Quirky hotels/B&Bs in Toronto?

October 28, 2005 8:16 AM

I have business in Toronto next week and I'd like to avoid staying in a big shiny Hya-Marri-Omni. A location within walking distance to 33 Villiers Street (M5A 1A9) is a definite plus but not necessary. Price range: ca. 200 USD per night.
posted by vetiver to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

In the summer I stayed at the Victoria Hotel, which on Yonge, between King and Wellington, about a 15-minute walk from the Rogers Stadium, so probably about the same distance from 33 Villiers Street. Small, comfortable, convenient, clean and reasonably priced.
posted by essexjan at 8:37 AM on October 28, 2005

Nothing is in really easy walking distance of Villiers St, it's kind of in the middle of an industrial wasteland. Being on the other side of the Gardiner, any walk there is likely to be a bit unpleasant, what with having to cross the Lakeshore, and such.

That said, there are a few nice B&B's in the Cabbagetown area, which wouldn't be only a few minutes away via taxi. Banting House, for example.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:13 AM on October 28, 2005

Not quirky, but a very sleek boutique hotel:

http://www.germaintoronto.com/en/accueil.asp
posted by SNACKeR at 9:14 AM on October 28, 2005

Let me be the first of probably many to recommend The Drake.
posted by Evstar at 9:14 AM on October 28, 2005

Sigh. "Wouldn't be more than" or "Would be only". One of the two. But not a mix of both.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:16 AM on October 28, 2005

There's precious little anywhere near that address, which is down in a kind of half-derlict dockyard area, and there's no way to walk there without passing through the dead zone beneath the Gardiner Expressway.

That said, if the sky's the limit moneywise, the King Edward on King East is a grand century-old landmark with plenty of elegant atmosphere, and would be about a 15-minute walk from that location (five minutes of vibrant St Lawrence Mkt streetlife followed by ten mins of concrete nothingness). Or there's the so-hip-it-hurts Drake Hotel on Queen West - about a 15-minute streetcar ride from your destination. Or the Days Inn on Queen East, which is pretty bland in itself but is very close to the urban oasis of boardwalks and parading Golden Retrievers that is the Beaches (plus about a 15-minute streetcar from your destination).

On preview: echoing evstar on the Drake mention.
posted by gompa at 9:29 AM on October 28, 2005

Oops. Just noticed that 200USD bit. I think the King Edward's doable on that budget.
posted by gompa at 9:35 AM on October 28, 2005

Or the Grand at Jarvis and Dundas, or the Holiday Inn Express at Jarvis and Adelaide. Hey, for $200 a night you can take my place, I'm about a 15 minute walk away AND you get a full kitchen and access to the fridge!
posted by loquax at 10:11 AM on October 28, 2005

Thanks so much! Can I flag everything as "best answer"?

Thanks, too, for the interesting info about Villiers Street. Sounds like I'll be cabbing it.

And, finally, special thanks to loquax for the generous/avaricious offer, which I'm afraid I must decline.

Next stop, Cabbagetown!
posted by vetiver at 12:48 PM on October 28, 2005

You should just do the King Eddie. Boutique hotels, even corporate boutique hotels of the W ilk, are rare to nonexistent here.

Do not do the Grand or the other hotel on Jarvis. You might as well be in Peoria.
posted by joeclark at 2:21 PM on October 29, 2005