Staying in Toronto for a weekend in June and know nothing about the area. I've looked online for hotels. Toronto.com's "reader's choice" listed a Days Hotel in the Downtwon area. Is it decent? We just want no frills, lean, safe neighborhood, and close to everything! Moderately priced. We will have a car. Others listed that we are looking into: Howard Johnson Selby Hotel and Suites, Courtyard Marriott, and Holiday Inn on King. The only thing that would really deter me is a bad location. I like to be near stuff. Thanks!

Hi Boston:<BR><BR>I would forget about booking with Selby Hotel; its not in a good area. The rest are okay. Days Hotel on Carlton is a good choice i.e, safe and close to everything. There is another thread further down and some of the posters have named some hotels that are all very good.

Try the Cambridge Suite Hotel in downtown--great hotel/great value. Ask for the concierge (Shauna)and tell her &quot;Jeff from Pittsburgh&quot; suggested you call--might help.<BR>JT

No, to the Howard Johnson's, because of the area, and for other negative reasons.<BR><BR>The Holiday Inn on King is in themiddle of the entertainment district, and would be my choice among those listed.<BR><BR>If you pick the Days Inn, do not get the one on Carlton (OK) mixed up with the one on Roncesevales or the one on Queen Street East, both not OK.<BR><BR>BAK<BR><BR>BAK

I had been doing a bunch of research on hotels in Toronto for our stay in Sept. I have honestly found the best prices on Priceline and Hotwire.com. I ended up getting the Sheraton Centre for $54 a night!!!!! Check out www.bidding for travel.com where you can find out others who have bid and won hotel rooms and they give you all the info on priceline hotels. Another website is www.betterbidding.com which offers priceline results and hotwire results as well. This site is new so there are not as many posts. As for priceline I saw many people getting the Courtyard Marriott for $35 a night. With these sites you can get great rates at downtown hotels in Toronto....<BR>Good Luck

We stayed in the Hampton Inn a ways out of town, but a fairly easy drive into the center. It was clean, not crowded, and had a friendly staff, good breakfast, and does include an outdoor pool.

Thanks to all for your advice!

Be sure to check on the price of parking at the hotel you choose.<BR> <BR>It would be a good idea, imho, to park the car at the hotel and use the great Toronto public transportation systems. It's much easier, quicker and cheaper than driving and parking.

I would recommend the Holiday Inn on King. You will pay extra to park, but the location is great. Walk to Yonge St., the Lake front, CN Tower, Gretskys<BR>the theatres. Lots of good restaurants<BR>within 5 min. Check out the Hockey Hall of Fame...ten min. walk.

Depending on your interests, another good hotel choice would be the Quality Inn Midtown (on Bloor St West). If your activities are mostly downtown (e.g. theatre, Hockey Hall of Fame, CN Tower, Harbourfront, nightclubs), then I agree with those who recommended the Holiday Inn on King Street West. If, however, you're interested in museums, shopping in Yorkville and hanging out in the lower key restaurants and bars surrounding the university district, then consider the Quality Inn Midtown. It would be a bit of stretch to call the university district (known as the Annex) Toronto's &quot;Greenwich Village&quot;, but it does have some of that feeling (old Victorian houses, inexpensive but exotic restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, nightlife) etc. It's less glitzy than the entertainment district downtown but it is just as lively. Also, you're a quick subway ride away from the entertainment district (and only a 20 minute walk). It's a very safe neighbourhood because students are out at all hours, and it's leafier and prettier than downtown.

If you haven't booked yet, also try the Delta Chelsea. It's in a very good area downtown and is (or seemingly so) geared towards families, although my wife and I stayed there 3 weeks ago on a getaway weekend. I booked through Air Canada on a package and got a very inexpensive rate. Go to the hotel's website (just type in the name in Google) and look them other. Then call the hotel itself to find their best rates (which are sometimes cheaper than using an online &quot;discount&quot; hotel finder. This goes for any hotel anywhere. Have fun! PS I agree that you must also consider the parking fee.

The Novotel is quite nice and in a good location as well. You might check it out.

HI MEBoston:<BR><BR>As with most large cities, the dowtown hotels tend to be designed for the business traveler rather than for a family vacation.<BR><BR>I used to live in Toronto (next door to the Days Inn on Carlton, since Maple Leaf Gardens is on the other side its pretty obvious where I lived) and I still spend a significant amount of time there with work.<BR><BR>Of the hotels you listed, the only one I would pick is the Holiday Inn on King, but with my 'corporate' discounts I actually get a better rate at the Crowne Plaza (next door to the SkyDome), the Hilton (on Richmond), the Metropolotan &amp; the Delta Chelsea, I've stayed at them all and if I had to pick I'd go with the Delta or the Met &amp; but if you can get a rate like EZMARK did for the Sheraton Centre then go for it (but make sure its the Sheraton Centre).<BR><BR>I remember the Courtyard Marriott from its Woodburry/HoJo days (yuks), Marriott looks like they've fixed it up but I still get chills whenever I walkby.<BR><BR>Parking is messy (&amp; expensive downtown) and the transit system is fairly good downtown (but no where near as good as Boston's for the suburb's &amp; a lot more expensive to use).<BR><BR>And because of the SARS scare there are lots of vacancies, so I've been getting extremely good rates even at the highend hotels lately.<BR><BR>Z

The Days in is a dump. I've stayed there and wish I hadn't. The Holiday on King is quite decent, many nice restaurants at your footsteps. My fav. T.O. hotel is the Westin-Harbour Castle in Queen Quay. Nice views from any room.

Before using Priceline, go to BiddingforTravel.com and read the FAQs for hotel bidding. Then scroll to their winning bids section for Hotels/Canada-Ontario (Toronto-Ottawa). There you will find that in recent weeks winning bids for 3* Toronto-Downtown have been at $32 per night plus the $5.95 Priceline booking fee. Most frequently BFT users have been drawing one of three Marriott properties in Downtown Toronto at $32, or slightly higher. BFT is a great site for developing a Priceline bidding strategy to obtain hotel rooms at rock-bottom prices. If you decide to go the Priceline route, please use the &quot;Amazing Bargains&quot; (Priceline)link along the right side of the BFT home page, so that Bidding for Travel will be credited with your Priceline Bid. BFT is a great site and deserves all the help it can get!