Ontario Hotels

"John Kane" <jrkrideau.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> schrieb

> I think Jochen was as pointing out that the Museum of Civilisation is
> in Gatineau (Hull) QC. It's directly across the Ottawa River from the
> Parliament Buildings

Exactly. Not only is it a different town, it's even a different provice,
and they speak a different language
The fact that it takes just minutes to walk across the bridge doesn't
count!

Jochen from Germany
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Well we've made our first reservation at The Charles Inn, Niagara-on-
the-lake. That covers our first three nights, we will drive down
straight from the airport and hopefully arrive at about 7PM. It was
well above our average allowance but we thought it was worth getting
settled somewhere nice for our first few days and we've chosen a nice
room with a Jet Tub. We will then depart at about midday on the
Wednesday and will now be looking for a hotel somwhere near Toronto.
Probably not in Toronto but not too far north to have to spend a full
day travelling. We'll do the Toronto visit for our last couple of days
because we've already made a reservation at the 360 restaurant (CN
Tower) on our last night.
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On Jan 26, 2:27 pm, "Jochen Kriegerowski" <joinva... RemoveThis @smtp.ru> wrote:
> "Lee" <leemeadowcr... RemoveThis @gmail.com> schrieb
>
> > We will then depart at about midday on the Wednesday and will
> > now be looking for a hotel somwhere near Toronto.
> > Probably not in Toronto but not too far north
>
> Nothing special, just you average middle class accomodation, an
> easy half hour drive to downtown Toronto:
> The Kleinburg Inn (www.kleinburginn.com)
>
> I liked it, and will definitely stay there again next time.
>
> Jochen from Germany

Thanks for the link. To be honest I'm not too bothered about being
close to downtown Toronto at this stage of the tour. I think we'll do
our Toronto sightseeing at the end because that's where the airport is
and we have the restaurant booked, I'll look at possibly staying at
The Kleinburg Inn at that stage of the tour but I haven't thought that
far ahead yet.

I'm now thinking about three nights on route between Niagara and
Ottawa taking in places like Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park (possibly
3 nights in the same place or maybe 1 night south of Georgian Bay and
2 nights around algonquin). I need to decide exactly what sights I
would like to see in this area before deciding on final accomodation.
Any suggestions for places to visit or stay in this area are very
welcome.
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Lee wrote:

> Well we've made our first reservation at The Charles Inn, Niagara-on-
> the-lake. That covers our first three nights, we will drive down
> straight from the airport and hopefully arrive at about 7PM. It was
> well above our average allowance but we thought it was worth getting
> settled somewhere nice for our first few days and we've chosen a nice
> room with a Jet Tub. We will then depart at about midday on the
> Wednesday and will now be looking for a hotel somwhere near Toronto.
> Probably not in Toronto but not too far north to have to spend a full
> day travelling. We'll do the Toronto visit for our last couple of days
> because we've already made a reservation at the 360 restaurant (CN
> Tower) on our last night.

The Charles Inn is a nice place. It is on Queen St. in NotL, which,
despite the name change(s) becomes the Niagara Parkay. You can follow that
road all the way to the falls.
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"Lee" <leemeadowcroft.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> schrieb

> We will then depart at about midday on the Wednesday and will
> now be looking for a hotel somwhere near Toronto.
> Probably not in Toronto but not too far north

Nothing special, just you average middle class accomodation, an
easy half hour drive to downtown Toronto:
The Kleinburg Inn (www.kleinburginn.com)

I liked it, and will definitely stay there again next time.

Jochen from Germany
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On Jan 26, 3:44 am, "Jochen Kriegerowski" <joinva....RemoveThis@smtp.ru> wrote:
> "John Kane" <jrkrid....RemoveThis@gmail.com> schrieb
>
> > I think Jochen was as pointing out that the Museum of Civilisation is
> > in Gatineau (Hull) QC. It's directly across the Ottawa River from the
> > Parliament Buildings
>
> Exactly. Not only is it a different town, it's even a different provice,
> and they speak a different language

Eh? I spoke the same languages on both sides of the river. It
depends to a considerable extend what part of Gatineau or Ottawa you
live in. Both cities tend to be bilingual.

