The Great Canadian Tourism Thread!

[SignalHillHiker]

That’s absolutely fair to say about here as well, but you’ll struggle to find it through the noise of even the crappiest places being lauded as your first taste of anything worth eating. Bonavista Social Club comes to mind, for example. Truly memorable. And if you’re looking for Newfoundland pub grub, such as fries/dressing/gravy or toutons, then lots of the usual suspects - even truck stops - do it exceptionally well.

[megadude]

Same here. Been to many, many small towns during my college ball trips and fishing in many rural locales around central and southern Ontario and a few states.

Sometimes you have no options as there's only one food joint within a 10-15 minute drive of the lake. The worst I had was a general store west of Syracuse, ten minutes north of the I-90 and all it had was subs. They clearly just bought the cheapest possible cold cuts and bread from the local grocery store and kept it for days on end. I only lasted three bites before I tossed it into the lake.

I've had burger and fries a few times at local greasy spoons and it's hard to mess that up. Couple times it was pretty good while the others it was just adequate. The restaurant itself is usually a dump, but couple times I was pleasantly surprised given the fact it was in the middle of nowhere.

It's just hilarious when any place says "Best wings in town" or what have you. Sometimes it's true because it's the only place, while other times it's impossible to prove. I believe there are some jurisdictions that have banned that practice in advertising IIRC from a show I saw on TV before.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by esquire

I live near a somewhat obscure national historic site in Winnipeg and every summer I see at least a few cars with Quebec plates pulling up to it. By contrast, I seldom see cars with other out of province plates headed there.

Riel House?

[Acajack]

You guys probably see a greater prevalence of Quebec plates during the last two weeks of July, during what are known as the construction holidays.

The entire construction industry shuts down during that time, and pretty much anyone that has anything to do with them, and anyone that has anything to do with that group, and so on and so on.

(Of course there are also the spouses of anyone involved in the above sectors.)

All told about a quarter of the Quebec population is on holidays during those two weeks.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

So, all of the various NL tourism groups on FB - whenever anyone asks a question, you get shit like this:

(The original question is a tourist asking if there's anywhere good to eat in St. Anthony, 12-ish hours north of St. John's)



It's just relentless. Half the comments are "Our bay seafood platter of variously-sized battered and deepfried lumps is the BEST MEAL YOU WILL EVER EAT! FUCK ST. JOHN'S! THEY DON'T KNOW GOOD FOOD!" and the other half are "COME TO X-TOWN-10-HOURS-FROM-THE-PLACE-YOU'RE-ASKING-ABOUT."

So so so sick of people. It's comically provincial. It reminds me of basically every post by a celebrity in Newfoundland (most recently, Mila Jovovich's many posts about loving it here as she accompanies her daughter shooting a Disney movie) - every second comment is "COME TO HALIFAX!", "YOU'RE SO CLOSE! COME SEE CAPE BRETON!" and it's just... it's like the "Come to Brazil!" meme for drag queens.

THEY. DO. NOT. CHOOSE. WHERE. THEY. GO. We had Bianca del Rio the weekend before she won Drag Race. She didn't choose to celebrate it with us. Our organizers paid enough to bring her. Any organizers, anywhere, can do it. You just have to pay up. I mean, they do private birthdays for Saudi royals. You can get ANYONE if you have the organizers and they're willing to pay.

Same lesson I wish our airport would learn lol

But anyhow, my point is: service and selection in rural Newfoundland is absolute shit and it's made SO MUCH WORSE by the fact locals, with no shame or irony, will expect you to be impressed.

I always assumed the “bay” was the one close to St. John’s or whatever is in that area. But now I am confused, even people on the North Peninsula like to refer to a bay?

Edit: nevermind I guess, you were probably not referring to the Peninsula in this example

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

You guys probably see a greater prevalence of Quebec plates during the last two weeks of July, during what are known as the construction holidays.

The entire construction industry shuts down during that time, and pretty much anyone that has anything to do with them, and anyone that has anything to do with that group, and so on and so on.

(Of course there are also the spouses of anyone involved in the above sectors.)

All told about a quarter of the Quebec population is on holidays during those two weeks.

Interesting. I definitely noticed a lot of Quebec plates on the road during my trip to Alberta last month, and even in Winnipeg. I haven't seen that many in August. I didn't know that was the reason.

Originally Posted by khabibulin

Riel House?

Yep.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by le calmar

I always assumed the “bay” was the one close to St. John’s or whatever is in that area. But now I am confused, even people on the North Peninsula like to refer to a bay?

Edit: nevermind I guess, you were probably not referring to the Peninsula in this example

Townies who live in St. John's and area and Baymen who live on the rest of the island.

That's where 'bay' comes from, as basically every little town was on a bay of some sort.

[q12]

New platform now open at Peggy's Cove


https://twitter.com/EricW_Photos/sta...14454432198662

[esquire]

So I've booked my 2022 vacations and once again I will be staying in Canada. But in a sign of progress, I will be stepping on a plane again which I haven't done since 2019. I had several flights booked for 2020 but the pandemic wiped them all out, including a spring break trip to Arizona that was cancelled a week before departure.

The first stop is Victoria, Vancouver and Whistler this March... we'll spend two weeks in those locales. I'm looking forward to Whistler since I've never visited before, I've only been up as far as Squamish. I once took BC Rail from Prince George to North Vancouver through Whistler although that doesn't really count. I'm also looking forward to visiting Vancouver Island as I haven't been there in over 15 years and I'm planning to rent a car to explore beyond Victoria a little.

