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There doesn’t seem to be a lot of love and attention given to Canada on HfP so I thought I would add my trip report following our recent travels to Toronto and the Atlantic Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
We flew BA Club World from Heathrow T5 using Avios and a 241 voucher. As is usual for us we drove to Heathrow the day before departure and this time stayed at the Sofitel on a Park, Stay & Fly rate. The car park is under the hotel so it’s a very short walk to reception and then another slightly longer walk to get the terminal. Check in was fine but because I was using some gift vouchers bought in the Black Friday sale it was a bit of a faff but all fine otherwise. We had a drink in the bar and dinner in Vivre Restaurant followed by a good nights sleep for a very stress free start to our trip.
A couple of weeks before we were due to fly BA did a cheeky switcheroo on us and we were swapped from Club Suite to old Club World ying-yang seating which for a day flight is not too bad for us as a couple if we can get the window and aisle seat pair which we did. We departed from the B gates which was welcome as I thought the main terminal was very warm – the BA lounge was getting into the spirit of summer with jugs of Pimms available – nice The flight was uneventful which was good allowing me to continue my journey through the Jack Reacher series of novels (I don’t watch much IFE on planes). Arrival in Toronto was very quick having done our Electronic Travel Authorisations previously. We also used ArriveCAN which is the Canada Border Services Agency’s online declaration portal which meant we just needed to scan our passports at a terminal to reconfirm the declarations made previously and we were in – not sure if this is a new system but it worked very well. It was then a short walk to the Sheraton which is attached to terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson Airport. We didn’t eat at the Sheraton or use any of the facilities so can’t comment much on the hotel other than to say the room was a very decent size and the bed comfortable – we were flying to Halifax the following morning so just wanted somewhere convenient to spend the night.
The following morning we flew Air Canada economy to Halifax, Nova Scotia which is just over 2 hours away but you also lose an hour from crossing a time zone. The flight left from Terminal 1 but the monorail between terminals is right by the Sheraton so very convenient to get to, my Platinum card got us into the Plaza Premium Lounge which was OK for a quick pre-flight coffee and breakfast. I’m not sure of all the fare buckets but our Economy tickets allowed us to select seats at time of booking and included a checked bag each and we also checked our carry-on at no cost as it was OK size-wise for our BA flight but a bit too tight for the internal Air Canada flight. I was very impressed with the Air Canada app as it gave very good notifications of timing for the departure and where to go and also tracked our bags on and off the aircraft.
We picked up an Uber on arrival at Halifax for the 30 minute drive into the city. We stayed at The Muir (Marriott Bonvoy, Luxury Collection) which was a really lovely hotel. We booked a Deluxe King room through Emyr and was upgraded to a Junior Suite. The hotel is right on the waterfront but not many rooms have full views of the water as it’s end-on so most rooms only have a partial angled view. We ate in Drift one evening which is the in-house restaurant which was good (Drift is also on the Amex Overseas Dining Credit list). Breakfast is also served in Drift which is a la carte only and was really good. We would certainly stay there again if we go back to Halifax. Whilst in Halifax we visited the Citadel, the Maritime Museum and the Immigration Museum which were all in easy walking distance. We also used our Amex Platinum Dining Credit one evening at The Bicycle Thief which was very good. Canada seems to have a lot of options to use the Overseas Dining Credit and not all of them are in the big cities.
I picked up our rental car from Avis when we were heading off to Prince Edward Island, they have an office just a few blocks from the hotel (although they had moved without updating my booking)! As we wanted to do a circuit we drove to Caribou and caught a ferry for the 75 minute crossing – I had pre-booked but you don’t need to although I understand it can get very busy during peak season.
We stayed at The Sydney Boutique Inn & Suites (independently owned) in Charlottetown which is conveniently located for exploring on foot. Our room was very nice but the only let down was that the buffet breakfast was served in a small windowless room in the basement so got very crowded at times. We drove to Cavendish in the North of the Island which is the centre for everything Lucy Maud Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables – not having read the book we went for the hiking along the coastal dunes trails. Also worth a visit is Victoria-by-the-Sea, a small fishing village on the South Coast – it’s only 4 blocks but very quaint.