It definately is a different province. We used to have decent drivers
on that side of the river not like in Ottawa.

> The fact that it takes just minutes to walk across the bridge doesn't count!
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
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On Jan 26, 9:47 am, Lee <leemeadowcr....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jan 26, 2:27 pm, "Jochen Kriegerowski" <joinva....TakeThisOut@smtp.ru> wrote:
>
> > "Lee" <leemeadowcr....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> schrieb
>
> > > We will then depart at about midday on the Wednesday and will
> > > now be looking for a hotel somwhere near Toronto.
> > > Probably not in Toronto but not too far north
>
> > Nothing special, just you average middle class accomodation, an
> > easy half hour drive to downtown Toronto:
> > The Kleinburg Inn (www.kleinburginn.com)
>
> > I liked it, and will definitely stay there again next time.
>
> > Jochen from Germany
>
> Thanks for the link. To be honest I'm not too bothered about being
> close to downtown Toronto at this stage of the tour. I think we'll do
> our Toronto sightseeing at the end because that's where the airport is
> and we have the restaurant booked, I'll look at possibly staying at
> The Kleinburg Inn at that stage of the tour but I haven't thought that
> far ahead yet.
>
> I'm now thinking about three nights on route between Niagara and
> Ottawa taking in places like Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park (possibly
> 3 nights in the same place or maybe 1 night south of Georgian Bay and
> 2 nights around algonquin). I need to decide exactly what sights I
> would like to see in this area before deciding on final accomodation.
> Any suggestions for places to visit or stay in this area are very
> welcome.

I don't have any suggestions about places to stay but I'd check
carefully before planning visiting both Southern Georgian Bay and
Algonquin Park. You are looking at quite a lot of driving and, from
what I remember the cross-links (roads) from Georgian Bay to Algonquin
Park are limited, which may mean it's difficult to find a really
direct route.

Dave may know more about this. I have not been driving up that way in
many years.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
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Lee wrote:

>
>
> Thanks for the link. To be honest I'm not too bothered about being
> close to downtown Toronto at this stage of the tour. I think we'll do
> our Toronto sightseeing at the end because that's where the airport is
> and we have the restaurant booked, I'll look at possibly staying at
> The Kleinburg Inn at that stage of the tour but I haven't thought that
> far ahead yet.

FWIW, I had some visitors from the Netherlands last fall and when they
went to Toronto they stayed at a Best Western on Eglington Ave in
Mississauga, just outside the Toronto boundary and very close to the
airport. It was quite reasonable and they were very happy with it. It was
about a 20 minute walk from the hotel to the bus stop and about 45 minutes
into town.

> I'm now thinking about three nights on route between Niagara and
> Ottawa taking in places like Georgian Bay and Algonquin Park (possibly
> 3 nights in the same place or maybe 1 night south of Georgian Bay and

There are plenty of hotels at Blue Mountain, a ski resort just west of
Collingwood. I should advise you that it is a very diverse region. The
west corner of the bay has the northen end of the Niagara Escarpment and
has a lot of hardwood forests and farm land, but as you go up along the
east side of the bay it becomes quite rocky and rugged. Both are scenic,
but quite different from one another.


> 2 nights around algonquin). I need to decide exactly what sights I
> would like to see in this area before deciding on final accomodation.
> Any suggestions for places to visit or stay in this area are very

When we used to go up to visit our son at summer camp in Algonquin we used
to stay at the Colonial Bay Resort on Highway 60 between Huntsville and
the park. There are a lot more hotels and motels in the Hunstville area
than at the east end of the park.

As for Algonquin Park..... It is a huge provincial park with a network of
coanoe routes and hiking trails. There is a two lane highway through the
south end of it and access to most of the hiking trails is found along
there. You can drive through it in less than an hour. If you stop to use
the trails or the visitors centre you have to stop at the park gates and
buy a permit. You can rent a canoe and go paddling at the Portage Store
on Canoe Lake. It is not a place where you can plan to drive to some
remote corner unless you want to go way up and around from the north.
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I'm using google maps for all my route planning at the moment and it
can give you directions with journey durations. Spending a few hours
in the day driving does not bother me as long as it's not every day.
We tend to travel quite a bit anyway with my wife-to-be's family
living 4 hours away from us. The difference in Canada is that the
routes are (or can be)quite scenic whereas here the journey is a
constant 70mph on a dull concrete motorway with no views at all. The
only thing that would concern me is the prospect of these winding
roads being closed for whatever reason but I would expect there not to
be a problem with things like snow in September, please let me know if
this is not the case.