This summer will be my third annual attempt to visit the Maritimes (the last two trips were cancelled). One week in PEI at a cottage that we rented, a few days in Moncton to visit the city and venture down to the Fundy shores, and then five nights in Halifax. Again, it's been over a decade since we've ventured out that way so I'm looking forward to our visit. I've never been to the Bay of Fundy so that's something high up on the agenda, and I've never been to PEI in the summer so I'm looking forward to taking that in.

I'll mix in some long weekend getaways but those two are going to be the main trips for this year. I don't have any appetite to travel abroad yet but that's something we're hoping to return to in 2023.

[J.OT13]

Three new hotels coming to Ottawa, from Montreal developer Rimap, including an AC Marriott on Rideau (25 fl - 208 rooms - u/c), a Marriott Moxy in the ByWard Market (5 and 22 fl - 222 rooms/280 rental units - proposed), utilizing a heritage warehouse, and a unknown high-end hotel on Slater at Bay (35 fl - 230 hotel rooms/270 rental units - approved)

Originally Posted by rocketphish

'Playful' Marriott hotel brand to open first Ottawa location at historic ByWard Market site

By: OBJ staff
Published: Mar 30, 2022 4:07pm EDT



A Marriott brand that says it offers a “playful hotel experience for the young at heart” plans to make its Ottawa debut in a historic ByWard Market building.

Rimap Hospitality, the Montreal-based firm that owns the property at 126 York St., said this week it has signed a deal with Marriott International to open a 222-room Moxy hotel in the Major Building.

The 58,800-square-foot former warehouse ​– which was built in 1913 and is now protected under the Ontario Heritage Act – is perhaps best-known for being Shopify’s headquarters back when the e-commerce powerhouse was still a fledgling startup.

Rimap bought the Beaux-Arts-style building two years ago. The five-storey structure will be preserved and integrated into a new 22-storey mixed-use tower that’s slated to be constructed on adjacent land at 151 George St. The highrise is also expected to include about 280 rental apartment units.

The Moxy Ottawa hotel will occupy the first five floors of the combined structure. Rimap said the proposal calls for “eclectic public spaces” as well as a street-side restaurant.

“ByWard Market’s bustling streetscape and liveliness will align seamlessly with the vibrancy of the Moxy brand,” Rimap president Marc Varadi said in a statement.

Moxy is one of 30 brands operated by Maryland-based Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain by number of rooms.

Marriott now runs more than 100 hotels under the Moxy banner in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The brand says it offers a “non-traditional” experience that includes allowing guests to check in at the hotel bar.

Slated to open in 2024, the new Moxy Ottawa hotel will be just a few blocks from another Marriott-branded Rimap project that’s currently under construction, the 25-storey, 208-room AC Hotels by Marriott lodging that’s being built on the site of a former Beer Store at 201 Rideau St.

In addition, Rimap Hospitality’s sister company, Rimap Development, said last month it’s proposing a 35-storey tower at 395 Slater St. that would include about 270 rental units and 230 hotel rooms.

Varadi told OBJ the firm hopes to start construction on that project by the end of this year. He said the company has a branding affiliation in place for the hotel but isn’t ready to reveal it yet, adding it will be a higher-end property catering to government and business clients.

https://www.obj.ca/article/local/tou...istoric-byward

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Three new hotels coming to Ottawa, from Montreal developer Rimap, including an AC Marriott on Rideau (25 fl - 208 rooms - u/c), a Marriott Moxy in the ByWard Market (5 and 22 fl - 222 rooms/280 rental units - proposed), utilizing a heritage warehouse, and a unknown high-end hotel on Slater at Bay (35 fl - 230 hotel rooms/270 rental units - approved)

There's a Moxy U/C on the northern edge of Halifax's downtown as well, it seems to be their hip/millennial-oriented brand based on their US locations. AFAIK these will be the first 2 in Canada.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Hali87

There's a Moxy U/C on the northern edge of Halifax's downtown as well, it seems to be their hip/millennial-oriented brand based on their US locations. AFAIK these will be the first 2 in Canada.

This guy.


https://ihaviationandtravel.com/2022...x-nova-scotia/

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Three new hotels coming to Ottawa, from Montreal developer Rimap, including an AC Marriott on Rideau (25 fl - 208 rooms - u/c), a Marriott Moxy in the ByWard Market (5 and 22 fl - 222 rooms/280 rental units - proposed), utilizing a heritage warehouse, and a unknown high-end hotel on Slater at Bay (35 fl - 230 hotel rooms/270 rental units - approved)

On this lot I assume:

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4169...7i16384!8i8192

It just warms my heart to see downtown surface parking lots disappear.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Hali87

There's a Moxy U/C on the northern edge of Halifax's downtown as well, it seems to be their hip/millennial-oriented brand based on their US locations. AFAIK these will be the first 2 in Canada.

I guess it makes sense since a lot of these are multi-year development plans, but counterintuitively Halifax's mix of hotels seems to have improved a bit during the covid era. There is Muir in Queen's Marque, a "Marriott Autograph Collection" hotel, a Sutton Place hotel, and this Moxy one.

The hotel options there have been kind of limited for a long time. From time to time new hotels would open but there aren't a lot of newer nice boutique style hotels nor is there really a high end landmark hotel that's "the" hotel a visitor might choose to stay in. It does have the 2 old railway hotels but I would argue they don't have the same prominence as in many other Canadian cities and at one time they were only mid range, or maybe even low end in the 90's. A lot of people used to complain there were too many small hotels built that soaked up demand but didn't have significant amenities or add to the destination.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

On this lot I assume:

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4169...7i16384!8i8192

It just warms my heart to see downtown surface parking lots disappear.

That's the one.

Tower on the left side.


https://www.obj.ca/article/real-esta...rtment-complex