Hi. In a few weeks I'm heading to Toronto for the first time. Any suggestions on hotels/areas to stay in would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

There are a lot of hotels to choose from, depending on your tastes and budget.

In this weather (very cold, occasionally snowy), I'd recommend a hotel that is very close to or connected to the subway system.

Budget hotel recommendation - Quality Hotel Midtown (280 Bloor St West). This is in a neighbourhood called the Annex, near the University of Toronto. Very close to the upscale Yorkville shopping neighbourhood, museums and the affordable cafes and restaurants near the university. Also very close to a subway stop - makes it easy to get around.

Trendy hotel recommendation - the St Germain on Mercer St. This hotel is close to the business district, theatre district, nightlife and restaurants on King/Queen St West, good shopping etc.

Convenient 4* hotels: the Sheraton Toronto Centre is connected to the subway and "Path" system of interconnected tunnels and underground shopping malls - allowing you to walk for miles without going outside. It's a little N and E of the St Germain, a little more conveniently located. It has a great indoor/outdoor pool (you can use the outdoor part even in the winter!), a good gym, etc.

The Marriott Toronto Eaton Centre and the Marriott on Bloor St are also good value hotels. The former is a little closer to theatres, the business district, shopping etc. The latter is closer to Yorkville.

The upscale hotels are the Four Seasons and Hyatt in Yorkville. I'd spend my money on the St Germain instead.

In terms of neighbourhoods, there are no really dangerous neighbourhoods in downtown Toronto, but there are some neighbourhoods that are a little seedy and rundown. I would recommend against the area East of Yonge, North of Queen and South of Bloor. (The hotels on Yonge St, and Bloor St East are fine, but get a bit dingy East of Yonge.) There is, for example, some drug-dealing and prostitution in the area bounded by Queen (S), Jarvis (to the East), Yonge (to the West) and Wellesley (to the North), and there are also some budget hotels in this neighbourhood. On other other hand, there is also a very lively and liveable neighbourhood around Church & Wellesley (great restaurants etc) - ie the northern end of the district I just described. So it depends on your tastes and budget.

Thank you for your help. The websites don't give you this kind of information. St Germain sounds nice, some other people have mentioned it in their messages as well. Looking forward to my first trip up north. Thanks again.

A new promotion was announced today (it was orginally done last year post-SARs) to promote tourism during the remainder of the winter. The package includes hotel, dinner, ticket to a toursit attraction and choice of theatre (Mamma Mia or The Producers). You should find it on tourismtoronto.com or mirvish.com (The Mirvish family are the major theatre producers in Toronto). Last year, the packages sold out quickly so call soon. The call does take a bit of town as one needs to coordinate schedule and choice of hotel and theatre. Enjoy.