Travel

Traveling to Toronto with 65 yr old Mother

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  • Feb 21st, 2020 4:28 pm
Newbie
Jun 13, 2015
60 posts
9 upvotes
Kingston, ON

Traveling to Toronto with 65 yr old Mother

Hey all,

Have to take my mother to Toronto in a couple weeks for a 7am appt. Instead of driving 3 hours at 3-4am to make it there we're going to go up on a Sunday and get a hotel room for the night.

What I'm looking for is places that I can take her to kill some time and do some sightseeing that she otherwise wouldn't get to do. We will be staying on Pickering and taking the go train so needs to be within walking distance from Union station.

A few places I have in mind already are:
Nathan Phillips square
Sunset Grill for breakfast
CN Tower
Ripley's aquarium


Any others that are close by?

Thanks very much
Last edited by ZeroCool69 on Feb 16th, 2020 10:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
27 replies
Deal Addict
Jul 26, 2007
1425 posts
640 upvotes
there aren't sunset grills in Kingston?

I can't imagine that being anybody's highlight for a trip to Toronto lol... been a while since I've been there (used to live in the GTA but Calgary now) but honestly it's very pedestrian chain breakfast food.
Deal Fanatic
Jun 11, 2005
8633 posts
2399 upvotes
Mississauga
ZeroCool69 wrote: Hey all,

Have to take my mother to Toronto in a couple weeks for a 7am appt. Instead of driving 3 hours at 3-4am to make it there we're going to go up on a Sunday and get a hotel room for the night.

What I'm looking for is places that I can take her to kill some time and do some sightseeing that she otherwise wouldn't get to do. We will be staying on Pickering and taking the go train so needs to be within walking distance from Union station.

A few places I have in mind already are:
Nathan Phillips square
Sunset Grill for breakfast
CN Tower
Ripley's aquarium


Any others that are close by?

Thanks very much
Eaton Centre
Royal Ontario Museum
The Old Spaghetti Factory
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2633 upvotes
GTA West
Sunset Grill?

Walk over to Brookfield Place - I think the Marche opens around 07:30 or the Food Court downstairs is really nice with lots of food options.
Deal Addict
Jan 26, 2017
1859 posts
2808 upvotes
ZeroCool69 wrote: Hey all,

Have to take my mother to Toronto in a couple weeks for a 7am appt. Instead of driving 3 hours at 3-4am to make it there we're going to go up on a Sunday and get a hotel room for the night.

What I'm looking for is places that I can take her to kill some time and do some sightseeing that she otherwise wouldn't get to do. We will be staying on Pickering and taking the go train so needs to be within walking distance from Union station.

A few places I have in mind already are:
Nathan Phillips square
Sunset Grill for breakfast
CN Tower
Ripley's aquarium


Any others that are close by?

Thanks very much
Where are you originally from?
You don’t want to drive 3 hours to Toronto so you’re going to stay at a hotel in Pickering and then taking a Go Train to Toronto?!
Sounds quite odd you r staying at a hotel in Pickering...
Newbie
Jun 13, 2015
60 posts
9 upvotes
Kingston, ON
We're coming from Kingston and figured it would be cheaper to get a hotel room in the Whitby/Pickering area and take a go train back and forth instead.

Is there any breakfast/dinner spots that are good? I picked Sunset Grill because it's fairly cheap and decent breakfast food

Also does anyone have any discount codes for Ripley's aquarium or ROM?
Deal Fanatic
Jan 31, 2007
6371 posts
6734 upvotes
Center of Canada
Dealmaker1945 wrote: Sunset Grill?

Walk over to Brookfield Place - I think the Marche opens around 07:30 or the Food Court downstairs is really nice with lots of food options.
100% agree, DON'T DO Sunset Grill
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Deal Fanatic
Jan 12, 2005
5186 posts
1829 upvotes
Mississauga
Dealmaker1945 wrote: Sunset Grill?

Walk over to Brookfield Place - I think the Marche opens around 07:30 or the Food Court downstairs is really nice with lots of food options.
Marche is not a sit down place though, it's pretty much a fancy food court. If OP wants to be served and doesn't want to spend a lot of $$, Sunset Grill is fine. I wouldn't go out of my way just to eat there though.
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User avatar
Jul 29, 2005
9295 posts
3156 upvotes
Mississauga
Dealmaker1945 wrote: Sunset Grill?

Walk over to Brookfield Place - I think the Marche opens around 07:30 or the Food Court downstairs is really nice with lots of food options.
Agree with Brookfield Place - Movenpick Marche. Your mom will love this place.
My food blog - Reggie The Food Critic.
Newbie
Jun 13, 2015
60 posts
9 upvotes
Kingston, ON
How expensive is it? And it looks like a buffet type place?
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Jul 29, 2005
9295 posts
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Mississauga
Your past threads show you have asked these questions multiple times.
My food blog - Reggie The Food Critic.
Deal Addict
Oct 23, 2017
2965 posts
2633 upvotes
GTA West
ZeroCool69 wrote: How expensive is it? And it looks like a buffet type place?
Never mind, just make your mom walk a few blocks on a cold winter's day to get to Sunset.
Deal Addict
Dec 4, 2011
2565 posts
2828 upvotes
Montréal
Raggie wrote: Your past threads show you have asked these questions multiple times.
No kidding, never knew a trip from Kingston to Toronto could be so complicated! No offense (and I empathise with travelling with your parents and making sure everything goes smoothly) but you makes this sound like a RTW airline trip with 4 stops involving 3 different airlines.
Deal Addict
Dec 26, 2005
1265 posts
986 upvotes
Ottawa
I'm making a similar trip this weekend, but from Ottawa, to around union station for a parent.
Considered taking the go train, but is it really worth it to save literally a few bucks on a hotel?
It's $11.40 for a ticket from Whitby, you'll need 4 tickets to get back and forth with your mother.
Put that $46.00 towards the hotel you were trying to save a few bucks on, closer to your destination.
Not to mention the time you'll be saving.
or do one less activity (ie - ripley's, and save ~$100 right there).
Deal Fanatic
Feb 4, 2010
7156 posts
7138 upvotes
ZeroCool69 wrote: Hey all,

