geekymom57

My family and I (husband, 2 daughters--13 &amp; 15) are taking our first trip to Toronto the week before Easter; we will be driving from Wisconsin. Due to some uncertainty in our travel dates we haven't book our rooms, but I now know the dates &amp; am checking rates. I'm finding very low--$60US--rates for the Ramada Hotel &amp; Suites Downtown through Expedia. Although the rates are extremely appealing, I can't find any reviews for it and I'm a bit leery of the exceptionally low price. The Inn on the Park comes highly recommended by a family friend, and I know it's in a very different area, but am also considering it (rates about $85/night on Expedia). My daughters would enjoy an urban environment (they like downtown Chicago a lot) which is why I'm leaning more towards a downtown location. We do need an indoor pool, a compromise condition as part of the negotiations of Toronto vs. Florida as the destination for this trip.<BR><BR>Any tips on the Ramada Hotel &amp; Suites vs. Inn on the Park, or other suggestions entirely would be welcome. I've read the other messages about Toronto lodging and jotted down a few hotels to check into, and frankly, I'm getting more confused the more I look!

nkh

It depends on what you are going to do. The Inn on the Park is no in downtown Toronto - it is about 20 minutes drive in good traffic from the centre of town. Public transport would be bus then subway.<BR><BR>I searched for Inn on the Park and came up with some posts that give opinions - seems an OK hotel. You are driving it says in your post, so the non-downtown location is OK in some ways. Keep in mind that a lot of parking in downtown Toronto is very expensive (e.g. Eaton Centre about $20) so what you save on room you may give up on parking fees, whereas if downtown you could walk or subway to wherever you want to go.<BR><BR>There seem to be other good recommendations on the board for hotels in Toronto, although none seem to be for the Ramada at the moment.<BR><BR>Enjoy your first visit!

torontopm

Hi:<BR><BR>I would not recommend the Ramada hotel because of its location. It is not in the better area of the city. Inn on the park is great if you like to drive or take public transportation as its nowhere near the city centre. I think it would help if you give the posters here a list of which hotels you are interested in; that would help you chose a location in the city suitable for you and your family.

Visitor

I knew some people who stayed at the Inn on the Park when they visited Toronto and were pleased. Also it was cheaper than a downtown hotel and they got around without renting a car, but via public transport. Public meaning Trains (TTC) for a little over $2.00 you can get down to the city and that's the adult fare, it's cheaper for kids and you don't have to worry about parking.<BR><BR>You can take a bus (not far from the hotel) which will take you to the train station (you will get what is called a transfer, meaning you won't have to pay another fare to ride the train to the city)<BR><BR>Oh to make matters better!! there are also like DAY PASSES for families using the TTC. Gosh it sounds like I work for the ttc for crying out loud, quite the opposite..but the link is below. Welcome and enjoy your stay in Toronto!<BR><BR>http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/index.htm

LJ

The Inn on the Park also offers easy access to the Ontario Science Centre and the Metro Toronto Zoo, both must-sees. Your girls will also likely be very pleased with an area only 10 minutes by bus from the Inn, Yonge and Eglinton, big stores, huge numbers of restaurants without getting on the subway.

geekymom57

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm usually quite decisive, but being so unfamiliar with Toronto and the layout, I'm feeling stymied and the only place anyone I know has stayed at is the Inn on the Park, which is not downtown but might be a good compromise for new visitors. We are comfortable with public transportation so we would be comfortable leaving our car at the hotel when possible.<BR><BR>In response to the question about which hotels we're considering, I have to hedge a bit because the big challenge is that we are completely unfamiliar with the city and relying on written descriptions of locations, etc. Our goals are to spend time in the downtown area (I'm sure the Eaton Centre shopping will be a must for my daughters), would like to visit some &quot;funkier&quot; areas (e.g., Yorkville), at least drive through the UofToronto campus (have a high school sophomore who needs to start thinking about the varieties of higher ed places that might be of interest to her), and for the most part (for our first visit) avoid sports venues and too much time in museums or historical sites (my daughters' preference). And we need an indoor pool. And my kids are used to at least 3 star lodging, but we're aiming to economize, if possible, on the lodging, so we can do more while we are there. Quite the list of requirements, don't you think? <BR><BR>So from my searching at this site and many others, I've a list of some other hotels that I think could be in the running: Colony Hotel Toronto, Marriott Courtyard Downtown, Delta Chelsea (but the waterslide discourages me), Marriott Eaton Centre, Sheraton Centre, Sheraton Parkway, Comfort Inn &amp; Suites Sheridan Park, Hilton Toronto, Holiday Inn Yorkdale, Holiday Inn Hotel &amp; Suites, and further out Crowne Plaza Don Valley and Ramada HOtel &amp; Conference in Don Valley. The parking fees generally are not listed on the hotel websites and I don't have the time to call each of them to find the parking fee--so will be using room rate and location as the two main selection criteria.<BR><BR>We are pretty comfortable in urban environments, so as long as we were in an area that would be considered relatively safe for driving/walking, I think we'd be OK.<BR><BR><BR>

