Hi, thinking of staying at the Park Hyatt in Toronto where I got an outstanding deal. I plan on going to CN Tower, Hockey Hall of Fame, theatre, malls, etc., mostly for my kids age12-16. Is this a good enough location? I hear it is not perfectly central for my needs. Also, any opinions, positive or negative about the hotel itself. If I have to get around from there I have my car or am I close to a really good train line or is anything walkable?
Thanks
Ken

It's not "way downtown" (where the CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame are), but it's very centrally located. You will be a block from the Royal Ontario Museum and the Planetarium (is it still open?), a block from the N-S subway line and the E-W subway line, and adjacent to the upscale Yorkville (mostly to your east) and lively, funkier university district called the Annex (to your west). It will be easy and safe to take the subway downtown to the HHF and within a few blocks of the CN Tower. There are movie theatres, lots of restaurants, etc. nearby. You can also take a subway to the Eaton Centre shopping mall. There is also a great, quirky museum called the Bata Shoe Museum a few blocks to your west. It has really interesting and educational (but still fun) displays about footwear and culture (e.g. footbinding in Japan, the handiwork of the aboriginal cultures in North America). Not just for girls. You will not (and would not want) a car, except for an excursion outside Toronto. It's a nice hotel and a great location where your kids can walk around by themselves.

The planetarium is long gone.

But other than that, a fine location. You could stay closer to the Hockey Hall fo Fame and the CN Tower, but then you'd need to take the subway up to the museums and other stuff near the Park Hyatt.

For a family of three or four, it's easy to walk a blcok from the hotel to the Museum subway station, ride down to St. Andrews or Union subway stations, and walk over to the CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame. I took three 9-10 year old boys to the CN Tower recently, and we ran out of time, arriving at 1 pm and leaving at 5. You can have a shorter visit, too, of course.

Try to get your tickets in advance so you don't have to line up in the CN Tower lobby.

About cars in Toronto -- I'm going to several meetings tomorrow with a car driver, and her plan is to park once and do somne walking -- we'll be on the University of Toronto campus a couple of blocks from the Park Hyatt, in a giant book store a couple of blocks from the CN Tower, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and at a couple of other places. She'll leave her car at the parking lot at city hall.

So, if you and your family are good walkers, you can see a lot fo the city by foot, without even using the subway.

Car day might be: Ontario Science Center, Distillery District, and Beaches neighborhood. Otherwise, you could leave it parked.

On the other hand --- when I actually had a car, I drove it all over downtown, midtown, etc., and just spent some money on parking, so if you like cars, feel free to drive, remembering that cars get towed if you are at meters during rush hours.

BAK

Never stayed at the hotel (I live in Toronto), but in so far as location goes: if you got an oustanding deal, go for it. While it is not located in the heart of downtown, all the attractions you're interested in can be easily reached by subway (you will be a few steps away from a subway station). If the weather is agreeable, you can even take a walk down Avenue Road to Queens Park (the location of the provincial Parliament).

Also, you will be within walking distance from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Yorkville (a trendy area; lots of restaurants and cafes in the area), Bloor St (Toronto's Fifth Avenue), University of Toronto (worth a walk through the old buildings). You will also be closer to Casa Loma, if you're interested in visiting the castle, much more so than if you were staying downtown.

I wouldn't even bother with a car; most of the major attractions (CN Tower, Eaton Centre, etc.) are 10-15 min. by subway.

Hope this helps.

Razzle_Dazzle

Just how much is walkable please. Is there anything good for teens and two parents to walk to or will we always need public transportation?
Thanks
Ken

About things for teens -- sometimes boys have different interests than girls, and that would affect whet they would do and see.

There are two great book stores nearby, a huge Nike store, lots of other teen-related retailers (Gap, Eddie Bauer, H&M, others)

There is a big university campus -- children sometimes like to look at these.

Girls like the Bata Shoe Museum. Smart kids love the Royal Ontario Museum. Two movie thetres are close enough to walk too.

Canada's weirdest department store, Honest Ed's, is a few blocks away.

You can walk to the Hockey Hall of Fame if you feel like a long, interesting, walk.

BAK

I used to live nearby and walked everywhere. The attractions that BAK mentioned (except Honest Ed's and the Hockey Hall of Fame) are less than a ten minute walk away. Honest Ed's is about a 15 minute walk along a very interesting part of Bloor West (lots of funky shops and cafes because this is the university district). The Hockey Hall of Fame is about a 30 minute walk (via subway, about a 2 minute walk to the subway, a 10-15 minute ride, and another 2 minute walk). The Eaton Centre (very large mall) is about a 15-20 minute walk away. You're also about a 5-10 minute walk from the Provincial Parliament buildings (with a nice park nearby). In each case, the walk itself is along an interesting streetscape with lots of pedestrian traffic (interesting buildings, shops and cafes, little parks) - no desolate stretches of highway, for example.

You're probably a little too far away to walk to the CN Tower, but again, it's a 2 minute walk to the subway, a short ride and then about a 10 minute walk afterwards.

I can't think of a better place to stay with teenagers in Toronto than the Hyatt's location. While the downtown core's hotels are a little closer to some of the traditional tourist sites, that area is more sterile - lots of tall office buildings, etc.

I have been warned on other travel sites not to use the South Wing at this hotel only stay in the NOrth. Do you guys agree? Does anyone know wny? Thanks
Ken

North wing vs South Wing.

In the olden days, when this was the Park Plaza Hotel, the south wing was the old wing, and the north wing was the new wing (although "new" must have been in the 60s, as best as I can remember)

Canada's classiest / most famous / bar, the Rooftop Lounge, was/is on top of the south tower, overlooking the city.

After Hyatt took over management, there was a very major renovation of the whole place, and I'd be surprised if the south rooms were not now just as nice at the north ones. But that's conjecture.

The south facing rooms in the south tower look over the university of Toronto grounds, the Queen's Park parliament buildings, and, starting next month, lots of beautiful trees, and, in the distance, the office towers.

North ain't so bad either, though, with a very nice residential neighborhood, and, in the middle distance, Casa Loma.

BAK