Priceline Hotel: Need help with Toronto trip

[KatiesMom]

Hi all,

I am planning my vacation now with a road trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto (to see three Blue Jays v. Red Sox games ).

My question (for now) is about Toronto. I have no clue where to begin. We will spending four nights, July 8 - July 12, two of us.

Because this is my only vacation this year, and four nights is a long time, I would like the nicest possible accommodations I can get for the buck.

What hotels would you recommend? How are the priceline/hotwire offerings?

Thanks for any advice!

[yellowdog]

We need some more info to help you.

1. Set a budgett/night

2. Choose HOTWIRE or PRICELINE

3. You need to reasarch/decide the zone(s) your willing to stay in.

Let us know how we can help you further

Yellowdog.

[KatiesMom]

Hi Yellow Dog, I am looking for recommendations of hotels that people think are very nice and might also be convenient for access to the ballpark. (By public transportion or by convenient location.) Not familiar at all with Toronto.

1. Budget $180/night, prefer 4*, but not married to it.

2. Hotwire, but I will go priceline if the selection of 4* hotels in the zone are equally good.

3. Yes, I agree. I am starting my research here because I love the people on this board, but I am now going to ask questions on other boards as well.

Thanks for any and all help. It is appreciated.

[blkjck1]

Hi Yellow Dog, I am looking for recommendations of hotels that people think are very nice and might also be convenient for access to the ballpark. (By public transportion or by convenient location.) Not familiar at all with Toronto.

1. Budget $180/night, prefer 4*, but not married to it.

2. Hotwire, but I will go priceline if the selection of 4* hotels in the zone are equally good.

3. Yes, I agree. I am starting my research here because I love the people on this board, but I am now going to ask questions on other boards as well.

Thanks for any and all help. It is appreciated.

I've only ever spent a few days in Toronto, but what I do know about TO is that you will want to be in the Toronto - Downtown South area of Priceline to be close to the ball park. That being said, there are tons of public transportation options, either via subway or bus. I've stayed at the Sutton Place hotel in the north zone, and took the bus down Bloor Street to get to the Westin Harbour Castle that is just a few blocks away from Rogers Centre (SkyDome). The Inter-Continental on Front Street (which I've stayed at and there is a review available) is literally a stone's throw away from the SkyDome. There are tons of restaurants all around, and the Toronto Theatre District isn't too far away.

[KatiesMom]

I have now spent time looking at locations, prices, hotels next to the ballpark, etc....

I think I have found a GREAT deal on HOTWIRE, if indeed this is the Renaissance, the hotel I liked the most from my research:

ON HOTWIRE: My travel dates: July 8 - July 12, two people, four nights, $99 a night, Downtown Toronto West, amenities include: Smoke Free, Fitness, Pool, Restaurant, Business, Hi Speed Internet. You also get BED CHOICE.

On B&B's pinned HOTWIRE list:

4* Renaissance (previously 3.5*) WEST

Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Smoke Free, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, (Tennis and Spa crossed off)

(may not show Smoke Free... without same as Sheraton Centre, Hilton, InterContinental on Front)

So there is a one in four chance this is the Renaissance.

Wonder if this is more or less likely to be the Renaissance?

At this price I am ready to book this ASAP.

ETA: So I went to TA and all the above hotels have a 4 out of 5 rating, so that doesn't help. This hotel has an 85% approval rating but I am not sure what that means... I checked on Hotwire packages and none of the four have an 85% rating.

[AaronJB]

The % HOTWIRE rating is the % rating of HOTWIRE customers. Unfortunately, that doesn't entirely help narrow, as there's nothing to check the current ratings against, like Tripadvisor, where one can try to match the tripadvisor rating in the HOTWIRE listing with the list on tripadvisor.com. This certainly does seem like quite a good rate though, considering the regular rates I'm seeing for Toronto on these dates.

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[KatiesMom]

April 15, 2010

Update:

Travel dates changed to 7/8 - 7/11 (One day less than originally planned to spend a night at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford.)

I suspect the HOTWIRE offering listed above is most likely the Sheraton Centre, which is hovering on HOTWIRE around $99 - $103 night, with an extra $6 a night if you want to choose your bedding option.

The Sheraton receives mixed reviews on TA, mainly because it has one older, unrenovated tower that a lot of third party buyers are getting. The newer tower gets good reviews.

Starwood Preferred Guest members on TA said by flashing their cards they were able to get rooms in the newer tower.

I am a SPG member too. I noticed on the Sheraton's Website they have a special - Buy one night at $199 and pay your birth year rate for remaining two nights. In our case that means $199 for first night and $58 each the next two nights, for a total of $315 (plus taxes).

At last, it pays to be old!

This rate is about the same (a little less if you count the $6 bedding fee) as HOTWIRE, so I booked it though a special guest member reservationist who confirmed the rate and was able to make extensive notes about my room and location preferences.

The reservation is fully cancellable with no penalty up until the day before check in, so I plan to continue to look for bargains on HOTWIRE over the next couple months.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for keeping us updated, and let us know if you are able to find a better deal via HOTWIRE or PRICELINE.

Enjoy your stay.

[Mandagirl]

I have stayed in the Sheraton and it was ok...nothing special for sure. My stay was tainted though as it was NYE and it was chaos. I also didnt enjoy being told who was and wasnt allowed in my room. Unless we wore a special bracelet all night we werent even allowed back in the hotel.

If you can get a better deal at Renassiance Id take that for sure. One good thing about the Sheraton is that its close to Nathan Phillips Square and Eaton Centre. If you dont like to walk down to Rogers Center then it may be tricky as there is no transportation on University Ave. There are other street cars around.

[t-dot]

Actually, there is a subway line that runs underneath University Avenue... at Queen and University, literally just a short block (which just includes the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts) west of the Sheraton hotel is the Osgoode subway station, which is just 2 stops away from Union station. This station is directly connected to Rogers Centre via Skywalk, and it could be up to ~10 min walk on game night due to crowds. Trains run at intervals of 3-5 minutes, and cash fare is $3 (tokens are 5 for $12.50). Enjoy your stay!

[drmarv]

Hi KatiesMom

Not that I'm an expert but I was born, raised and have lived in Toronto for 50+ years and if there is something you want to run by me for advice on Toronto.. I'll try to help. Have you had any luck getting a hotel? All the downtown hotels that have been mentioned are within a 10-15 minute walk from the Skydome and in safe areas of the city. Tip..on coming in to Toronto from Niagara Falls consider taking the Niagara Falls Parkway to Niagara on the Lake (quaint town) and have lunch or just an ice cream. When in Stratford we stay at a B & B called Duggan's Place. Laura and Tony Carter are wonderful people and Laura, being a chef, makes a great breakfast.

[KatiesMom]

Sorry if it wasn't clear from my post above. I booked the Sheraton using the "pay your birth year" special rate.

[AaronJB]

Thank you for closing the thread.