believe. Since they are trying to attract the conference market it would be very helpful if they provided some information on how to make things works. -There is a nice closet space, but no hangers. They will give these to you if you go down to the front desk and ask. -There is ice in the laundry room. They will give you a bag at the front desk (and tell you where to find ice, but I would have never figured this out without asking). -The policy on yelling at people to leave their bags and backpacks unsecured is annoying. Instead of coming down, having breakfast, and walking to the conference with the people I ran into breakfast I had to run back up to the run to grab my laptop.
I did not have any problems with the room itself. I usually stay in 2-3 star establishment, and value location. The room was clean, there was no mold and their was plenty of water pressure and hot water. The bed was comfortable, although the furniture was mismatched (which does not bother me). I don't mind not having housekeeping service...I don't clean my bathroom at home every day. The 3 provided towels were more than adequate for a 5 day stay. I like not worrying about someone coming into my room while I am gone.
However, in this day and age not having wireless internet is unacceptable. My laptop is more than a year old and does not have an ethernet port. Since this was an international conference, many participants do not have data plans that work in Canada. I had emailed them about bringing my own router to rent the modem and set up wireless in my room, and received no response. I did not bring my router because my husband wanted it at home and could not believe that I would not be able to connect to wireless internet at a academic conference in the conference recommended location. There is a sign on the internet desk that you may not use your own router. Some of the reviews say that wireless internet is available for University of Toronto students. This is ONLY true on the 27th floor (and possible some other common areas). After 3 days (and way too much time in Starbucks) I wandered up to the top floor and was able to connect to the eduroam network. This network would accept my home institutions credentials (if you are an academic google eduroam to see if your institution participates). I was only able to connect my ipad, but I assume the reason I was not able to connect my laptop is that Windows 8 was being difficult. On one hand there is a beautiful view over the city and to the lake and there is very comfortable furniture. On the other hand it would get very noisy with students.
Would I stay here again? Only if it was again the recommended conference hotel. Because there were so many staying there I could always find someone to walk with after dark and was able to have some good conversations over breakfast with out advanced planning.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2014
Rooms
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was in Ontario for a family visit and headed back to Toronto for a day (August 9th) before flying home. It was a busy weekend in Toronto and finding a hotel room for less than US$200 proved a real challenge because of several weekend events. I found Chestnut Residence at an online booking site and it seemed okay with me. The location is the principal advantage of staying here, coupled with the price. My single room charge with tax was about US$116, which included breakfast. This is a student housing building for most of the year. The common areas are worse for the wear and the room was cheaply furnished but clean. There was no television nor wi-fi/internet service in the hotel. Only one elevator was working that would take me to my upper floor and there was no elevator service down from the floor; I had to walk down to the floor below. Breakfast service was school dorm-like; a bit chaotic. But once I figured-out what the system was I found the food and it was plentiful. The dining room, like the rest of the common areas, was worn and not particularly clean. The residence building is well-located to take advantage of center-city/waterfront events/attractions. I would only stay here again if there were no other choices available in the price range I was looking for.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2014
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Â Upper floor rooms probably all have good city views
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Worst front desk ever. I call down to the front desk to let them know that the bathroom has no hot water and she said its not their problem. I then call couple more times and eventually went down to young Asian lady and ask to speak to her manager. Then she said my manager don't deal with guest and gave me the dirties look ever. However, I find the security desk guys way more helpful. That night pretty much made me wanted to pack my stuff and leave. Worst front desk but good price and location.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2013
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is a student dormitory which rents rooms to travelers in the summer. It is an excellent budget-travel choice. There is a security guard 24/7, so if you arrive late at night you will not be standing outside the door waiting for someone to let you in. You must use your key card to get to your floor of the building. Room was clean and comfortable, but the lighting was rather dim. There is AC. This is a high-rise building, so windows are not openable. No fridge or microwave in the room, but you can use the shared one in the common room on your floor. Breakfast in the cafeteria is included, and it is plentiful and offers a variety of choices: Eggs cooked in different styles, pork sausage, halal chicken sausage, baked beans, oatmeal or rice porridge on alternating mornings, fried potatoes, 3 yogurt flavors, cantaloupe and honeydew, toast, fruit juices. You can also buy dinner, which is basic cafeteria food, for a reasonable price. The location is very good, with many places to eat nearby. We give it our highest recommendation.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â You need to bring your own laundry detergent, as there isn't any for sale in the large laundry...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
These reviews are machine translated from their original language. Show machine translations?
The big strong points -The super central location (town hall) is around fifteen minutes on foot from as many points of tourist interest as possible For the rest there is an extremely well served metro and tramway. -the very reasonable price compared to the exorbitant prices of hotels (half price) -Private parking (50€ for 3 nights) Weak points - very spartan rooms, clean but dated, No cleaning if stay less than 7 days -very average comfort of the bedding - a refrigerator and a microwave to share on the floor (clean) but not even a coffee maker or a coffee machine (even for a fee) Despite this we are satisfied with our 3 nights n had a magnificent view from our room
Read more
Date of stay: June 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelling on a budget during the University break? Then the Chestnut Residence is great value for money and convenience to downtown Toronto. The rooms are basic, but what does one expect given that the Residence is a student hostel during the academic year. However, the service offered is welcoming and helpful at all times. The breakfast is highly recommended with a choice that is large and well prepared and more than is on offer at other hotels.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We made a quick three day trip to Toronto and only needed a place to lay our heads. Room was clean. Air conditioning worked. Quiet sleeping conditions. Breakfast was good and the location allowed us to walk everywhere we needed in less than 2 km. Staff were friendly and a very secure building.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed here for 3 days rooms are disgusting, mucky, curtains don’t close. All you hear all night is the lift is the lift going up and down. My husband and I went down to breakfast to grab a snack to eat in the room while we got ready for a day trip to Niagara Falls and l was not allowed to leave the dining area and come to my room you was only allowed breakfast if you sat in the dining room full of shouting students. Staff extremely rude!! AVOID!!
Read more
Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip: Don’t use this place
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This so-called hotel is literally an old dormitory. The rooms have no refrigerators, no TVs, not even a trashcan. The staff was unfriendly and inattentive at checking. There is no coffee available unless you go in to have breakfast. Unfortunately I would say this is the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We needed a place to stay while in Toronto on Saturday night. We just needed a place to sleep. Found 89 Chestnut, the room was clean and provided a great night sleep. This place was reasonable priced and fit the bill. I will definitely stay here again.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Toronto area.
PRICE RANGE
C$216 - C$274 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
89 chestnut toronto, 89 chestnut hotel toronto
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
89 Chestnut
LOCATION
CanadaOntarioTorontoDowntown / Bay Street Corridor / Old Toronto
NUMBER OF ROOMS
700
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
