I'll be heading to Toronto for 5 days on June 16 for the grad ceremonies at Ryerson.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a reasonably priced downtown hotel in that area? Last time I stayed at the Sheraton Centre but it was quite expensive.

Thanks in advance.

Try the Bond Place hotel on Dundas West very close to the campus. This site has info on it. http://www.hotelstravel.com/North_Am...laceHotel.html

Thanks Sally, that one looks promising.

What about the Grand Hotel and Suites or the Metropolitan? There is also the Days Inn and La Grande Residence. I would prefer to have a gym and continental breakfast and I don't want to pick a seedy place, it is hard to tell from the glowing photos they post on websites.

The Grand Hotel and Suites was a bit more but seemed ok from the photos as did the Days Inn suprisingly. Days Inn was the cheapest but didn't have a gym -- that was a down side

Have a look at The Suites at 1 King West. It's a new hotel and they're offering promotional prices till July. There's availability for as low as $129 in that week and the location is about a mile from Ryerson, but still downtown.
http://onekingwest.com/
We didn't use the bistro for breakfast since there was a Starbucks across the street, but there is a health club facility on site.

I don't like the location of the Grand Hotel and Suites on Jarvis but that's just me.

Bond Place is about a block east of the Eaton Centre on Dundas East and the Metropolitan is about a block west of the EC just south of Dundas West, both close to Ryerson.

But there are two Metropolitans - one is on Wellington West. I'm guessing you mean the one near city hall.

Days Inn is on Carlton a few blocks north of Ryerson near Yonge and College and I've always thought it looked kind of grim but it's in a handy location near transit so you can get away. It's right by Maple Leaf Gardens which is being turned into a supermarket and close to Yonge Street.

Do you want to be walking distance to Ryerson? Or do you care?

I don't know where La Grande Residence is - and can't find it at www.Toronto.com where most hotels seem to be listed.

I like the location of the Novotel on the Esplanade - walkable to Ryerson and everything else - the market for breakfast, restaurants, pubs, lots of shops, transit. Rooms are to be requested on the city side, not the railway tracks side so another poster pointed out last week. Relatives of mine stayed there and didn't complain to me but maybe they wouldn't?

Yes, check what 1 King offers, too.

I'm leaving for the day now - "talk" tomorrow to see what you decide.

Sal

Delta Chelsea might be less than the Sheraton, and is very likely to have a good gym. I know the pool is fine.

Very short walk to Ryerson.

I would not pick the hotel on the basis of the free breakfast. $5 can take care of that at any of a number of nearby food courts. there's a great croissant shop a block from Ryerson, at Gerrard and Yonge.

The gym, on the other hand, can't be easily replaced except by asking for a room on a high floor, and skipping the elevator.

The Grande is a converted office building on Jarvis Street. It's fine, but Jarvis is slightly grungy. That said, we walked around two derelicts passed out on the sidewalk immediately behind the Sheraton on our way to lunch today, and another was sprawled on the sidewalk at Adelaide and Yonge, so grunginess is everywhere.

See what kind of deal you can get at the Marriott Courtyard, which is just off Yonge, a couple of blocks north of the Days Inn. Again, ten minutes, maybe, by foot from Ryerson.

BAK

Thank you everyone for taking the time to help me out with this.

As it turns out, some friends who own a B&B (Toronto Downtown Bed & Breakfast) are giving me an awesome room at a really nice price for Sunday to Tues. night.

I just need to book Friday and Saturday and I am considering the Marriot or the Delta Chelsea for those two days mostly because of the gym.

I figure I can use their gym Sunday morning and then I will just run the other days.

It is really amazing how helpful people are and how generous with their time in replying to these posts.

Thanks again.