The room is in the basement and looked nothing like the picture. It was poorly decorated and tiny with no real furniture, not even a chair. The matress was said to be new, but was incredibly uncomfortable and even noisy, so obviously of very low quality. Even with the vent closed, the room was too hot. There was no curtain over the window. There is one bathroom for three rooms. There is no privacy as the owner washes her clothes etc just outside the door. And at only 5-10, I had to duck under doorways. On the positive side, the Filipino owner was OK personality wise and the room was relatively clean. But all in all, the place is a dump. I don't have unusually high standards, but I could not recommend this establishment to anyone. Indeed, my wife and I checked in around 8 and left by 11 the same night. And, I suspect most of the positive reviews are fake.

Was all well and good until he propositioned me as I was leaving, telling me I could stay at his place for longer for free as 'his wife was away for two weeks' and I was a 'very good-looking girl'. I felt incredibly unsafe and uncomfortable, especially as I was staying there alone. LADIES PLEASE BEWARE.

We had a good time at Ghalib’s Homestay. The service was friendly and efficient, and the beds were comfortable. It was, however, very dark in the outhouse with the curtains sewn together, and the security cameras/CCTV everywhere did make you feel very surveilled. I understand this is for security, but it felt quite over the top, and wasn’t subtle at all. The location is okay, about a 15 minute walk from Glencairn subway station, and didn’t take too long to get into downtown Toronto. I recommend for a cheap and budget place to stay, thank you very much.

Cockroaches. The first night of our stay, me and my partner noticed cockroaches in our bedroom. We took photos and caught one in a bottle as proof. The next morning we called the host and asked if we could leave and possibly get a refund, even just for one of the nights we had booked. He made the bizarre claim that the house didn’t have cockroaches, but that “they were brought in by pizza boxes and door dash”. He didn’t offer us anything, until I talked to Expedia, who talked to him. He offered to move us rooms, but was rude and hostile over the phone, saying he “knew his house better than we do” and that he couldn’t believe we were leaving after “all he offered us,” which was essentially nothing. We didn’t feel comfortable staying multiple nights because cockroaches can lay eggs in clothes/bags and spread to your own home. Another bizarre note is that after we left, the host kept texting me, pushing me to cancel the reservation so that he could rent the room out again (doubling his profit for the two remaining nights - as he already had our money, and didn’t give us a refund, if he rented the room out again, he would make make extra.) Other notes: this low ceiling basement smells like cigarette smoke, you can’t flush toilet paper in the toilet, and there is mold on the walls. I truly recommend avoiding this place.

Terrible Customer Service. When we arrived, the room was uninhabitable with cockroaches and a closed room in the basement with no windows (fire code hazard). We did not stay and asked for a refund but the owner was quite rude and aggressive and we had to leave without a place to stay. Do not book here for your own safety

Took me in on short notice very accommodating very professional. Nice and clean. He even let me stay a little later than I was supposed to because I slept in. I felt very safe as a single woman in a strange city. I had my own keys to my room and a password to get into the house itself.

I booked two nights at this place and I didn't even get to stay one night. After checking in and going on a tour of the house (including the basement), I went to go out to run some errands when I ran into Asad. After we introduced ourselves, he then proceeded to ask me if I read the section on the website about accessibility for people with disabilities (which I thought was a very strange question). I told him that I didn't, because I called him directly from the Google maps app to book the room. He then proceeded to tell me that I couldn't stay there because he thought that I wouldn't be able to safely use the stairs to get to the bathroom in the basement because of my weight. Yes Your read that correctly. He thought I was too fat to get up and down the stairs. He then proceeded to refund the cost of my stay via e-transfer and added a whopping extra $20 compensation so I could "Take a cab to somewhere else". If you're thinking about staying here for any reason. Then make sure your BMI is within an acceptable range to avoid discrimination and alleged possible personal injury, because I have a feeling that this place has little to no public liability insurance.

Host of the establishment trying to rip us off! Shared bathroom with a seriously ill under the influence of alcohol (friend of the host) who destroyed the bathroom in the middle of the night and vomited on my shoes!!! They are now accusing us of the facts and are asking us for $1000!!!! Intolerable!! Run away !!! Overpriced !! No damages possible but where are we?!? As if I was going to vomit on my own only pair of shoes on purpose?!? Thank you Ghalib Homestay for ruining our stay in Toronto.

So rude, so unprofessional, So Unhygienic, I was at the door step of this guy while paid to LYFT to reach there. The owner asked me to pay the rent first before I e ter the house and witness the room and if I don't like I can walk away without my money being refunded. And he was as professional as he finished telling me his conditions he shut the door on my face without even listening to me. Do not waste your money How I wish I could rate him less than a star

Room was comparative to the price paid; though could be better. The owner was welcoming and waited for me till I arrived at after 1am. I would recommend it for someone who's budget can't afford bigger hotels.

I had an excellent experience at Ghalib Homestay. I live nearby but found myself twice in an urgent situation where I needed a place to sleep. The first time, I forgot my keys and as a result, was locked out of my house. It was late at night, I didn't want to bother friends and just wanted to sleep. I saw this place on Google, it was nearby and affordable. Within 30 minutes I was in bed at the homestay! Both times, my room was cozy and clean and the bed was comfortable. The owner or worker was quick to respond, was friendly and I felt safe. I am very grateful to Ghalib Homestay. Thank you for being so responsive, accomodating, and providing an affordable, comfortable, and safe place to stay!

the place is rubbish! basement and shared bathroom!! I have booked for my nieces to go and have a fun for a couple days .. I will never advise anyone to even think of going to that place!!

