Westin Bristol Place Sandman Signature Courtyard by Marriott Crowne Plaza Hotel
We're booking 2 nights outgoing and 1 night when coming home at a hotel close to Pearson International. I've been reading reviews online and these hotels look like they'd be comfortable, with a good restaurant, airport shuttle and access to public transportation to go downtown or to Yorkdale Shopping Center. Previously, we've stayed at the Crown Plaza on Carlson Court. Any advice would be appreciated...thanks in advance!
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” ~ Oscar Wilde Brenda
I've stayed at the Westin, Crowne Plaza, and the Courtyard - all about the same in my opinion. Decent airport hotels. I believe the Westin is closest to the airport.
The Sandman is new (or might be in the old Constellation (Ewwww) . . . one of the references I found spoke of limited services.
Jerry
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ~G.K. Chesterton
BGE besides the Novotel, I last stayed at the Gateway airport Sheraton, using points plus cash. They are attached to terminal 3 but have a train(you know what I mean) right to terminal 1. Also, transportation to downtown is a bus ride from T-3.
I've stayed in the area more or less annually, but with a car, so the airport shuttle wasn't so critical. For that interest, be sure the Courtyard is the one on Carlingview Dr., rather than the Airport West one on Creekbank Rd. I've stayed at the latter on Priceline; one year on Priceline I got the Renaissance, which was nice.
According to www.biddingfortravel.com a 4-star Priceline bid would get you the Marriott, Renaissance, Sheraton, or Westin; if you're o.k. with Priceline's terms of being charged when a bid is accepted and it's nonrefundable, I don't think you'd go wrong with any of those. There isn't a lot of recent information on accepted bids there, but some mentions of success in the $50s U.S. If you're not familiar with Priceline strategy, you can look at that board but I'd advise not to post there because of the administrator's attitude. You could look and post asking for help at www.betterbidding.com ; they'd want you to bid from their link.
Thanks so much, I appreciate your advice! I've never used Priceline or Hotwire before. Is it easy to follow their process? Do you have a preference between the two?
I also have had a couple of friends insisting that I stay downtown, so we can have Saturday in a great location and have a movie and dinner out, as compared to the airport area, where there is not much to see or do. I don't mind that, but the reason for staying near the airport is to sleep as long as possible before getting up at the crack of dawn for our early-early morning flight. If we are downtown, it's an extra half hour or more that we need to be ready for the shuttle or taxi.
Not sure which area we are going to choose, but I suspect it will be airport, because of the early flight out on Sunday morning.
"If black boxes survive air crashes, why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?" ~ George Carlin Brenda
It's generally found that Priceline will get you a lower price than Hotwire, but you can use them together. You can see what prices are available on Hotwire, and BetterBidding gives an indication of which amenities go with which hotel. Then on Priceline you can start by bidding $20 lower; the key thing here is that most Toronto zones don't have 4* hotels and are "free rebids," so after one bid is rejected you can add one of these zones and increase your bid, which will still be limited to the airport. You can add zones and increase your bid $3 at a time until you reach the Hotwire amount. That's a quick lesson on bidding strategy.
So, here's my experience with Hotwire bidding tonight... I chose a 4 star hotel and I was given the Hilton (gaaaaackkkkk! ) at Pearson. I stayed there once only and it was a terrible experience, so I called Hotwire directly and the kind person who was working the help desk graciously cancelled that booking, crediting my VISA card fully.
Then, she tried to book another 4 star hotel at the airport for me. The Hilton came up AGAIN. Then she gently told me that, in actuality, there were no 4 star hotels in the airport area, even though the website gives that option. She also told me that Hotwire was in the process of downgrading that particular hotel to a 2 star rating.
She was very appreciative of my calling and letting her know about this hotel. She said they take all complaints seriously, and they also review hotels on the basis of client complaints, often downgrading the property when necessary.
Back to the drawing board...I think I'll skip Hotwire and/or Priceline for this time, and book directly with a hotel. That way, I know what I'm getting. I'll let you know what I decide.
"Sometimes the cheapest is the most expensive, in the long run." ~ W.T. Irwin, my grandfather Brenda
) at Pearson. I stayed there once only and it was a terrible experience, so I called Hotwire directly and the kind person who was working the help desk graciously cancelled that booking, crediting my VISA card fully.
