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Travelling to Toronto for a Weekend (A Miles and Points Destination Guide for Toronto)

Toronto is a pretty awesome city to visit with miles and points. The combination of a major international airport and numerous hotels from every hotel chain with high peak hotel prices, Toronto is a great destination for Miles & Points enthusiasts. In addition, the outstanding neighbourhoods, multicultural feel and a full calendar of events make Toronto a great place for a weekend getaway. 

Toronto is a Great Weekend Destination

First of all, I’m biased, I grew up in Toronto’s suburbs (shout out to the Markham food scene making the New York Times). That being said, Toronto is a top city break destination. The beauty of Toronto is the diverse neighbourhoods and massive cultural events that run through the city. Caribana, which is North America's largest cultural festival, events at the Budweiser Stage (a really cool outdoor concert venue) to the Toronto Film Festival, there is always something to do in the city, especially in the summer and fall. Pair that with a Hockey, Basketball or Baseball game at convenient downtown stadiums, it’s a perfect way to spend a long weekend.  And who knows, maybe you’ll run into J-Biebs, Drake or Sean Mendes!

How to Toronto Using Miles and Points

Toronto, as a hub of Air Canada and Westjet, is easily accessible with major points and miles currencies. Aeroplan, the currency of Air Canada, does have its downfalls after the recent transformation, but it can still provide great value for travel within North America.

Expect to pay about 12.5k points from major East Coast cities each way to Toronto and up to 17.5k points from the West Coast for an economy seat. If you’re coming or connecting in Los Angeles, Vancouver or San Francisco, you can pay about 30k each way for Air Canada’s signature Business class flights on the 777 or 787 Dreamliner


WestJet, which offers a pretty awful rewards program, also serves Toronto from many cities in North America, is also accessible for 12.5k Delta miles each way (or less in some cases) with almost every WestJet flight available. Unfortunately, business class is not bookable this way. 

Finally, almost every major Asian and European airline flies to the city, so there are numerous ways to redeem points from both continents, like on Etihad with Aeroplan or using British Airways Avios for Aer Lingus


Where to stay in Toronto for the weekend?

Toronto has a plethora of options, of major chains like Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt, along with some up and coming boutique hotels. 

Marriott is well represented. While the Ritz Carlton Toronto and the St Regis Toronto are the fanciest, and the most expensive as Category 7s. Even during the pandemic, rates for the late summer are quite high. 

Summer RItz Carlton and St Regis Toronto rates

Also, the W Toronto, a Category 6 hotel, is opening up this summer in Yorkville, which should be a fun place to stay. Stay tuned for a review when it opens. Summer prices seems to be around ~$400 per night, which is what I’d expect in Toronto.

That being said, being the financial capital, there are numerous business hotels, including the Westin, Sheraton, Courtyard, two Marriots and the Delta. Most of these hotels are Category 5’s and are typically priced at the lower end of the points spectrum (35K Bonvoy points or less) on weekends as they are business hotels. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced Marriott hotel in Toronto, I had a great time at the Sheraton Centre Toronto, which is located in the core and within walking distance of Queen West. That being said, the nicest middle ground hotel would be the Delta Toronto, which has a great lounge, modern rooms and treats Marriott Platinum Elites really well. 

There are also cool rooms with Bathtubs overlooking the city.

In addition, typically even though the Delta is a Category 5, you can find reasonable rates on points even during peak times this summer. 

That being said, it looks like the Delta Toronto is pricing a return to work travel in the fall, as rates are much higher.

If you’re feeling a unique experience, the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel is built into the Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays Stadium and a major concert facility. Base rooms that allow you to watch the game will start at about $500 or so during game days, but well worth it! If you’re in town for the game, my advice would be to get one room between a group of friends that has a stadium view and then other people can stay in non-facing rooms.

What a view from the room!

Hilton’s portfolio is pretty weak in Toronto. While the Hilton Toronto is a large business hotel in the core, and there are a few lower tier hotels within the city, but really not much going on from the Hilton Portfolio. It would be nice if a local boutique was converted to a Curio hotel under the Hilton brand.

Hilton’s in Toronto aren’t very exciting

There are a few Hyatt options in the city, including a new hip boutique hotel. While the Category 3 Hyatt Regency Toronto offers standard room comparable to the Hilton or Marriotts of the world for 12K Hyatt points a night, the recently rebranded The Anndore House has joined the Joie de Vivre Hyatt brand within the last week. That means this contemporary boutique hotel is available on points as a Category 3 hotel for 12K Hyatt points a night, a great deal for a boutique hotel in the city. 

The rooms provide a most hip option from any chain brand currently in the city

Finally, the forever under renovation Park Hyatt Toronto will be reopening in the fall. Originally a Category 4, Hyatt just announced that it would be upped to a Category 6 hotel (25k a night), which makes sense for a luxury hotel in an expensive market. I suspect that this will be a  great addition for those looking to experience Toronto with a hint of luxury. That being said, the Park Hyatt is a bit farther from Scotiabank Arena and the Rogers Centre, so it will take longer to get to major events. 

Toronto is also home to some newer luxury chain hotels that have been built over the last 5 years. The Four Seasons Toronto is a popular flagship of the Toronto based chain located in the bougie Yorkville neighbourhood near the Park Hyatt Toronto. In addition, there is the downtown Shangri-La Toronto hotel that has Momofuku Toronto at the base of the hotel.

For those of you looking for a non-aligned hotel, there are plenty of options in the city (I prefer to book my non-aligned hotels through hotels.com, as they have a loyalty program that gives 10% back on spend!) The Drake Hotel is part of a Toronto based hospitality chain, and the hotel is in the trendy Queen West neighbourhood (which is where I live). In a normal summer, it’s got a cool bar, diner and is surrounded by places to go and be seen in the summer. 

Drake Hotel has hip although smaller hotel rooms in Queen West

In addition, The Broadview Hotel, on the other side of the city, is a cool place to be in the renovated former rooming house and strip club turned upscale boutique hotel. It’s a developing area of the city with lots of families located with easy access to the core. 

Broadview Hotel

Finally, Le Germain hotels is a Montreal based chain that has two locations in the city centre, one near Scotiabank Arena and one in King West, a nightlife district. 

The Point

Overall, Toronto is a perfect city break with easy access from many US and Canadian cities (in addition to Asia and Europe) and a lot of hotel choices throughout the spectrum. As soon as the borders open, Toronto is the place for a weekend vacation, for now, I think Toronto’s the perfect destination for Canadians looking for fall trips. 

Who’s planning a trip to Toronto? Any questions? Leave them below!