torontopm

Hi Mom57:<BR><BR>In order of preference for hotels listed in terms of safety and walking/public transportation. I would chose these hotels: Marriott Courtyard Downtown, Marriott Eaton Centre, Sheraton Centre and Hilton Toronto. All these hotels are ideally located for the attractions you mentioned. Also your girls might like visiting Queen St. West which is maybe more funky than Yorkville. Hope this helps.

SusanInToronto

Re Yorkville - I definitely wouldn't consider it a 'funky' neighbourhood. It's upscale, with some very expensive stores. It's been many years since it was 'funky'. Queen Street West might be more interesting to teenagers.

geekymom57

RE: Yorkville and my mention of &quot;funky--may I request some clarification? A co-worker described it to me as &quot;funky&quot; based a relatively recent trip he and his wife made to Toronto. He said it was funky in the sense of eclectic and unusual, not in a run-down or seedy sort of way, so would that be an apt desription? <BR><BR>But regardless, it sounds from a couple of the posts that Yorkville might be more of an adult destination than a teen destination.

torontopm

Hi:<BR><BR>If you have ever been to Las Olas Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, that would be the best comparision i can make with regards to Yorkville. That is, Yorkville has some night clubs, restaurants, art galleries, antique shops, speciality shops, etc., so yes it holds more interest i think for an adult rather than a teenager.<BR>

BAK

Stay at the Mariott Yorkville on Bloor Street East, the Eaton Centre Marriott, the Delta Chelsea, the Hilton, the Holiday Inn on King, the Crowne Plaza, or the Sheraton Centre.<BR><BR>All are similarly nice, all have, I b elieve, good to excellent pools, all are within walkng distance of lots of things of interest to the girls, and te parents will like the locations, too.<BR><BR>With good shoes and enough time, you can walk almost anywhere you want to see in Toronto, starting from any of these hotels.<BR><BR>Yorkville is a good place to visit; expensive stores, true, but some mid-priced chains, two great book stores, and you can walik by and i9nto the lobbies of the hotels movie stars like when in Toronto. (Windsor Arms for Renee Swillwigger, or however you spell her name, and her dog.)<BR><BR>Queen West is grungy-arty-funky. Yorkville is rich-arty-fancy-funky.<BR><BR>Walk through the UofT campus, which is close enough to all the hotels that it is convenient. <BR><BR>Apparently web site bookings are the cheapest way to get good rates. Toruism is down in Toronto, and hotels are offering bargains.<BR>April 2003 issue of National Geographic Traveller has an excellent feature on Toronto, with lots of info on hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc.<BR>There is no advantage to you in stgaying at the Inn on the Park, which is genuinely inconvenient. Public transit is a pain from there, and would cost, for the four of you, almost as much as parking just outside the downtown core.<BR><BR>Parking next to my office, five minutes walk from the heart of the business district, is $10, or so, during the day, compared to $25 three blocks away.<BR><BR>But it would not matter if you stayed at any of the hotels I listed.<BR><BR>I'm in agreement with those who noted the Ramada is on the edge of a crummy neighborhood. You'd be safe enough, but why step over the derelicts and say no to the panhandlers in the run down part of town when you can do this is fancier parts of town instead.<BR><BR>BAK

