OT: Suite hotel in Toronto?

[torontoCPAPguy]

There are so many new hotels going up downtown that even I, resident in Toronto the Good, have no idea as to where to suggest that you stay downtown. If you were staying in the north end of town there is an all-suites hotel on Steeles Avenue right beside Hwy 400 called Dodge Suites that is marvellous and we ourselves have stayed there for conferences.

If right downtown, across from Union Station, the Royal York is a historical landmark hotel, is generally renovated and home to most of the mid-sized prestigious conferences; I have stayed there numerous times over the past ten or fifteen years and it is 'classy' with large ballrooms and the like, but probably expensive. The Queen probably stayed there because the Premiere (like the governor) got the suite for free.

But if you want to stay walking distance from all the action you will want a hotel in the middle of downtown and there I am afraid I am lost. I would stay close to Yonge Street and between King and Bloor Streets.

Please remember that "Toronto the Good" is today, the same as staying in the downtown core of, say, San Francisco and is not as innocent as it once was in years gone by. It is relatively safe, clean and the folks are friendly in most parts.

Forget shopping except for souvineers - Cheektowaga NY, the outlet malls and the Galleria Mall area thereabouts is much more economical and we go down regularly (to the mall area).

Have a great trip.

[diboja]

My wife and I visited Toronto for two weeks this year - once in February and a week in May.
It was a combination visit for tests that she had to have at Toronto General Hospital, shopping and taking in a concert.

Prior to retirement I used to make a business trip to Toronto once a month and stayed at a number of hotels.

The one that I would suggest is Marriott Courtyard Downtown on 475 yonge street.... Eaton Centre for shopping is a 12 minute walk..lots of restaurants & bars.
Getting around is easy by taking the subway or taxi..... you are downtown and there is lots to do and see.

The Marriott does have suites available and we found the hotel service, cleanliness and amenities to be just super.

I had stayed at the Delta Chelsea some time ago but it is starting to show its age.

Try the Marriott!

[torontoCPAPguy]

There ya be sailor! The Marriott at 475 Yonge Street, from the horse's mouth too! It is sometimes difficult for one that actually lives in the city in question to recommend a good hotel as we don't stay there. I can only compare the Royal York, Holiday Inn Brampton and Dodge Suites as I have stayed at all three and the Dodge Suites was great when we stayed there for the weekend. But it is remote (except for Vaughan Mills which is right down the street).

The more important question is, of course, what is the purpose of the trip to Toronto. Are you going to be visiting and looking to shop, eat, theatre, sights, etc. Or, conversely, are you in town for business or convention and need to be in a certain place (Toronto is VERY large and during rush hour which lasts almost all day is very slow to get around in by car). If visiting, what are you planning to visit? It is, of course, a whole lot cheaper to stay in the suburbs or outskirts of town and take the time to get where you are going... hence Dodge Suites on Steeles/Hwy 400 is great if you want to visit Wonderland, Vaughan Mills Shopping, friends in the north end, go golfing, head north for some fishing, etc. If you are in town to take in theatre, the waterfront, museums, art galleries, etc., then you really want to stay downtown to maximize your time efficiency as that's where all of those things are. And if in town for a convention/conference/course, you might want to try to stay near where that is happening as it can get quite slow to get around (i.e. I took a real estate brokers course in Bramptom and in morning and evening drive time it took me an hour to get there, whereas during the day it would normally take about 20 minutes. I wound up staying at the Holiday Inn - I figured it wasn't going to cost me incrementally a whole lot more than commuting with the gas, toll charges, time expenditure, etc., and it gave me enough extra time to spend on cramming for a very difficult course. And as a bonus, all of my classmates wound up staying as well so we formed study groups and did well on the exam - where something like 1 in 10 actually passed and got their broker's license after a loooooong examination that started at 8:00 a.m.).

Your info does not say where you are from, so you may already know all of this and know about the few areas of town that you want to avoid after dark (each city seems to have at least one of those). Generally safe but staying on Yonge Street at the Marriott and not venturing off into dark alleys and you are almost guaranteed 100 percent safe. For a city of several millions we have only about 50 murders in a whole year, compared to Washington DC where the doorman told me to take a cab across the street to have dinner after dark.

Again, have a great stay in Toronto. Asides from some contract work that I have committed to we are trying to get out of town as much as possible this summer, heading to Buffalo this week as well as York Soaring Association up in Orangeville area for son Andrew, who got his glider wings last summer through Air Cadet programme and now needs to build his hours up to qualify for instructor rating. It is a beautiful field with canopies and picnic tables and we take our laptops up along with a picnic lunch and spend the day watching him go gliding and playing internet... and have access to high speed to boot so we can log into client systems remotely. Gotta love it. In the middle of nowhere with high speed internet access on a wifi network.

[SleepingUgly]

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

P.S. TorontoCPAPguy, if we come, it won't be on a Tuesday, so don't even ask!

[torontoCPAPguy]

Sorry, Tuesdays are now taken. Had several requests while you were thinking.

[Jaylee]

PM torontocpapguy, if you're on speaking terms.

LOL

maybe Uggy is taking him up on his offer when she and Jaylee refused his offer - oh interesting change in situation - I wonder if Prince Charming knows

Oh no you did not just call her Uggy. That is my nickname, she belongs to me!

[Jaylee]

Sorry, Tuesdays are now taken. Had several requests while you were thinking.

Somehow I think I could get Tuesdays back if I really wanted them.