I'm in my late 50's. Really enjoyed my stay. Room was very clean, mattress comfortable. Would stay there again but was advised by front desk to request bottom bunk if I reserve again. Hostel is very central location to what you want to do in Toronto. Airport Express bus from airport stops 2.5 blocks away, easy to find. Staff very helpful. Lots of stairs, so man at front desk carried up my heavy suitcase. My only complaint was the 6-bed female room was very crowded. I would definitely recommend bringing ear plugs if sleep is important as room-mates were coming and going all hours, and a flashlight as lighting in the room was poor. Roomies were all lovely polite women in 20s and 30s.

I was in a 6 female dorm, in 10 Clarence square (not the main building 8 Clarence square). There were no individual lights, so I was afraid that means being disturbed by the big light above, but it turned out it could be dimmed, so it was not a problem. One difference with other hostels: there was a bathroom within our room (it was a good hotel type bathroom, btw!). Not sure if it is good or bad. Pros: close and can only be used by us 6. Con: not too soundproof!! Heater worked well. My laptop could only get (free) internet in the common room, not in our room. Common room was very nice, with a nice small kitchen attached, with 2 fridges and everything you would possibly want from a kitchen. I was told the cereals on the table there were complimentary, but the complimentary milk was only in 8 Clarence square. There was a hole in the ceiling in our room, which was not a problem (see pic; i was told it was dripping water during the day one day; they put a rug on the floor below it, and said they would fix it; I never saw it dripping though). To get a good sleep, I needed 1-2 hours more than usual due to some girls coming in late, and others waking up early (despite all trying to be very quiet). Apart from this little inconvenience, things were close to perfect. Location is great, just next to CN tower; facing only tiny streets despite being close to huge streets. The staff were super-friendly!

Last year I wrote a 5 star review for Clarence Castle which I would like to correct this year just because of the handling of my booking. I wrote an e-mail two weeks ago to book a room for four nights and also asked about the reception times.
They told me abut the reception times (reception closes at 10 PM) but obviously nobody bothered to make a reservation. Because when I asked for a confirmation of the booking today I was told that there was no reservation in my name.
So if I hadn't asked today I would have arrived tomorrow (a Saturday) at 9 PM with no bed in sight.
After being told that I asked if they still had any beds left, nobody bothered to respond (until now: 1 1/2 hrs later). And just now I received an e-mail saying that I wrote an e-mail but made no reservation - Well, I told them date, the length of stay and what kind of room I would like to stay in - what more information do you need for a reservation and if you need a creditcard number or something else, how about letting me know about it??
And did I mention in my last review that when I wanted to check in last year that someone else had apparently checked in with my name already??
I never had so much trouble at one single hostel.
No, Clarence Castle, you won't see me again.

Great location, clean, reasonable price. All these factors made me like this hostel. But I found the staff very helpful which was an added bonus.

The best thing about Clarence castle though for me, was how friendly all the people were staying there. There seemed to be a mix of short and long term people staying here. Which meant lots of good advice on places to go.