We headed to New Brunswick by crossing the 8-mile long Confederation Bridge (toll payable) to our next stop in Moncton. We stayed at a Hyatt Place which we thought was pretty good (there is a large convention centre in Moncton so a lot of chain hotel options), we had a good sized room and the breakfast buffet wasn’t bad at all – we felt it was a step up from the likes of Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites where we have stayed in the past in the US. Riverfront Park in Moncton is where you can witness the twice-daily tidal bore that’s created by the incoming tide in the Bay of Fundy. It’s about an hour’s drive to Hopewell Rocks where the tidal range is over 40 feet and at low-tide you can walk around the sea stacks known as The Flowerpot Rocks – check the tide tables to plan your visit! If you enjoy a good tourist trap then Magnetic Hill is worth an hour of you time – put the car in neutral and the illusion is that it seems you are rolling uphill.
To get back to Nova Scotia we took another ferry (2.5 hours) across The Bay of Fundy from Saint John to Digby to stay in an owner managed historic B&B (The Lark & Loon Inn) close by in Annapolis Royal which is the former capital of Nova Scotia and a great place to learn about the history of European settlement in the area and the constant changing hands between the English and the French. The Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens are also worth a visit as it won Canada’s Garden of the Year in 2015 and we felt was one of the best maintained gardens we’ve visited.
On our way to Lunenberg we stopped for some hiking at Kejimkujik National Park which was very picturesque – to promote tourism the Canadian Prime Minister has made national parks free entry through to 2 September. In Lunenberg we stayed at another historic B&B (Ashlea House) which gave us the opportunity to explore the town which is full of brightly painted houses and buildings. It was raining while we were there so visited the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic to stay dry for a few hours.
We completed our circuit by driving back to Halifax airport to drop off the car but not before making the obligatory tourist stop-off at Peggy’s Cove – if you have the time taking the coast road is much more pleasant than the highway. We caught our evening Air Canada flight back to Toronto arriving at our hotel around 8.30pm after having regained our lost hour. No lounge for us at Halifax but we weren’t there for long anyway.
Arriving in Toronto we just picked up a car service at the airport which was cheaper than Uber as they work off a fixed-rate and don’t impose surge-pricing. We stayed at the Shangri-La in Toronto which is on University Avenue so in the centre of things. We booked an Executive King Room through Emyr and received an upgrade to a Premier Room which was confirmed when booking. We ate in the bar one evening which was OK but nothing outstanding and had breakfast in the in-house restaurant, Bosk. Breakfast is all a la carte and was pretty good. We covered most of the city on foot and went up the CN Tower, the Distillery District was our favourite area with some unusual and unique boutique shops and bars housed in what was once the British Empire’s largest distillery. It’s all very hip and where the achingly cool people hang out so we didn’t fit in at all! It was Canada Day when we were there so managed to see a spectacular firework display over Lake Ontario. I also made Mrs MoK go to a baseball game which was great to see the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees. We also used our H2 Amex Platinum Dining Credit at Richmond Station which was really nice so got to use both H1 and H2 credits on the same trip.
Back at Toronto airport for our flight home we ate in the lounge which wasn’t bad at all. BA have an area in the Plaza Premium lounge they use and when you go in you are directed to the right and then you are separated again depending on your status as it looked like they had a separate section for Golds. Not sure what was there as it seemed to be one big lounge with just each part sectioned off, anyway being Blue for Life we were quite happy with the Business Class section. On our flight back to Heathrow we got Club Suites but our seating got moved around due to a broken seat and we ended up in the row just in front of the galley. It was only 6 hours on the way back so tried to sleep as much as possible but I now get the comments made elsewhere where you can feel your seat move through people clomping around the cabin and banging things in the galley. Skipped the meal service and I almost missed breakfast as they didn’t wake me despite asking if I wanted to be – I felt the crew were under pressure to get things done and ended up doing the minimum as it was going to be a short flight.
On landing we had to catch a bus to the terminal but the bus moved off quickly as soon as all the Club World passengers were aboard. I’m not sure how long before the next bus came but we didn’t see anyone else arriving at the baggage belt while we were waiting. A short walk back to the Sofitel from arrivals and off home.
