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  #61  
Old January 30th, 2008, 08:35 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Lee[_5_]
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Posts: 21
Default Ontario Hotels

On Jan 30, 6:53*pm, (Ed Treijs) wrote:
In article ,

Lee wrote:
I decided to go ahead and book the (strangely named) Saucy Willow Inn
at Coboconk. We will stay there three nights on the 3rd, 4th & 5th
September. Next is to plan a route cross-country from Coboconk towards
Ottawa


There are three possible routes.

You can go up highway 35 to highway 60, drive east through Algonquin Park,
follow 60 through the small Canadian shield towns to Renfrew, and then
southeast to Ottawa via 17/417. *Longest route but you also get to see
Algonquin Park.

You could make your way down to highway 7, which runs all the way to Ottawa
and is pretty scenic between about Marmora and Tweed. You could use this route
to check out Lindsay and Peterborough, although this will slow you down. *(You
could avoid Lindsay and Peterborough by driving through Fenelon Falls and
Bobcaygeon, but getting down to 7 from around Buckhorn will take some
navigation.)

Or you can go to Buckhorn as above, and then take highway 28 up to Bancroft
and follow 28/41/132 to Renfrew, then to Ottawa via 17/417.

The simplest and most scenic route is the 35/60/17 combination, but it's also
a full day's drive.

The southern route via 7 lets you look at Lindsay (sometimes aka Kawartha
Lakes) and Peterborough, and in eastern Ontario Tweed (a nice mid-size town)
and Carleton Place (larger, largely commuter town).

All three routes spend quite a bit of time in Candian shield country.

and to find a nice play to stay either in or near Ottawa. I've
looked at the Lord Elgin that has been suggested above and that is
currently on my short list but I need some others to compare. I don't
mind staying half an hour outside of the city, preferably on the West
or South side. If anyone has suggestions of a pleasant route that is
not hugely off track then I would like to hear about it, same goes for
places to visit on the way. I've found a couple of nice places in
Perth, what is that area like?


Perth is a nice historic town. *It's a considerable drive from Ottawa, though;
count on at least a hour one-way.

There are historic towns along the Rideau River/canal system where I'm sure
you can get a very nice hotel or B&B. *I haven't lived in Ottawa for years, so
maybe someone else can make better suggestions, or search on "Rideau canal".
Merrickville is supposed to be very nice.
For example, look athttp://www.rideau-info.com/canal/accom-inns.html

Kanata is a ready-made suburb, I imagine kind of like Milton Keynes. I wouldn't
stay there for vacation (and I don't think it's an interesting place to live,
either). *Stittsville has obviously grown into a bedroom town; you may care
to live there, but it isn't a vacation destination. I'd stick to Ottawa or the
Rideau towns.


Many thanks for your comments on the routes and on the towns in
Ottawa.

I have just come accross what looks like a fantastic place to stay!
The Gasthaus Switzerland Inn (http://
www.gasthausswitzerlandinn.com/) , in downtown Ottawa. It looks to
have a great central location and a honeymoon suite to die for.
Anybody come accross this place before? It's not cheap, $800 for three
nights, but I've kind of given up on my budget and accepted that you
only have a honeymoon once. We're not talking way over budget, we have
the money so why not make the most of it. So far we're spending about
$900 for the first three nights, $450 for the second three nights,
that one I mentioned above is $800 and we will then look for a
relatively cheap place to stay on the North Coast of Lake Ontario for
2 nights before heading to Toronto for our final 2 nights.
  #62  
Old January 31st, 2008, 02:45 AM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
John Kane
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 93
Default Ontario Hotels

On Jan 30, 12:57 pm, Lee wrote:
Then there is the Scotsman, who seeing his first moose in Canada said "Ach. if that's
a moose, I'd hate to see a rat" :-)


lol, very good.

I decided to go ahead and book the (strangely named) Saucy Willow Inn
at Coboconk. We will stay there three nights on the 3rd, 4th & 5th
September. Next is to plan a route cross-country from Coboconk towards
Ottawa and to find a nice play to stay either in or near Ottawa. I've
looked at the Lord Elgin that has been suggested above and that is
currently on my short list but I need some others to compare.


The Westin http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...ropertyID=1083
is just across the canal from the the Lord Elgn. Excellent location.

There is also the Chateau Laurier ( the old grand dame of Ottawa
hotels) http://www.fairmont.com/laurier/ about midway between the
Lord Elgin and the Westin.

I think I already suggested a Gatineau (Hull) hotel. Another is the
Place Chaudiere http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/...questid=431143
a good location for easy access to Ottawa plus close to some decent
restaurants and a bit of night life.


I don't
mind staying half an hour outside of the city, preferably on the West
or South side.


