Hotel recommendations in Kingston

August 26, 2008 8:23 AM

Looking for recommendations for a reasonably priced hotel, B&B or other accomodation close to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

I am starting a part-time masters degree at Queen's in the fall and I need to spend two days a month at the university taking classes between Sept-June. I need to find hotel or B&B accomodation that is relatively close to the university, has internet access, and hopefully not too expensive (I realize that may be a bit of a long shot, since it's Kingston, but I'll take under $130 a night).
I have done a few searches (expedia. hotwired) and there are a few hotels/motels that seem ok price-wise but either have no details or the reviews vary wildly (from 'it was clean and servicable' to 'this was disgusting and I ended up with snow blowing into my room'). So, I'm looking for some first-hand recommendations.
Can anyone help me out?

posted by Cyrie to travel & transportation (2 comments total)

I did my undergrad at Queen's. Last year when a few friends and I came back for a visit, they stayed at The Secret Garden. Looks like you can grab a room there for about $119, which is decent. Walkable to Campus, walkable downtown. Not sure on Internet, but realistically you can just spend your time in Stauffer or the JDUC, or (depending on your degree) your faculty building. JDUC's 24/7, Stauff is 'till 10 or so, etc.

From what I know, most of the B&Bs on the east side of campus are quite nice. Anything on Sydenham, William, that area. Used to live across the street from the Hotel Belvedere, they have internet (hooray for stealing people's connection!) and seemed nice. Louder there than on Sydenham, but not that bad.

To stay in easy walking distance, you're bounded by ...let's say McDonnell on the west, York on the north (or princess, or queen), and the water on the east & south. If you have a car, well you're fine anywhere, but don't go too far past the train station, traffic can get annoying.

Enjoy your time there!
posted by Lemurrhea at 10:34 AM on August 26, 2008

Well, Lemurrhea's got it all. Sydenham in particular is a beautiful street: I used to walk to campus and back along it, and there's, what, three of B+B's there? It's also the perfect midpoint between campus and the downtown, which is key. Even if you have a car, I advise you to stay in the student area between Queen's and the downtown. Sure, you may get some cheaper rate way, by staying at some motel way up Princess or something, but the best of Kingston really is in that area where Queen's spills into the charm of the student ghetto to the north and the older, nicer historical houses to the east, which then lead to the main downtown drag of Princess Street, and you're going to miss all of that if you're driving in from those areas where Kingston is basically interchangeable with any other city. It's a great tourist area, and students are fortunate in that they get to live in the best areas of it; so, if you're there a couple days a month only, schedule some time on either side of your classes to explore. Get down to the water (whether blue or snow-covered), head into the Sleepless Goat on Princess for bohemian chic, catch a foreign film at the Screening Room, head to the top floor of Douglas Library or the fireplace reading room in Stauffer for good places to study, head into Pan Chancho for bread and cheese, Classic Video if you want to read a flick, catch some of the great bands that play the Grad Club (a wonderfully intimate concert venue/great place to hang out) and, well, just wander. Oh, and say hi to the place for me. My username refers to a residence room in Morris Hall, and then by extension to a few others I had over subsequent years in Kingston, and, if you can't tell already, I miss it there.

If I think of anything more useful to say re: actual room suggestions, I'll post again; I just didn't want to let this thread go by and not say anything at all. Go Gaels!
posted by roombythelake at 9:51 PM on August 26, 2008