francismc

My husband and I (34 & 32) are travelling from Scotland to Canada in July and so far have booked the following:

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20th July - Edinburgh to Toronto (flying BA)- staying in Toronto for 9 nights
29th July - Toronto to Calgary (flying WestJet) - staying in Calgary for 6 nights.
4th August - Calgary to Edinburgh

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We haven't booked accommodation yet and wondered where the best place to stay (prefer luxury to basic - also prefer a bargain )

We have a wedding reception to attend in Calgary - but apart from that, nothing else planned.

Would be good to have recommendations on hotel stays; restauarants and things to do.

Thanks from Edinburgh

F


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My BA flights can be found: http://www.ba97.com/ba97/calendar/re...ndle=francismc

gtownguy

Don't know what hotel chain you might prefer or what your budget is, but the Marriott Courtyard Downtown may be a possibility. Nice enough property, but nothing special. Best thing is the location, between 2 subway stations and 1 block away from the gayborhood on Church Street - if that's important to you.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...onto-downtown/

francismc

Thanks for this - I have been monitoring this hotel and noticed that the price has dropped from CAD139 to CAD119. Would be wanting breakfast also - am I better to wait for another month?

gtownguy

I just checked at www.marriott.com and it is available for part of your stay at $99 CDN but without breakfast. Breakfast seems to bump the rate up $20. Rather doubt it will get much lower than that, but you can always book it online, cancel, and rebook if/when the price goes down.

Eggspectations (www.eggspectations.com) is a good place for an inexpensive breakfast. Not far from the Courtyard - on Yonge Street near the Eaton Centre (a huge shopping mall).

Another place to check out is Zelda's (www.zeldas.ca) - very camp restaurant on Church Street strip. The shirtless waiters made for some nice scenery.

One more interesting place I always used to go to with colleagues during business trips to Toronto is Hemingways (www.hemingways.to). Totally straight but very friendly place in Yorkville (near a subway station) done up in a New Zealand motif. Both food and drinks were good.

francismc

Thanks - Have booked Marriott Courtyard with breakfast option. Found a cheaper price on www.expedia.ca for CAD119 for each night - but I booked via the mariott website - they price matched and discounted by 25% on the days that were more expensive.

From Marriott: Rate: 89.25 Canadian Dollars 20 through 24 July for four nights 119.00 Canadian Dollars 24 July through 27 July for three nights (this rate is not changed because it is the same rate offered on Expedia.ca).
89.25 Canadian Dollars 27 July through 29 July for two nights. Rate includes breakfast for two all nights of the stay.

This rate can still be cancelled, but unlikely to find a better offer. If my calculations are right, then I'm paying roughly $99.16 CAD per day (so 16 cents for breakfast isn't bad for two people).

F

PAULMORRIS

We used City Sprint Vacations based in Toronto
for our Canada trip. They did a great job. Did
Toronto, Niagara, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City with
them. Good value.

why fly

glad to see you enjoyed our city.

yycworldtraveler

My hotel choice for Calgary would be the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire. It's one of the best Sheratons in the entire Starwood network.

It can be pricey at times...but you are coming after Stampede and oil isn't $150/barrel anymore which has put the brakes on our latest boom and hotel prices are softening.

CarNut

What kind of food do you like? Toronto has a multitude of options when it comes to food - you will find pretty much anything you want. You might want to check out www.chowhound.com for restaurant recommendations.

FWIW, in my opinion, Zelda's is one of the worst restaurants in the city

francismc

Thanks for the responses - like all food (esp French), but have to watch as other has gluten allergy.

Calgary is coming out expensive at present for our six night stay In Europe we usually pay around £120 per night for a four star hotel with breakfast (approx $220 CAD).

Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire looks great, our sort of hotel - but price is coming up at $285 CAD without tax (or breakfast) which is a lot. I hope the price comes down.

Is the Nuvo Hotel Suites any good? On travelocity.ca it's coming up as $903.60 CAD excluding tax for six nights.

Thanks

F

thepointsguy

Not sure if you've ever been to Montreal, but its a gorgeous city with lots of festivals in the summer (and wonderful food). Its an easy and cheap 1 hour flight from Toronto. Porter airlines flies there from Toronto City Center airport which is right on the harbor- you actually take a ferry to get to the terminal. 9 days in Toronto seems like a bit much to me personally, so a couple days in Montreal could break it up nicely. Just my 2 cents!

djcutcher

while in Toronto, stop in at Dundonald House, 35 Dundonald Street, and ask for a tour. Dave and Warren will be dellighted to show off their prize B&B. Take a peek here:
www.dundonaldhouse.com
Rates there would likely be somewhat higher than those at a Marriott (or any other Toronto hotel) but the comparison isn't particularly apt anyway--hotels are notoiously "commercial" and B&B's are much more "homey."
You'll miss TO's Pride week in June, but "T'ronna" is a vibrant city of 6+millions, as Dave and Warren can attest.
Doubt you'll have a problem finding good eats--they can help there, too.

wedding96

You are DEFINITELY spending too much time in Toronto. 4 nights is more than enough. I agree with a previous poster that you should take the train or fly to Montreal for at least 3 nights and try to fit in Quebec City for 2 nights. It's really a waste to spend all that time in Toronto. There's really not that much to see there. In fact, Montreal and Quebec City are much more beautiful and culturally rich.

As far as Calgary is concerned, you should drive to the rockies and spend time in Banff/Lake Louise area. A really gorgeous area with lots to do. Calgary, in my opinion, is a bore.