Visitor

For your teenage daughters, I guess they will enjoy the Eaton Centre and walking along Yonge Street. Yonge/Bloor is pretty busy and hip/youthful, there is yonge/dundas (close to Eaton Centre). There is the Entertainment district where all the clubs are and the theatres (live ones) this is around King Street West area at King and John etc. A bit more mature this area, but it's nice and family oriented too.<BR><BR>In terms of other info, here are some good sites for toronto centric information:<BR><BR>http://www.toronto.com<BR>http://www.wheretoronto.com/<BR><BR>as for the hotels, to be honest I've only stayed at the pricey royal york for a conference, but I do work downtown but can't help you with that.<BR><BR>As for Yorkville, it's quaint'ish, it is more upscale and I do like walking there in summer with my hubby, I mentioned earlier that Yonge/Bloor is a busy area, Yorkville is like a hop, skip and a jump away from there, so if you want to check it out..feel free. <BR>Eating in that particular district can be pricey though, so again Yonge/Bloor has like el cheapo restaurants/pubs...lots to choose so I won't go into that well not now anyways..<BR><BR>I can offer restaurant advice for downtown if you tell me what your tastes/budget is. Hope this helps!

geekymom57

Your messages are all very helpful! Now I just have to get my husband over his SARS concern. I've been checking the Toronto Star daily, along with the city and national health info sites, and so far feel that it's not much of a risk for us, even though concerned family members have been calling to warn us of the &quot;danger.&quot;<BR><BR>As for food/restaurants: we're accustomed to a university-type environment (our university has about 40,000 students with a large international student body), and for ethnic food prefer Thai, Chinese and Indian. Definitely nothing too fancy or pretentious, and must serve wine/beer. A decent pizza place is always a safe thing for teens.<BR><BR>Now I need to narrow down the hotel options a bit and and take the plunge! I really appreciate all your help. Nothing like &quot;insiders&quot; to give the inside scoop.

Visitor

As for Thai on a buget..green mango at yonge/bloor.<BR><BR>Indian..one of my faves...there are so many..but again Kama on King street West, and well pizza places abound!<BR><BR>As for university fare, a favourite of mine is the Peel Pub right on King St West close to John or Duncan street, cheap good food and it caters for a lot of UofT students.<BR><BR>Re the SARs, well I cancelled my trip to Asia because of that..I was going to hong kong to boot!! but I work downtown, ride the train everyday..I am low risk, the high risk people are those who were at some hospital or the other in Scarborough and so far it's been quarantined and the measures are in place.<BR><BR>I won't worry about Sars, not because I am being bias or anything, but just wash your hands and keep those hand sanitizer things on you (purell).<BR><BR>

BAK

About SARS. I think the threat is overblown, but it's starting to affect us. My wife's banker friend has been sent home for a couple of weeks, so that the bank will have a second team ready to go into action in case the people still at work get sick. And my eight-year old had a trip to the <BR>Science Centre cancelled because the school board is run by nervous Nellies.<BR><BR>Yorkville, semi-surprisingly, is full of good, inexpensive ethinic restaurants, because it is right next to the University of Toronto Campus. Look along Bloor Street West, from Avenue Road west to Spadina.<BR><BR>BAK<BR><BR>

Celina

Hope this helps a bit,<BR>I travelled to TO on business for many years till I retired and I used to bring my two daughters with me quite often. From the time they were four to late teens. <BR>The Inn on the Park is an excellent hotel but if you hate to drive it's a little inconvenient. Beautiful Park setting, relaxing, etc. Teens hate it.<BR>Also it is spread in towers with the central amenities connected. You will be walking forever and you can look for your older kids forever. <BR>Unless you carry walkie-talkies to track your kids, forget it. <BR>Three years ago I got a pleasant surprise with the Holiday Inn Yordale.Has all the amenities you want. Tropical setting for the pool. Shopping across the street. Access to the Subway.Toronto transit is cheap, efficient,easy to understand, and relatively safe. Parking on the other hand could be a problem. <BR>If you cancel because of the Sars issue,consider postponing your trip Toronto is a great place to visit.<BR><BR>

geekymom57

Thanks again for the continuing replies that are coming in. We don't plan to cancel our trip, unless there's a huge surge in the SARS penetration into the community at large, which seems unlikely at this point. Assuming the trip's a go, I'll post a summary of what worked for us to spare all of you repeating some of the same info for yet another Toronto neophyte.