Have to take my mother to Toronto in a couple weeks for a 7am appt. Instead of driving 3 hours at 3-4am to make it there we're going to go up on a Sunday and get a hotel room for the night.

What I'm looking for is places that I can take her to kill some time and do some sightseeing that she otherwise wouldn't get to do. We will be staying on Pickering and taking the go train so needs to be within walking distance from Union station.

A few places I have in mind already are:
Nathan Phillips square
Sunset Grill for breakfast
CN Tower
Ripley's aquarium


Any others that are close by?

Thanks very much
I get that you're helping out your mom and it's an added cost but your poor mom. You're better off just driving straight from Kingston than staying in Pickering (makes no sense) especially if money is an issue, which seems like it is. You're still going to have to wake up around 5-ish, drive to train station, go on the train, walk to appointment...in the dark and cold. Likely already going to be a bit stressed having to go to appointment to begin with. If it were me, I would either drive straight from Kingston (there will be no traffic) or I would stay downtown. There are some cheaper alternatives that are clean and safe e.g. Town Inn Suites.
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Jun 1, 2006
7972 posts
9093 upvotes
Toronto
If you wanna get your mother to do some sightseeing, you should try to get a hotel downtown,.... and ditch the Sunset Grill idea!!
I swear to drunk I'm not God 😝
Deal Fanatic
Mar 21, 2010
6737 posts
3998 upvotes
Toronto
hierophant wrote: I get that you're helping out your mom and it's an added cost but your poor mom. You're better off just driving straight from Kingston than staying in Pickering (makes no sense) especially if money is an issue, which seems like it is. You're still going to have to wake up around 5-ish, drive to train station, go on the train, walk to appointment...in the dark and cold. Likely already going to be a bit stressed having to go to appointment to begin with. If it were me, I would either drive straight from Kingston (there will be no traffic) or I would stay downtown. There are some cheaper alternatives that are clean and safe e.g. Town Inn Suites.
I agree. Plus, the GO Train isn't exactly a joy. I personally wouldn't trust it in an instance where you need to get somewhere at a very specific time early in the morning, when you've already come a long way.

Depending on your budget, the Fairmont Royal York is often surprisingly affordable on Hotwire. Right at Union station and - I don't want to say a treat for an older person - but it does have that sort of style.
Deal Expert
Feb 7, 2017
27765 posts
27805 upvotes
Eastern Ontario
jay_w wrote: I'm making a similar trip this weekend, but from Ottawa, to around union station for a parent.
Considered taking the go train, but is it really worth it to save literally a few bucks on a hotel?
It's $11.40 for a ticket from Whitby, you'll need 4 tickets to get back and forth with your mother.
Put that $46.00 towards the hotel you were trying to save a few bucks on, closer to your destination.
Not to mention the time you'll be saving.
or do one less activity (ie - ripley's, and save ~$100 right there).
Like the OP we live in Eastern Ontario
And have done exactly this several times ... stay on the Outskirts & take the GO Train into the city
(LOL to the person who said NO TRAFFIC coming into the city early in the AM.
NEVER has that been our experience ... be it weekday or weekend on the 401
And the OP would be approaching prob around 6 AM on a Monday ... rush hour will most definitely be underway )

Hotels are considerably cheaper on the outskirts
Even when one adds on the cost of taking the GO Train
Finding anything downtown TO around Union Station under $ 250+ ... AND Parking
Is virtually impossible
Especially last minute

So staying on the outskirts makes a lot of sense

Past faves for us ...
Ajax = Homewood Suites, or Hilton Garden Inn
Oshawa = Best Western

And taking the GO Train is easy peasy
Banned
Aug 19, 2019
133 posts
271 upvotes
PointsHubby wrote: Like the OP we live in Eastern Ontario
And have done exactly this several times ... stay on the Outskirts & take the GO Train into the city
(LOL to the person who said NO TRAFFIC coming into the city early in the AM.
NEVER has that been our experience ... be it weekday or weekend on the 401
And the OP would be approaching prob around 6 AM on a Monday ... rush hour will most definitely be underway )

Hotels are considerably cheaper on the outskirts
Even when one adds on the cost of taking the GO Train
Finding anything downtown TO around Union Station under $ 250+ ... AND Parking
Is virtually impossible
Especially last minute

So staying on the outskirts makes a lot of sense

Past faves for us ...
Ajax = Homewood Suites, or Hilton Garden Inn
Oshawa = Best Western

And taking the GO Train is easy peasy
Staying in the outskirts is fine, but I don't understand why the OP chooses to go to Pickering or Ajax. There are other places within the Toronto region where the OP can choose, like Midtown Toronto, North York, or Scarborough. OP can drive to the nearest TTC station and take the subway instead.

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