I've spent the last hour or so viewing the routes and distances from
Niagara to Algonquin. I think it would be worthwhile me making a
nights stop somewhere near Barrie and Lake Simcoe, the nicer
accomodation in these parts tends to be bed and breakfast which she
isn't too keen on so we might have to settle for something a little
more basic. We may be able to stretch our days travelling a little
more north to somewhere like Midland if we find some accomodation of
particular interest. We would then spend the next two nights staying
in one place and somewhere close to Algonquin, quite possibly in
huntsville as someone has recommended above and she quite likes the
idea of staying next to Fairy Lake, you know what women are like!

After that we move on to the next leg which will be in the ottawa
region and once I've finalised my accomodation on the Algonquin leg I
will start to think about Ottawa with a day trip to Montreal.

The journey is taking a definate shape with 3 nights in Niagara, 3
nights around Georgian Bay / Algonquin Park, 3 nights around Ottawa
with a day trip to Montreal, 2 nights along the north coast of Lake
Ontario and the final 2 nights in Toronto.
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John Kane wrote:

>
> I don't have any suggestions about places to stay but I'd check
> carefully before planning visiting both Southern Georgian Bay and
> Algonquin Park. You are looking at quite a lot of driving and, from
> what I remember the cross-links (roads) from Georgian Bay to Algonquin
> Park are limited, which may mean it's difficult to find a really
> direct route.
>
> Dave may know more about this. I have not been driving up that way in
> many years.

There does seem to be a big gap in the road system between the south end of
Georgian Bay and the route up to Algonquin. The easiest way is to swing back
down to Orillia and up Hwy. 11. It is a pleasant drive, but it does involve
back tracking. You can also go up 400 and through or around the Muskoka
Lakes, also quite scenic. I guess it comes down to how much scenic driving
you want to do en route to your destination. Some people love that stuff
while others consider it just more forests and lakes to see.
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"John Kane" <jrkrideau.DeleteThis@gmail.com> schrieb

> Eh? I spoke the same languages on both sides of the river.

So did I
But the lady at the desk did greet me with a friendly "Bon Jour"
when I bought my ticket.

Perhaps I should put a *lot* more smileys in my postings?
It's Quebec, and Quebec is french. Period.

Jochen from Germany
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Lee wrote:

> I'm using google maps for all my route planning at the moment and it
> can give you directions with journey durations. Spending a few hours
> in the day driving does not bother me as long as it's not every day.
> We tend to travel quite a bit anyway with my wife-to-be's family
> living 4 hours away from us. The difference in Canada is that the
> routes are (or can be)quite scenic whereas here the journey is a
> constant 70mph on a dull concrete motorway with no views at all. The
> only thing that would concern me is the prospect of these winding
> roads being closed for whatever reason but I would expect there not to
> be a problem with things like snow in September, please let me know if
> this is not the case.
>
> I've spent the last hour or so viewing the routes and distances from
> Niagara to Algonquin. I think it would be worthwhile me making a
> nights stop somewhere near Barrie and Lake Simcoe, the nicer
> accomodation in these parts tends to be bed and breakfast which she
> isn't too keen on so we might have to settle for something a little
> more basic. We may be able to stretch our days travelling a little
> more north to somewhere like Midland if we find some accomodation of
> particular interest. We would then spend the next two nights staying
> in one place and somewhere close to Algonquin, quite possibly in
> huntsville as someone has recommended above and she quite likes the
> idea of staying next to Fairy Lake, you know what women are like!

I live in Niagara and go up to Algonquin every August. It usually takes me
about 4 hours. If you leave Niagara after 8:30 you will miss the Toronto
rush hour traffice, which starts in Hamilton.


