We stayed here for five nights this week. Following Goldorak's review our expectations were not high, so we weren't surprised to find that this is a rather disappointing property or to conclude that we wouldn't return.

We made an unrestricted booking several months in advance, expecting to rebook at some stage to secure a lower rate (or, after Goldorak's report, stay elsewhere). That didn't happen, as a very large conference (Microsoft WPC) brought 15,000+ people to Toronto during our stay. This meant that the hotel was genuinely sold out and no upgrades were to be had.

The lobby area and lifts are clean, fresh and modern. Everything else was identikit 1980s North American chain hotel, including chipped paint in unattractive shades of pink, peach and beige. Nothing about the property said "Novotel"; in fact even as a Mercure it would have seemed overbadged. The 2cm gap at the bottom of the door needed to be blocked off with a towel to try to exclude noise, light and cold air.

Platinum acknowledgement: a bottle of water, a voucher for a single drink, two fluorescent cup cakes that we didn't touch.