An excellent place to stay in this area. The hosts are very kind-hearted people, and are very accommodating. The owner is always outside shoveling promptly after it snows, ensuring that guests can enter/exit safely. I would recommend this place to anyone, and give it 5/5 stars!

Did not stay- just recently booked. I booked as a hotel for a concert…. Not realizing this is not a hotel, and a shared accommodation, I attempted to cancel explaining to the owner why. He will not refund me the 200$+ for the two nights even though I am not coming to stay, and there is a 11pm limit to coming in and out. Stay away!’l

Excellent Stay, friendly owner, great location to ttc. Very affordable prices. I would recommend to anyone looking for a cozy place to stay the night!

Place. Ok. Nothing great. No parking. Lied in the add. Untruthful and overcharges when he likes. Beware

This would be a 10 * rating if you could rate higher then 5 most def!! Best kept hostel I've ever seen. Well done . I'll be going g back to this place . Thanks for the hospitality.

I really enjoyed my stay here. The rooms are comfortable and clean. The owner is very accommodating and reasonable. Would recommend for anyone to stay here

Very accommodating. The owner is very welcoming, sociable and friendly. Very genuine. Definitely going back every time I’ll be in the area

Very nice place and nice family home stay environment. Very clean, quite, regularly maintained, great laundry, and close to TTC and amenities. Much much better than staying in any hotel and very affordable.

Nice room, comfortable double bed, homely atmosphere and people, overall a pleasant stay. Loved it

Place was nice, quiet and clean. Owner was very cooperative. Close to the subway station too, which is a plus.

When I went to stay at this location with my wife, when I asked them if they had any vacancies, they asked me where are you from, and when I said that we came from Turkey, they said we don't have any vacancies. I advise you to stay away from such awful racist places.

Very friendly and nice owner, clean rooms and really great service

Safe, cozy, convenient and very safe and secure. Definitely recommend it.

The place is very clean and safe also price is right very friendly.

Asad, the owner is courteous and always welcoming, greeting each guest at the door, to accommodate them in their stay. The accommodations are always kept tidy, and in order, letting each guest know of anything local they may need. Steps from transit. A great stay @ Ghalibhomestay!! Thank you.

Lustfully pure clean and at hand for the new to old. Lustfully kind. Keep calm your clean. Safteybase

This place is very peaceful, the room is nice, pleasant and affordable👌🏼.The owner is so generous, kind and accommodating. If you also looking for a place to stay just for 1 to 2 days or more, come here and relax.

It is very nice place very clean owners are friendly and helpful price is fair close to downtown and subway

The owner is very kind and accomodating. The house is very clean, comfortable, and very secure. Excellent service! Highly recommend this place.

It's in a quiet neighborhood and the host was friendly. You do have to walk for about 10 minutes to use any mode of public transportation, though. The walls are makeshift and are not soundproof whatsoever. As such, think more of a hostel dorm in terms of the rooms. There is a fridge, a microwave, and an electric kettle. Oh, wifi was a bit finicky.

Place was absolutely disgusting. Owner is a COVID mask freak but he hasn't cleaned the place in ages. The walls were so nasty I couldn't believe my eyes. Pictures as proof. It's way overpriced. The walls are like paper and you can hear babies crying all night. I absolutely hated my stay and would never ever sleep there again. It smelled like water damage. The bed was hard and I could feel the springs. The pillow had chunks inside it that's how old it is. Curtains haven't been washed in ages. The house is in front of some sort of a electric facility, I'm not but beware those who are electromagnetic sensitive. Owner is weird and money hungry.

I have come here couple times and always enjoyed it here, great neighborhood too, lots of stuff nearby

The host was very nice and helpful. Location is amazing!

Rooms were clean, owner was very accommodating and i would recomend anyone to visit if you are in need of a cheap place to sleep. Would come again

I cannot speak to the quality of the property but the customer service was very poor. My uncle booked a stay, realized he had other accommodations and cancelled. We called the property to ask for a refund since he'd never stayed at all and given the brief length of the booking (he cancelled ten minutes afterwards) and it being peak season it seemed likely the owner would be able to fill the gap. The owner said it was not his policy to grant refunds but since he was able to rent it to other guests he was willing to refund us half the amount. We were willing to accept this compromise and that's where the problems started to appear. Rather than simply refund half the amount as agreed the owner demanded we e-transfer him half the funds and then he would refund our credit card in full. I have never once anywhere seen a refund handled in this fashion -- how can you possibly expect the customer to give you additional money and just accept your word that some of it will come back? He was extremely curt on the phone and unwilling to give any explanation. At one point he threatened to charge us an additional 20 dollars for talking to us. We went to the booking agency (booking.com) and explained the situation and they were unable to get anywhere with him either. We're currently over 400 dollars out for a property we never used and which the host was able to rent out to other guests. I want to be honest here -- it's possible the property is nice. I've never seen it. I would strongly advise looking elsewhere though since if you do run into any issues you are likely to deal with a curt and hostile host who is unwilling to work with you. EDIT: In regards to the owner's response below he is still insisting we send him additional funds before giving us the refund. He is not willing to do it the other way around (refund and then we send him half the money) or just refunding half alone. I wonder why! It's almost like it's unreasonable to give someone additional money on faith with no guarantee of getting anything back? Buyer beware.

I stayed on this place for multiple times. The place is clean and the love the location because it’s very accessible to train, bus, gas station and restaurants. Also the owner is very accommodating, approachable and attentive. I highly recommend this place for you to stay!

I stay while I work every week and the host has been friendly. The price is fair and asad(the host) is great to deal with. Never had any problems will recommend to others!