If you feel like splurging a bit. Check out this place. It is beautiful
and the food is terrific. It is on a lake at the end of a road about 5
miles from the highway.

http://www.arowhonpines.ca/


> After that we move on to the next leg which will be in the ottawa
> region and once I've finalised my accomodation on the Algonquin leg I
> will start to think about Ottawa with a day trip to Montreal.
>
> The journey is taking a definate shape with 3 nights in Niagara, 3
> nights around Georgian Bay / Algonquin Park, 3 nights around Ottawa
> with a day trip to Montreal, 2 nights along the north coast of Lake
> Ontario and the final 2 nights in Toronto.

Day trip to Montreal? It is a good two hour drive from Ottawa. That is a
long way to drive back to a hotel when you could get one in Montreal and
save yourself the time and money to get back to Ottawa. The distance from
Montreal to the junction of Hwys 401 and 417 is almost the same.
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On Jan 26, 4:31 pm, Dave Smith <adavid.sm....RemoveThis@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Lee wrote:
> > I'm using google maps for all my route planning at the moment and it
> > can give you directions with journey durations. Spending a few hours
> > in the day driving does not bother me as long as it's not every day.
> > We tend to travel quite a bit anyway with my wife-to-be's family
> > living 4 hours away from us. The difference in Canada is that the
> > routes are (or can be)quite scenic whereas here the journey is a
> > constant 70mph on a dull concrete motorway with no views at all. The
> > only thing that would concern me is the prospect of these winding
> > roads being closed for whatever reason but I would expect there not to
> > be a problem with things like snow in September, please let me know if
> > this is not the case.

It might snow in November, not in September. Around Algonquin Park the
weather should be fairly warm in the daytime ( 22-26C perhaps)
dropping down to maybe 12-15 C overnight.

Besides snow does not close roads around here. We have a huge
investment in snowplowing equipment.
>
> > I've spent the last hour or so viewing the routes and distances from
> > Niagara to Algonquin. I think it would be worthwhile me making a
> > nights stop somewhere near Barrie and Lake Simcoe, the nicer
> > accomodation in these parts tends to be bed and breakfast which she
> > isn't too keen on so we might have to settle for something a little
> > more basic. We may be able to stretch our days travelling a little
> > more north to somewhere like Midland if we find some accomodation of
> > particular interest. We would then spend the next two nights staying
> > in one place and somewhere close to Algonquin, quite possibly in
> > huntsville as someone has recommended above and she quite likes the
> > idea of staying next to Fairy Lake, you know what women are like!
>
> I live in Niagara and go up to Algonquin every August. It usually takes me
> about 4 hours. If you leave Niagara after 8:30 you will miss the Toronto
> rush hour traffice, which starts in Hamilton.
>
> If you feel like splurging a bit. Check out this place. It is beautiful
> and the food is terrific. It is on a lake at the end of a road about 5
> miles from the highway.
>
> http://www.arowhonpines.ca/
>
> > After that we move on to the next leg which will be in the ottawa
> > region and once I've finalised my accomodation on the Algonquin leg I
> > will start to think about Ottawa with a day trip to Montreal.
>
> > The journey is taking a definate shape with 3 nights in Niagara, 3
> > nights around Georgian Bay / Algonquin Park, 3 nights around Ottawa
> > with a day trip to Montreal, 2 nights along the north coast of Lake
> > Ontario and the final 2 nights in Toronto.
>
> Day trip to Montreal? It is a good two hour drive from Ottawa. That is a
> long way to drive back to a hotel when you could get one in Montreal and
> save yourself the time and money to get back to Ottawa. The distance from
> Montreal to the junction of Hwys 401 and 417 is almost the same.

Yes, it makes no real sense to do a day trip if you're planning on
going to Montreal. You end up backtracking on a 4 lane autoroute.
The highway from Montreal west is a 4-6 lane autoroute too, but at
least it is new territory and allow the occasional departure to see a
local town on the St Lawrence River or a chance to try the scenic
route along the St Laurence River from west from Cornwall. {1}Now if I
could only remember what it's called other than Old Hwy 2.

1 It's always handy to be able to tell people when you get home that
you visited Cornwall on your holidays.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
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