This is on the West side but on the Québec side of the river.
http://www.chateaucartier.com/ Excellent location, right on the
river and with a great pathway / cycle path along the river Much
handier to Ottawa than Perth. Ten minutes to downtown by car outside
of rush hour perhaps and handy public transit if you don't want to
bother with a car in downtown Ottawa.


If anyone has suggestions of a pleasant route that is
not hugely off track then I would like to hear about it, same goes for
places to visit on the way. I've found a couple of nice places in
Perth, what is that area like?


Perth is a very nice small town of about 6,000 people. It' all of
about 2 km by 1 km so there is no sprawl, some light industry, various
services for the surrounding area (shopping, medical, etc.,
education).

People are quite friendly. Some good high quality stores and a couple
of not bad restaurants. I believe it has a couple of gardens, one for
the blind, that are interesting [1] . The local museum (Matheson
House) is worth a visit.

Some of the buildings look quite Scottish, a result of the Scotish
stonemasons who settled in the area after the Rideau Canal was build.
Perth is on a spur of the Rideau Canal.

There are a some nice places to stay there. I've been in the Perth
Manor and Nevis Estate, just on an open house day tour, and they both
look like good places to stay.

The area is basically farmland shading into rougher Canadian Shield
type terrain as you head South-West towards the village of Westport
or North towards the village of Lanark. It's about 10 km from
Murphy's Point Provincial Park which is good for nature walks &
swimming. Annother interesting nature spot would be Foley Mountain
Conservation Area (County Rd. 10 just outside of Westport (about 30 km
from Perth). Again good for nature walks and swimming.

You would be roughly an hour from downtown Ottawa (i.e. the
Parliament Buildlings and the Lord Elgin ) outside of rush hour
traffic.

An alternative to Perth is Merrickville, south of the city (about same
distance as Perth perhaps.) In my opinion, not 'quite' as attractive
as Perth but very nice. Sir Sam Jakes Inn there has an excellent
reputation.

[1] I'm originally from 30 km away so I never did the tourist things.


As I'm thinking about possioble future areas to live I've being doing
a satallite tour of the Ottawa region on Google and looking through
loads of photos on TrekEarth. There are some areas to the south of the
city that look quite nice, such as Manotick, Stittsville and Kanata.
Are these nice places or I have just come accross good pictures of bad
areas?


They are essentially very nice dormatory communities for Ottawa and
nowadays are incorporated into the City of Ottawa. I tend to think of
them as just suburbs.

If you want to be really outside the city you need to look at
something about as far out as Merrickville, Carleton Place Perth, or
Embrun or perhaps Rockland (all on the Ontario side) or Wakefield or
Buckingham on the Québec side.

Come to think of it, Aylmer on the Québec side might interest you if
you're looking for the equvalent of Manotick/Stittsville. Alymer has
the advantages that you can really be into the country quickly (less
sprawl than on the Ontario side) and it is on the Ottawa River (big
lake with about 30 -50 km of sailing range at that point).

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada





  #63  
Old February 1st, 2008, 09:47 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
John Kane
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 93
Default Ontario Hotels

On Jan 30, 2:35 pm, Lee wrote:
On Jan 30, 6:53 pm, (Ed Treijs) wrote:



In article ,


Lee wrote:
I decided to go ahead and book the (strangely named) Saucy Willow Inn
at Coboconk. We will stay there three nights on the 3rd, 4th & 5th
September. Next is to plan a route cross-country from Coboconk towards
Ottawa


There are three possible routes.


You can go up highway 35 to highway 60, drive east through Algonquin Park,
follow 60 through the small Canadian shield towns to Renfrew, and then
southeast to Ottawa via 17/417. Longest route but you also get to see
Algonquin Park.


You could make your way down to highway 7, which runs all the way to Ottawa
and is pretty scenic between about Marmora and Tweed. You could use this route
to check out Lindsay and Peterborough, although this will slow you down. (You
could avoid Lindsay and Peterborough by driving through Fenelon Falls and
Bobcaygeon, but getting down to 7 from around Buckhorn will take some
navigation.)


Or you can go to Buckhorn as above, and then take highway 28 up to Bancroft
and follow 28/41/132 to Renfrew, then to Ottawa via 17/417.


The simplest and most scenic route is the 35/60/17 combination, but it's also
a full day's drive.


The southern route via 7 lets you look at Lindsay (sometimes aka Kawartha
Lakes) and Peterborough, and in eastern Ontario Tweed (a nice mid-size town)
and Carleton Place (larger, largely commuter town).


All three routes spend quite a bit of time in Candian shield country.


and to find a nice play to stay either in or near Ottawa. I've
looked at the Lord Elgin that has been suggested above and that is
currently on my short list but I need some others to compare. I don't
mind staying half an hour outside of the city, preferably on the West
or South side. If anyone has suggestions of a pleasant route that is
not hugely off track then I would like to hear about it, same goes for
places to visit on the way. I've found a couple of nice places in
Perth, what is that area like?


