Toronto impressed us - a very clean "efficient" young feeling to the city, quite different from Montreal's dreariness.

Le Germain fitted this feeling perfectly - a modern hotel with pleasant, efficient, facilities. We stayed in a balcony suite and it was comfortable and effective.

A noticeable difference is that the staff were well above average - two examples: our room was not quite ready on arrival, not a major problem but mildly tedious; we made no fuss and were prepared to wait. I went outside for a cigarette and a minute or two later was approached by the manager who'd come out to apologise. That's a courtesy I appreciate and which impresses.

The other example impressed me even more - we'd chatted with the concierge and planned to visit Niagra the next day, then we went out to a nearby restaurant, the rather large and busy Real Sports Bar & Grill. We were sitting waiting for food when Charles, the concierge, appeared at our table to tell us that there was a marathon in the city the next day so the car journey to Niagra might be a problem. He had taken the trouble not only to think about implications for our planned trip but had also come all the way to the restaurant and sought us out among the bustling crowd.

That is a level of thoughtful personal service to which good hotels should aspire - well done Charles.

To some extent a hotel is a hotel - you get a room with a bed and one hotel might have a softer bed or a bigger bathroom or better shampoo. In the better hotels one is unlikely to have poor facilities and one is usually left simply with an overall impression of quite nice or very nice. But if the service is good too what a difference it makes and if the service is excellent then one's perception of the hotel rockets upwards.

We've stayed in some of the most luxurious and expensive hotels one can find over the years and enjoyed them but undoubtedly Le Germain is up there at the top of our list of memorable great hotels not for its expensive luxury but for its service quality.

I had to attend a meeting in Toronto at short notice, and since the meeting was being held at the Hotel Le Germain (Nov 2)- I decided it would be simplest to just stay at the Le Germain for the evening prior to the meeting. Checking in was fine, and although I will agree with another reviewer that the shower placement in the room was a little odd - overall I thought the room was quite comfortable. I ordered room service, and while expensive - the bison sliders were good. I went to sleep that night thinking I had made a wise choice in selecting this hotel. That is until 12:45 am when I awoke to the sound of the fire alarm. The alarm continued for roughly 20-30 minutes with frequent but unhelpful comments on the intercom from security. Eventually the firefighters arrived, checked the hotel and the alarms ended. While I don't love awakening to fire alarms - better safe than sorry I thought. I was almost back asleep when the fire alarm went off again - this time close to 2 am. Same drill - very loud alarm, same unhelpful comments from security. Again the firefighters arrived and shut down the alarm - now close to 2:30 am. I have to assume both alarms were false - we were never told what had happened.

Ultimately I had to get up at 7 am for my meeting, and ended up with perhaps 3 hours sleep. I note from an earlier review, the Germain had a similar night time fire alarm a few days previous. For a hotel that with taxes charges $470/room a night - I would have expected them to fix their alarm system after the first incident but apparently no. I also would have expected an apology - a bill reduction or something - but no.

Very nice hotel - but you may want to sleep eslewhere.

Spent three nights here, one of three Le Germain hotels we stayed at and all three were v good. Clean, sleek, trendy hotel which looks good for business trips and leisure trips. Good location, 5 minutes from the CN Tower. Huge room; comfortable beds, large & v well-equipped bathroom, office area. Breakfast good; breakfast area well designed. Reception v helpful.

Stayed at the hotel last night for a two day business meeting. The room is comfortable, and overall service is good. The shower is a bit odd as it is in the middle of the room and all glass. My only complaint is the valet service. The hotel is in an office building with full underground parking, yet they make you use the valet for the car retrieval causing you to go out into the rain ( I stayed during the tropical storm sandy) instead of allowing me to go down and get my own car in the dry public garage even when I suggested that I would prefer to get it myself instead of going outside.