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Old 11-13-2010, 07:06 PM
 
96 posts, read 226,002 times
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I'm planning to visit my nephew in Toronto at the end of the month. (I can't stay at his place because he has a tiny one-room apt.). I'm looking for a place to stay that's as inexpensive as possible, so I can afford to visit him again someday.

I don't care AT ALL about the glamour/luxury/decor level of where I stay. I'm looking for a room with a private bath and a queen size bed (I'm tall), downtown. Someplace that's decently clean (i.e. not disgusting, but it doesn't have to pass the white glove test either), relatively quiet, not in a real dangerous area. I'd love to find something in the $40 - $50 range.

I've spent hours searching online and bidding for rooms on Priceline, and I'm up to $65 dollars on PL and so far no go . The places I could get for that or less are B&B's with smaller beds and shared bathrooms, or hotels that get real bad reviews on TripAdvisor.

I thought the hotels might be under-booked at the end of the month and therefore less expensive, due to American tourists staying home for Thanksgiving, but now I'm thinking maybe not?

Any tips or advice on this will be extremely appreciated! - Carol

Last edited by wishiniwashere; 11-13-2010 at 07:20 PM..
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Old 11-15-2010, 01:43 PM
 
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I have found hotel rates to be exceptionally high this year. I ended up pay $100+ per night for Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec in mid Oct (nothing upscale). Only last year, I paid like $80 for Hyatt Montreal and it was summer time.
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Old 11-15-2010, 02:27 PM
 
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Wow, kkgg7! This helps put things in perspective - no wonder I'm having trouble finding anything for $60! I guess with the economy there are fewer travelers, therefore rooms cost more to cover the hotel's expenses.

If it were summer I'd give up and pitch a tent somewhere!

Thanks for the insight.
Carol
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Old 11-15-2010, 05:42 PM
 
Location: Canada
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Just to give you an idea, staying at a youth hostel downtown - arguably the cheapest option available - costs $27 for a 10-bed dorm, and more than $60 for a single room.

So you might want to increase your budget or lower your expectations.
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Old 11-15-2010, 08:16 PM
 
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Or stay away from downtown. This may be a huge hassle though, but since I drive I don't mind. I still find Holiday Inns near the airport for $40 or $50 a night on Priceline. I used to be able to get rooms right downtown in Toronto for $30 a night at the Courtyard on Priceline, but now those rooms are $70 minimum. I think you'll find better deals away from downtown, but again that may not work out for you. Try hotwire also.
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Old 11-17-2010, 05:09 PM
 
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have you tried hotwire?

you may need to avoid the downtown core though. if you have a car, you can always drive and park at the suburban T station or Go station, depending on hotel location.
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Old 11-17-2010, 08:03 PM
 
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Yes, Badyouken, don't think I didn't check out those hostels! And would be staying in one, too, except even at a hostel, a private room w/ private bath and queen size bed was expensive - like starting @ $80 or so. (Wouldn't you think that would have clued me in about how much actual hotel rooms go for? But nooooooo......)

Northbound, those were the days, $30 rooms!!! I was looking farther afield and found a B&B that had everything I was looking for, only it's in Mississagua, and my nephew is just west of the downtown center, so I'd be traveling about an hour a day, more if I hit bad traffic, just to get in to where he lives and back out to the B&B. And since I'm driving up to Toronto from CT, around a 9 hour drive each way, driving an extra hour every day in Toronto is something I'd love to avoid. But I hear what you're saying about increasing the budget for downtown.

I did try Hotwire and should probably give it another try, but I think I had trouble with it because I couldn't find out whether the hotels it was offering me had the features I was looking for or not - like I couldn't tell if they had parking. (My nephew says not to worry, I can just park on his street, but I don't know. He doesn't have a car, and I have an idea parking might be a little mroe problematic than he realizes).

I did find a downtown hotel that was more reasonable - I think you could get a room for $60, I'll have to check again - and the bad reviews on TripAdvisor were mostly for things that wouldn't bother me much, like I think a few people didn't like the breakfast, but I'll be eating outside the hotel, probably, anyway. It's a Super 8 in Chinatown, and is part of a mall complex, so that some of the rooms either don't have windows at all, or have windows overlooking the mall - so if I go with it I'll try to get one with a real window looking outside. My sister actually stayed there once, and all I remember (she's on a cruise so I can't ask her details) but I remember she had a seriously horrible time checking in, got there late and they couldn't find her reservation and there were I don't know what all complications, such that she was turned out onto the freezing streets of Toronto, and if she hadn't had her laptop with her in her vehicle she wouldn't have been able to get it straightened out.

Has anyone stayed there?

Minibrings, if I get a room outside the center, I can leave my car at a lot and take public transportation into the center of town? Does it cost much to park there? That might be a lot better than driving.

Thanks so much everyone for all the advice and information, I really appreciate your knowledge and help - Carol
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Old 11-17-2010, 09:40 PM
 
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Now that you mention you'll be driving to Toronto, please be aware that many hotels in the downtown core have an additional charge for parking -- often in the $15-$20/day range.

Public transit access and timelines depend on the location of your suburban hotel.
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Old 11-18-2010, 09:32 AM
 
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How far west does your nephew live from the downtown core? Mississauga is west of Toronto. If you find a place in Etobicoke or right at the Toronto/Mississauga border the commute won't be too bad (just don't travel at peak times) and you have to option of using TTC and/or GO to get in Toronto.

And don't stay at the super 8!!! You have been warned. I never stayed there, but I have heard many bad things about it.
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Old 12-01-2010, 07:35 PM
 
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Well, I got back from my trip to Toronto Sunday night, and I want to let the kind people who offered me advice here know how it went.

First I want to pass on something I learned about hotel rates in Toronto. I found a couple of residence hotels that post room rates online, showing the variations at different times of year. At these hotels, October 24 through December 5 is the most expensive time (except for New Year's Eve and Day). Not sure why - American Thanksgiving, fall foliage, Christmas shopping? Although most hotels don't have seasonal rates set out in black and white like this, it may be that room rates in Toronto generally rise and fall according to this schedule:

Rates

- which would partially explain why I couldn't find a cheap hotel!

I ended up paying $85 a night (about $97 with taxes et. cetera) at Albert Pimblett's Downtown B&B. The reason I booked in there is that my brain was so exhausted from endless research looking for cheaper places to stay, that when I realized I'd have to go up to $85 to get a decent B&B w/ parking included, I failed to ALSO realize that if I was going to pay that much, for the same money I probably could have gotten a decent hotel room instead, which is what I was thinking I wanted.

However, the B&B was probably just right for this trip. The place was very mildly eccentric and wouldn't be to everybody's taste, but for me on this trip it was perfect - big breakfasts and parking included in the price, a queen bed and en suite bath, Olde English-looking decor (the guy who runs the place is British), and plenty of blankets and pillows and hot water. I slept like a rock all three nights (partially due to the fact that I was keeping up with my 21-year-old nephew and his friends during the daytime ).

CornerGuy1, thanks for the reminder about parking fees, that would have really inflated my trip cost. NatashaH, I was about to book that Super 8 and your warning slowed me down, good thing because my nephew says he's heard negatives too.

Thanks to everyone here for helping make this one of the best trips I've ever been on. - Carol
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