Perth is a nice historic town. It's a considerable drive from Ottawa, though;
count on at least a hour one-way.


There are historic towns along the Rideau River/canal system where I'm sure
you can get a very nice hotel or B&B. I haven't lived in Ottawa for years, so
maybe someone else can make better suggestions, or search on "Rideau canal".
Merrickville is supposed to be very nice.
For example, look athttp://www.rideau-info.com/canal/accom-inns.html


Kanata is a ready-made suburb, I imagine kind of like Milton Keynes. I wouldn't
stay there for vacation (and I don't think it's an interesting place to live,
either). Stittsville has obviously grown into a bedroom town; you may care
to live there, but it isn't a vacation destination. I'd stick to Ottawa or the
Rideau towns.


Many thanks for your comments on the routes and on the towns in
Ottawa.

I have just come accross what looks like a fantastic place to stay!
The Gasthaus Switzerland Inn (http://www.gasthausswitzerlandinn.com/) , in downtown Ottawa. It looks to
have a great central location and a honeymoon suite to die for.
Anybody come accross this place before?


I've never been in it but I've walked or ridden past it many times.It
has an excellent location. Every time I've been by it the outside has
been immaculate. It has been in business for a long time so I
imagine that it must do things well.

It's about a 5 minute walk to things like the National Art Gallery, or
Parliament Hill, and the National Arts Centre and about 3 minutes from
the Byward Market, the major restaurant and pub area in central
Ottawa.

In terms of location I'd say that it is as good as the Lord Elgin the
Chateau Laurier or the Westin but for ambiance it should be much,
much better.

If you like the location then unless there is a LARGE difference in
price between something like the Lord Elgin and the Gasthaus I'd go
for it. You're probably going to enjoy the Gasthaus far more.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada


It's not cheap, $800 for three
nights, but I've kind of given up on my budget and accepted that you
only have a honeymoon once. We're not talking way over budget, we have
the money so why not make the most of it. So far we're spending about
$900 for the first three nights, $450 for the second three nights,
that one I mentioned above is $800 and we will then look for a
relatively cheap place to stay on the North Coast of Lake Ontario for
2 nights before heading to Toronto for our final 2 nights.


  #64  
Old February 3rd, 2008, 07:50 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Lee[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ontario Hotels

Thanks again for all your advice so far. We are now planning our final
accommodation in Toronto and with the hundreds if not thousands of
places it is probably the most difficult of choices so far.

With your help we have now made the following reservations:

Niagara-on-the-Lake - The Charles Inn (3 Nights)
Coboconk - The Saucy Willow Inn (3 Nights)
Ottawa - Gasthaus Switzerland Inn (3 Nights)
Prince Edward County - The Devonshire Inn (2 Nights)

That leaves 2 nights in Toronto. We think we'd quite like somewhere
downtown but are open to suggestions within 30 minutes drive of
downtown. We have dinner booked at the CN Tower on the 12th and we
would like to do a walk along Toronto Islands one of the days. The
other day we could maybe do a bit of shopping and see the sights.
Having spent slightly over our budget so far we are looking for
something relatively cheap without loosing out on quality (considering
these are the final 2 nights of our honeymoon). I've seen rooms
upwards of $500/night and regularly over $300/night. I am looking for
something in the $200-250/night bracket.

Anybody have suggestions for things to see and do and places to eat
and sleep? Many Thanks.
  #65  
Old February 3rd, 2008, 07:55 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Lee[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ontario Hotels

I should also add that we are currently considering the Holiday Inn
(http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/.../YYZCC/welcome) in
Downtown Toronto, the big white oddly shaped building under the shadow
of the CN Tower. We can get a reasonably good room with a balcony
within our budget. I quite like the idea of overlooking the city and
getting some good photos. I'm getting in to my photography at the
moment and a good city/country photo album would be interesting;
rather than lots and lots of pictures of lakes and trees.

Lee
  #66  
Old February 3rd, 2008, 08:42 PM posted to rec.travel.usa-canada
Dave Smith
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 655
Default Ontario Hotels

Lee wrote:

I should also add that we are currently considering the Holiday Inn
(http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/.../YYZCC/welcome) in
Downtown Toronto, the big white oddly shaped building under the shadow
of the CN Tower. We can get a reasonably good room with a balcony
within our budget. I quite like the idea of overlooking the city and
getting some good photos. I'm getting in to my photography at the
moment and a good city/country photo album would be interesting;
rather than lots and lots of pictures of lakes and trees.


That is a handy location. You are just a few short blocks from the
subway. The University swings down University Ave and loops back up
Yonge St. The other main line goes east and west along Bloor St..

 




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