Toronto Hotel Tips by Paul2001 Top 5 Page for this destination

Fairmont Royal York Hotel: One of Toronto's Most Glamourous Hotel's The Fairmont Royal York Review

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel is one of the most historic and to many most glamourous hotels in Toronto. The hotel was originally built in 1929 by Canadian Pacific Railroads. Like the other hotels that were built by CPR and subsequently bought by Fairmont, this is a massive hotel with more than 1,000 rooms. The hotel itself as you see it from harbour (where I took the exterior photograph) is quite eyecatching. Apparently when it was built back in 1929, this was the tallest building in Canada. Off course it is now dwarfed by the nearby skyscrapers but still has an appealing back drop with the other massive towers behind it.
The interior of the hotel features a superlative main lobby which is designed to look like a Romanesque castle. The service is said to be excellent and there are five restaurants and four bars here to entertain you. I have never spent the night here but I have visited friends staying here which is where I have my one complaint about the hotel, the rooms are a bit small for my liking. They are well decorated but still I need some walking room.
The Fairmont Royal York is very popular with tour groups, especially those from Asia who seem to love the old world feel of the place.

Address: 100 Front Street West Toronto, On M5j 1e3, Toronto

Comparison: most expensive

Directions: Opposite Union Station

Phone: 1-800-441-1414

Price: US$180 and up

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.fairmont.com/royalyork

Global Village Backpackers: A cheap place to sleep in Toronto Global Village Backpackers Review

This is supposedly a great place to stay in Toronto if you are on a budget. It is located in the downtown core very near Toronto's so called Entertainment District. Anyway some of my favourite bars in the city like the Horseshoe are nearby. There is also a guest only bar where you meet other travelers and a self serve restaurant. This place seems to be very popular.

Unique Qualities: The hostel is located in what by Canadian standards is a rather old building constructed in 1875. It was formally known as the Spadina Hotel and was a real dive. A good place to meet a heroin addict. Maybe that's why I used to hang out there in my younger more hedonistic days. The place has been cleaned up considerably recently(as have some of the other former dives in T.O.'s downtown core.) but for me it's history adds atmosphere.

Address: 460 King St West, (near Bay Street), Toronto, Prov

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: No address given on the website but it is located at the corner of King St. West and Spadina Ave. It is hard to miss because of wild colours that they have painted it in.

Theme: Hostel

Website: http://www.globalbackpackers.com/toronto

Holiday Inn TORONTO-ON KING (DOWNTOWN): Predictable but Good Holiday Inn Hyatt Regency Toronto Review

A friend of mine stays here when he comes to Toronto and has yet to complain at all about the place. It is your standard Holiday Inn geared for the convention and business crowd with tourists frequenting too. The rooms are large and there are a good coffee shop and respectable bar beneath. Also underneath is a comedy club. Surprisingly the Hell's Angels stayed here during a convention. There were no serious incidents to report of. The actual hotel is located from the 9th to the 22nd floors of this complex. The building itself is often regarded as the ugliest building in Toronto. You be the judge. It is not pretty but there are uglier.

Unique Qualities: In my mind the best thing about this hotel is the location, especially if you have come to Toronto for the nightlife and sportlife. The Holiday Day on King Downtown in is located smack in the middle of Toronto's very hot "Entertainment District". In fact a couple of the nightlife tips I have posted here are just three blocks away. Also the Rogers Centre (the Skydome) is located nearby where you catch a baseball game or a CFL game. There are also several theatres just blocks away and more restaurants then you can count. We held a local VT meeting on the same block.

Address: 370 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1J9

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: King and Peter just 500m west of Downtown Toronto

Phone: 1-800-263-6364 or 416 599-4000

Price: US$120-180

Theme: Hotel