sunnyzip

Would be in Toronto in September for 3 nights leisure trip, would like feedback on which one to choose: Hotel Indigo or Staybridge.
2 people- me and wife. would be renting car as planning 1 day to niagra, and 1 day in Downtown. Would be flying in and out of YYZ.
Both are on PB list, so not sure which one would be better...any tips are welcome..

stigs

The better choice depends on your priorities. You will need a rental, as neither hotel are on sensible public transport lines (it takes 1.5 - 2 hours+ to bus-subway downtown). Both hotels have easy access to the 401.

Staybridge is 15 minutes from YYZ, but no free shuttle. With Staybridge, you get free parking, free laundry facilities, outdoor BBQ patio, a nice daily hot/cold breakfast and light dinner on Tue, Wed, Thu included. Suites are well equipped with a large fridge, stove, microwave, sink, dishes etc. Suites are 50-100% larger than a traditional 3* IHG room. Note that Hurontario St. is very busy, many eateries within a 5-minute drive. Not much within walking distance.

Indigo is less than 10 minutes from YYZ with a free shuttle and $10/day gated covered ramp parking. Pleasant public areas. Rooms are standard size, trendy. Modern glass door shower, Aveda toiletries. Hardwood floors, so strange acoustics, but clean. Enjoyable restaurant with good service. Mainly hotels with a few restaurants nearby. In the spring, the hot tub was out of order, but nice area. Slow elevators. Very close to the main runway and flight path is almost directly over hotel, and there are gaps under the doors enabling one to hear the hallway.

tentseller

If you have a car then location wise it is a draw.

However as stigs pointed out there is parking charge with Indigo and it is close to the airport.

My preference is Staybridge suite due to suite and larger room, sitting area. Hot buffet breakfast is included (FWIW).

Either one is a good deal at PB rate.

Antonio8069

Your travel dates are during the 1st weekend of the Toronto Int'l Film Festival so stay clear of downtown unless you are on an expense account! FYI, King West will be shutdown and renamed Festival Plaza!

sunnyzip

Thanks for all the tips....
Just was wondering, would it make any difference if I am renting the car just for 1 day trip to Niagra.
I would be arriving late evening on my first day, and leaving morning on the last day. I guess I will just take a cab if I am staying at Staybridge (which I would prefer as it has full kitchen which we would be using, plus free breakfast)
I will have one full day to visit Downtown, I am assuming from the comments above that neither of the hotels are connected by the transit. Is the Airport connected to the Transit system?
I know this is slightly off topic for the forum, but I guess it will be better to ask here than start a new thread.

Antonio8069

It is. In a nutshell, take hotel shuttle to T 1/3, exit ground level, and take red-striped public transit bus #192 to Kipling Station, go down escalator to take subway east to St. George, where you change to University Line south to Museum (ROM), Osgoode (Old City Hall) or St. Andrew (TIFF). If you grab a transfer @ airport, you can transfer to bus!

chunky649

To the OP: You already received lots of good and accurate information. I used to live in Toronto (half my life), and still visit at least once a month by car. My suggestion is, to save money, stay at the airport Indigo, take public transit to downtown when you go there for that 1 day, and rent a car for the 1-2 days you will be going elsewhere.

Other considerations:

As others stated, there aren't much in terms of restaurant/entertainment within either locations by walking.

Without traffic, driving from the airport to downtown takes me roughly 15-20 minutes via almost entirely highway. Problem is, between 3-7pm on weekdays, traffic is often terrible, and may take you a frustrating hour or longer. On weekends, it is much easier.

Often, it cost the same money (or not much more) to rent a car for a 3 day weekend compared to a 2 day rental. So if you are arriving on a Thursday or Friday, play around with the dates to maximize value. Also, you probably know this, but off-airport rental is cheaper, but at the expense of your time and hassle. For a 1-3 day rental, you may not care about the extra airport charges...

I assume you asked about the 2 hotels because they are both on the PB list for 5000 points.. Good that you can take advantage! :-)

sunnyzip

Thanks everyone. Decided to book Staybridge..it's a long weekend. Would need to rent car as going for 1 day safari and 1 day Niagara. Now I need to find cheaper rental options

bobbybrown

Did you get it? Staybridge went away really fast and I had to book indigo. Now indigo doesn't accept PB booking anymore and Staybridge is completely full except a couple of days.

tentseller

PB hotels near major tourist destination cities tend to be gone on Monday.

I spent time on the weekend planning with DW when, where, work/holiday schedule, cheap/award flights, what to do at destination.

After all the ducks are lined up Sunday night, pull the trigger on Monday.

sunnyzip

I woke up 7 am PST Monday morning and booked the 3 nights at Staybridge for the Sept long weekend, then went back to bed (it was my day off...)
I guess I got lucky with these properties coming up on PB during my Toronto trip. Did you find what you were looking for?
The funny thing is Car rental for 3 days is costing me around $300, waiting to find a deal....!!