Weather wise, travelling when we did in mid-June you need to pack for everything as it ranged from 14 degrees and very wet to 33 degrees and bright sun so a bit like England really.
A lovely trip and looking forward to exploring more of Canada in the future.
Happy Travels!
I too am back recently from a trip to Toronto. Like you I had the switcheroo from Club Suite to Club World on the way out, but I managed to get one of the window seats with direct aisle access so it was fine. Although I had the ETA I didn’t know about the other pre registration, but on the walk to immigration there was someone encouraging UK passport holders to use the self- serve terminals so I did that to enter my details and got a little slip of paper. Then I was just ushered through to the exit where someone took that piece of paper from me. No stamp in the passport – and what surprised me on leaving was no passport control at all.
I was in the Kimpton a little out of the “centre” but it was nice. Inclusive breakfast was a hot dish and non alcoholic drink and there was plenty of choice and substantial portions. In the evenings it was more pub/bistro food but still good options). 1 minute from a subway, so from/to the airport was a hassle free train and subway combo for £8.50 each way, and no traffic woes. The subway (or TTC) is really very good, clean and safe and I used it quite a bit to get about.
Like you I did the main touristy things, CN Tower, Bata shoe museum, Distillery District, Niagara Falls, ROM (which had a separate Auschwitz exhibition every bit as powerful as Auschwitz itself), Casa Loma (would have loved to get stuck into their wine cellar contents) and a harbour cruise.
The Gold part of the lounge is just smaller (and only 5 of us in there) with table service, but it’s the same food as in the business area (I put my head in there for a look).
Club suite coming back, but I was moved on boarding as IFM had spotted someone had smeared chocolate all over the seat belt (and of course BA doesn’t pay cleaners to do a deep clean), so I got 10F which as I found was next to bathroom and middle galley and just in front of the engine (and 777’s are not the quietest). First overnight flight in CS, and whilst door gives privacy, the seats/bed are not great if you’re a back sleeper.Great to hear! Me and the better half are off to Toronto on Saturday – five days in the city and then couple of days down in Niagara on the Lake including a trip to the Falls. Just putting our plans for Toronto days together now. Any hot tips? Bars/live music for the evenings? What’s not to miss/ what’s worth missing?! Love exploring a new city, can’t wait!
@Man-of-Kent thank you for this detailed review which I have just favourited for future reference and inspiration. Having visited BC and Alberta twice in the last couple of years (we’re currently in Jasper) we’re keen to explore the east coast on a future trip, particularly Nova Scotia and PEI. Also considering Newfoundland for a shorter trip as there are direct flights from London to St John’s and the flight time is sub six hours.
How many nights were you away for in total and did you think it was enough to see what you wanted/is it somewhere you’d go back to? We have found that in western Canada at least it’s a balancing act trying to see as much as possible in the time we have (oh to not be restricted by annual leave limitations!) whilst also not spending loads of time in transit on the road which can be tiring and make one feel rather less like one is on holiday! Re the Amex dining credit, I agree that Canada is awash with options including in smaller places – we used our July one in Tofino earlier this week (permanent population 2,516!) and the June one in Victoria just before it expired a few days before (where there were three locations to choose from). In contrast, there were no locations in Seattle, where we flew into town start our trip.
A note on car hire in case it’s of use to anyone else on this thread with upcoming Canadian trips, on our current trip we’ve hired two cars (one in Victoria, one at Calgary Airport) both via Canadian Affair, which was half the price of all the major chains including Avis, even though Avis provide the hire! It was £326.61 for six days hire from Victoria and the exact same price for six days hire from Calgary Airport.
It’s a bit of a convoluted system as you place a booking “request” which is either confirmed or denied 4-6 weeks before your hire collection date and if confirmed they sound you a voucher to present on car collection. Both our requests were confirmed within 48 hours, but we did only book four weeks out. Not sure what the rate of having a request denied is, but we managed to get a car for collection at Calgary Airport during Stampede fortnight, so one would hope the success rate is decent. Not everyone would be comfortable with booking at late notice but it has saved us a total of c£600 compared to booking direct, even with the statuses Amex Plat provides and the various Amex car rental cashback offers. Canadian Affair also gives 5% cashback via TCB!
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