Toronto Hotel Tips by RobDavis

Located right downtown at the corner of Richmond and Young. The rooms are all suites, with a small living room, good sized bedroom, two TVs, a king-sized bed, and a bath/toilet that is separate from the sink and counter area. It's relatively small for a suite, but is still big enough for a couple to be comfortable.

Unique Qualities: Apart from it's fantastic location (walking distance to pretty much everything), there is nothing especially outstanding about his hotel.
The hotel boasts of it's business-friendly rooms with dial up and a desk, but this is available almost anywhere. High speed internet is not available except in the penthouse suites.
The hotel provides a free Continental breakfast that is far better than expected.
I would recommend it to anyone visiting Toronto as a tourist, but for business, I would recommend the Sheraton.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 1-888-41-SUITE
Address: 15 Richmond St. at Victoria (near Young)
Directions: Two blocks from Eaton's shopping centre and City Hall
Website: http://www.cambridgesuiteshotel.com/Toronto/

The Sheraton is always a safe bet when booking a Hotel room. The Sheraton Toronto overlooks Nathan Philip's Square (City Hall), and is clean, has good sized rooms, and good business facilities. It is also connected to the underground walkway system, so you don't need to get wet or cold if you need to do some walking.

Unique Qualities: Great view, pool and fitness centre, several bars and restaurants in the same building.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: (416) 361-1000
Address: 123 Queen Street West at University Ave
Directions: Shopping District, north of Theatre District
Website: http://www.sheratontoronto.com/

The Met is an up-scale Hotel located right behind City Hall, on the outskirts of China Town. It's a nice Hotel with a beautiful lobby, great restaurant, and is close to most downtown shopping.
The rooms, however, are quite small for the price.

Unique Qualities: Proximity to shopping, the Hemisphere's Restaurant, and occassionally you can trick the TV into giving you free movies. (it's not easy)

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Address: 108 Chestnut Street
Directions: Near corner of University Ave and Dundas Street. In the Shopping District

A relatively new hotel located in Scarborough, just outside of Toronto. We stayed here because it was close to the zoo, and because I had to drive and I hate driving in downtown Toronto.

The hotel is nice, with a very nice wood-trim interior. The rooms are modern and well appointed, even though the air conditioner sounds like a badly-tuned jet engine.

Unique Qualities: There is a very nice complimentary continental breakfast provided each morning, and the hotel is right beside an East Side Mario's restaurant.

One thing that really surprised me is that there is no elevator open to the public. That's not such a bad thing, considering it's only two stories high, but when you're lugging all the luggage you need for a family of four, it gets a little painful.

Prices were ridiculously high, considering that Toronto has been trying to attract visitors due to the SARS scare.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 1-800-359-6279
Address: 50 Estate Drive
Directions: Immediately off the Meadowvale exit from the 401.

It's known as one of Toronto's swankiest Hotels. The Royal York has been acquired by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts group, so that will ensure it remains a high-quality, high-priced Hotel.
The rooms are small, the service is great, and the atmosphere is very posh.

Unique Qualities: Other than an excellent location for sight-seeing, Theatre going, and Convention-attending, the Royal York was a bit of a let down. For the money, the rooms were not much to rave about. Considering they cram more than 1340 rooms into the building, it's no surprise they aren't very big.
My picture doesn't capture the beauty of the Hotel's exterior.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Address: 100 Front Street West
Directions: Right near CN Tower and Toronto Convention Centre. Near Theatre District.
Website: www.royalyorkhotel.com

Whenever I am forced to stay at a hotel because of an airline screw-up, I immediately start out looking for a reason to hate it. It took a while, but I eventually found one.
Don't get me wrong; the hotel is actually very nice: The check-in was quick and friendly (although I had to climb a huge staircase with all my luggage to get to it), and the rooms were modern, large, and clean.
I thought that sound-proofing the windows so you couldn't hear the constant aircraft activity just outside the window was a good touch. I just wish they'd done the same with the room's doors and walls. At 2am a couple of guys decided to have some kind of foreign-language yelling match in the hallway. They must have been friends because they shared the room next to mine. In fact, it turned out they were far more than friends, but that's another story....

My biggest gripe with this hotel is that the airport shuttle is too small and does not run frequently enough. I could grab a cab from downtown and get to the Departures gate faster than waiting for that &$^#% shuttle. No cab will take you to the Airport Sheraton because the cabbies wait in line forever for a fare. They want a down-town run, not a $5 ride next-door. So if you do stay here, make sure you get on the shuttle much earlier than you need to.

Unique Qualities: Not much special about this place, really. It's close to the airport, it's expensive, but it's a decent hotel.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Address: Terminal 3, Toronto, ON L5P1C4