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(all prices in Canadian dollars. Be sure to
check for best rates at online hotel reservation sites!)
Ryerson Residences (map) — These residences are in downtown Toronto, right next to the subway,
and they're the cheapest option we've been able to find.
We've made a group reservation with them, so if you call
them, mention that you are part of the Borisov/Snell
wedding.
They have two options. The first is a four-person family rooms at the
Pittman residence, for $89 + 12% tax, with four single-bed
dorm rooms, a kitchen, living room, and a private bath.
The maximum occupancy is four, and all
the beds are a single, so if you are a couple, you
may want to stay at the International Living Learning Centre
(a former Hotel Ibis), which have hotel-style rooms with a
queen bed and a private bath, $89+12% tax without breakfast,
$6 more with. These rates are available until May 16th.
They have a booking form on their site where you can send in a reservation
request. The form doesn't let you select four-person rooms, but you can
specify it in the comment field. You will also need to reserve the family
rooms in groups of four, with one person paying for the whole reservation.
If you need help finding people to share a family-room, please
contact us and we'll match you up.
The Suites at 1 King West (map) — A high-rise hotel in the financial district, near
the subway,
with newly renovated spacious suites. A
great price for a 4-star hotel, though some reviews
complain about lackluster service. The rooms also
have only one bed each, so if you're planning to
share a room, you may want to look elsewhere.
Normal rate is $129 per night,
Expedia
seems to have discounts on and off, some times as
low as $100.
Madison Manor (map) — A boutique hotel near downtown and on the subway;
comes recommended and rates start at $100.
Best Western Roehampton (map) — located in
a "yuppy" district of Toronto, close to the reception
centre and near the subway. Rooms are $114 on Expedia.
Holiday Inn - Toronto/Midtown (map) —
located in "The Annex," near a lot of
restaurants and nightlife, and on the subway line.
Rooms start at $153.
Toronto also has a number of hostels.
For those of you staying in Toronto a bit longer, below is a list of things that you can visit or do in Toronto if you would like to do or
see other things in the area before/after the wedding day. Most (possibly all) of the places listed below are ok for children; if you're not
sure I'd recommend sending an email or calling ahead to be certain.
If you have another area that you'd like to see if/where they have this in Toronto, just send an email to
us at contact@lenita.ca and
we will try to find out information on an interest of yours
Toronto has a good transit system (TTC) consisting of subways, buses, and streetcars. You can get
most places you want to get to using the TTC without much difficulty. It is usually a better
option than driving, especially if you are going in busy times and around downtown areas. Cash fares
are $2.75 for adults (70c for children under 12), but you can buy transit tickets at subway stations or convenience stores at a discount.
There are also day and weekly passes that make sense if you are planning to wander around Toronto. See the TTC
website for more information about fares and passes.
The TTC is the cheapest way to get from the airport to your hotel and back; find the TTC stop
in your terminal (some terminals have the stop on the departures level, so you may want to ask someone) and
take bus 192 (Airport Rocket) to Islington station, and then take the subway to wherever you are staying.
You will need Canadian change for the subway fare; you can usually get that from the shops in the airport.
A taxi from the airport will cost between $35 and $55.
Most rates will be posted in Canadian dollars (CDN), not American (USD). You can get an idea of the current exchange rate. You can use your US ATM card at most Canadian ATMs, and this is one of the cheapest ways
of acquiring Canadian dollars,
so there is no real need to get traveller's checks. You can just wait until you get to Canada then withdraw
funds from your card for the amount that you think you would need. If you haven't been to Canada before,
the dollars come in many more colors than green! Also be aware that there is a $1 and a $2 coin.
Californians: Compare prices with SFO, OAK, and San Jose (SJC) to YYZ. It looks like currently the
cheapest flights are from San Jose, which is accessible via CalTrain. SFO seems to be
the most expensive at the moment but it's a good idea to check all options on sites
like Orbitz or Expedia.
Flight prices are expensive, and one money-saving alternative
may be to fly into Buffalo and rent a car, especially if you're
doing this as a group. Buffalo airport is about 2 hours from
Toronto, but I would budget as much as 3 hours on the way
back in case there is traffic or border delays.
New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvanians: Depending up what your needs are, it might be
cheaper and/or easier to drive across the border rather than fly. If you need to
fly, it's a good idea to compare prices with Pittsburgh, Philly, New York and Newark
airports for rates (although you'd also have to factor travel time to get there). There
are some buses like Peter Pan, Greyhound or Bieber that connect from (for example) Williamsport
to Philly or New York which might be a cheaper option than paying for airport parking.
If you have any questions about flights or getting tickets, please email us
and we will help you out with getting your questions answered.
You may have heard that you will need a passport to
travel to Canada, but this does not take effect until
next year. If you have a US birth certificate and driver's license with you,
you will be able to travel to Canada without a passport.
This can take some time, but it's really
just a document check and sometimes a question or two like why you're going to Toronto and then they let
you pass. Air Canada also has
some basic information for crossing the border.
If you have more questions, please email us so that we can add more information that others might
also be interested in as well. We'll keep adding information to this site.
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