Pre-Cruise Hotel in Toronto ?

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Would appreciate any recommendation for one night  hotel in Toronto - easy to get to from airport - and (fairly) close to cruise port

Going on our first Viking cruise (Great Lakes)Two seniors - not totally unlimited budget - but don't need to skimp too much !! 

Thank  You 

[princeton123211]

46 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Going on our first Viking cruise (Great Lakes)Two seniors - not totally unlimited budget - but don't need to skimp too much !! 

Toronto has a plethora of hotels from budget to high end (it was the birthplace of Four Seasons Hotels). It has some great options in that 4 star range that I think you are considering-- high end without being over the top pricing.

 

A personal favorite in this category is the Fairmont Royal York which is a beautiful old railway hotel originally built for the Canadian Pacific. It's very close to extremely convenient transportation as its across the street from Union Station. It just underwent a huge renovation. Another in this category would be the Omni King Edward Hotel. 

 

Sometimes you can find a decent deal on the Ritz-Carlton that's not a ton more than the two hotels above so worth a look just in case-- I think its a nicer hotel than the flagship Four Seasons. 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank You ! 

[LHT28]

Does Viking  not offer  a hotel deal?

 

I would stay in the  downtown area

Take the UP train from the airport to Union station 

https://www.upexpress.com/en

 

Fairmont is the closest 

Sheraton Centre  on Queen st W  is a good location  also

One King West   is close

 

Depends on your budget

 

 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank  You

Yes - Viking offers a pre-cruise hotel for $553 per night - not a real deal ! 

[LHT28]

what dates  are you looking for?

 In Sept  there is the film Festival so prices will be high

 

I like checking Trip advisor    & the reviews 

 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Looking at April 2024 dates

Yes - love tripadvisor - there are just so many !

Wondering about the wisdom of just staying at a nice hotel at the airport - then taking a shuttle/taxi/whatever to the cruise-port the next morning

 

 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Looking at April 2024 dates

Yes - love tripadvisor - there are just so many !

Wondering about the wisdom of just staying at a nice hotel at the airport - then taking a shuttle/taxi/whatever to the cruise-port the next morning

 

 

If you do not plan on enjoying any sights in Toronto  sure  an airport hotel would work

just be sure they have restaurants in or nearby

 

I would check ones downtown in the area bounded by

Queen st W or E /King St W or E  University Ave / Victoria St

Maybe as far north as Dundas st W

 

Royal York hotel is a good location

but depends on your Budget

 

 

[neeuqdrazil]

The Toronto Cruise port (which I didn't even know existed, despite living here) is out in an industrial district. Still very close to downtown, but there's a lot of construction down in that area as they rebuild the mouth of the Don River, which can make getting down there somewhat difficult - you will absolutely want to take a cab, and make sure you have the street address (Cherry & Unwin - it's close to Cherry Beach.)

 

The UP Express (Union-Pearson Express) will get you into downtown Toronto from the airport VERY quickly, and that is probably going to be your best bet, both to get a nicer hotel (but the closer you are to right downtown, the more expensive it will be - $500 is not even the highest I've heard for a single night at a downtown hotel on a regular weekend,) as well as to have more options for food and sight-seeing.  (My father came into town in May for the Toronto Bach Festival, and the hotels downtown were asking $700+ per night. He ended up staying at the Intercontinental up at North York Centre, which is directly on the subway line.) 

 

Toronto has a vibrant downtown core - there's a lot to do, and a lot to see. 

[martincath]

On 8/16/2023 at 1:49 PM, neeuqdrazil said:

... He ended up staying at the Intercontinental up at North York Centre, which is directly on the subway line....

Any chance you mean the Novotel at North York Centre? That's usually where my wife stays when she has to go back to HQ in North York and it's a definite drop in price compared to downtown hotels but has retained a decent standard over 20 years, she's never had any complaints.

 

Although last time we were both back in T.O. for a social event, we stayed in the Interconty Yorkville (I think they renamed it Royal Sonesta recently) which is also very close to the subway but definitely ran pricey and swank - if it's this one then refuse any room overlooking the internal courtyard on a weekend, as it stays loud until late during weddings and other events with bands or DJs and the soundproofing on those internal room windows is not as good as the external ones!

 

The other relative-bargain hotel I'm familiar with from putting up visitors to my own old employer downtown is the HI Express on Jarvis - looks like reviews remain solid, and it's enough east of Yonge Street to be a little off the radar for most tourists while also being pretty convenient for the pier (very close to St Lawrence Market and and easy walk to the Distillery District, both popular spots to visit).

 

Concur that there's a ton to do and see in Toronto - while the densest concentration of sites is in or close to downtown, depending on your tastes you might find other neighbourhoods better if you have time for local sightseeing. Zoo for example is top-notch but way out to the east of the city, Casa Loma a pretty unique 'castle' with a great story behind it lurks in an otherwise residential area well north of the core, but a Bloor West hotel would be ideal for here, the ROM or Gardiner museums. Best advice if you do have some pre-cruise time to sightsee is to use transit to get around, especially subways (no traffic!)

 

Airport hotels are all sub-par if you want to sightsee but would be fine if it's a late arrival, bed, straight to the pier next day situation - even with UP it's still much pricier to get into town and back than on regular transit network, and riding the express bus to connect to the subway is a real time suck though cheap, so overall it's better to pay a bit more for a convenient location IMO even if you're watching your budget pretty closely - you can always earn some more money, but you can never regain lost time!

Edited August 20, 2023 by martincath

[neeuqdrazil]

7 hours ago, martincath said:

Any chance you mean the Novotel at North York Centre? That's usually where my wife stays when she has to go back to HQ in North York and it's a definite drop in price compared to downtown hotels but has retained a decent standard over 20 years, she's never had any complaints.

!

 

You're right, it's the Novotel. And yes, the former Interconty in Yorkville has been renamed to the Royal Sonesta. 

 

If you're travelling in early September, I'd avoid the RS, though, as it's next to UofT, and students are loud. 

 

Another counter-recommendation is the B&B on Madison, as it's next to the Madison bar complex, which is ridiculously busy all the time. 

[martincath]

4 minutes ago, neeuqdrazil said:

...Another counter-recommendation is the B&B on Madison, as it's next to the Madison bar complex, which is ridiculously busy all the time. 

The Maddy! Is it still terrible? Oh lordy, when I first moved to Toronto 20-some years ago a buddy and I regularly went boozing there on Fridays just for the people-watching - short measures, mediocre food, worst waitrons in the city, constantly scamming with extra drinks added to the tab we didn't order but unlike the average drunken student we were experienced boozehounds and able to count how many rounds we'd actually consumed. One particularly memorable evening I had to point out to the manager that a) the fact I was sober enough to argue about it after apparently having drunk 24 pints clearly meant I had not drunk that many; b) this was so far beyond the safe serving threshold that the bar would get its license pulled and the server possibly face charges if I reported it (I was recently qualified under Smart Serve, so the horror stories of personal criminal responsibility were fresh in my mind) - we had our entire bill halved!

[neeuqdrazil]

My parents stayed at the BnB next door to the complex in May, and when they got back after the opera on Saturday evening, there was a lineup out the door and down the street to get into the Maddy, and the noise was apparently quite impressive. (They actually announce on their website that they're adjacent to the Maddy, so apparently it's a feature rather than a bug?) 

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank you all - for the comments, and recommendations

Do not planning on doing any sightseeing - just wanted a one-night hotel with ease from airport when we arrive - and then somewhat of a plan to get to the (Viking) cruise-ship the next morning.

Currently looking at staying at the DoubleTree at the Airport for the night (seems like they have a decent restaurant on-site)