I will be putting a hotel review in later.

4 adults in the party.

Flew Air India direct from Birmingham to Toronto on the 30th March. Plane was full on the way out and because it was my 50th birthday (they spotted it on the passport) we were upgraded to Business Class and slurped free Champagne over the Atlantic!!

The hotel was fine. Although it's location in 'Cabbage Town' looked worse than it actually was.

We already had tickets for the Leafs/Flyers game on the Tuesday (3rd) bought legit off the web ($80 each for $40 seats). However tickets for the Saturday (31st) game with the Penguins were in very short supply and we had to get them off a scalper ($200 for each $40 seat!). Worth it though as we got to see Sid the Kid and a Leafs win.

The CN Tower was done on the Saturday and we chose a good clear day. The weather changed on the Sunday and the temp dropped. By Thursday were were having snow blizzards!

The Hockey Hall of Fame occupied half of the Sunday and then it was back to the hotel restaurant so we could eat and watch the Leafs playing in New York on the TV.

The Toronto Islands were shut down so we took the ferry out to the Airport Island and walked around to Wade Island for the ferry back. About 6km + deviations to beaches etc and given how fresh it was very invigourating!!

We ate at Gretzky's on the Wednesday evening and not only was the ambiance great the food, portions and prices were also very good as well (although the wine was pricey). So good in fact we went again on the Friday. Being out of season we didn't book but if you are there in the Summer it may be better to get a reservation. Tip. Share starters between 2 people as they are huge and on both our visits none of us could manage a sweet even when we shared starter on the 2nd visit!

We took a tour to Niagara on the Thursday through the snow and saw the falls in all their glory. Ice in the river and all! The tour included a tasting at a winary. Canadian Wine is OK but their prices are so high that it is not worth bringing any back. You can get wine of similar quality back home for about £4 a bottle whereas the Canadian stuff costs £8 minimum. Expect to pay at least £12 a bottle in a restaurant (we payed £16 for the cheapest bottle of red at Gretzky's).

Buying alcohol took some investigation. Visits to all the stores along the road of the hotel revealed that supermarkets do not sell booze. Instead you have to find one of the Government outlets (LCBO) or if you are lucky you might find a 'Beer Store'. or an outlet for the winaries. These are not cheap though. Expect to be paying at least £8 a bottle for the wines and over £1 a can for bog standard Canadian beer such as Molson. More if you want something more exotic. If you want a bottle of spirits then you have to go to LCBO stores and only the very large ones carry a full range. There is a small LCBO at Dundas and Yonge, an even smaller one at Union Station. The largest store is at Queen's Quay by the sugar refinary.

Tim Horton's is a great place for Doughnuts and Coffee. Try the triple chocolate ones! Yum.

Fort York was an interesting couple of hours. Don't follow the directions in the guidebooks though especially if you are on foot! We found that there is a back entrance off Bathurst Steet which cuts about 3/4 of a mile off the journey on foot! Sadly we only found this on the way out!

The public transport in Toronto was 1st class. We bought day tickets ($8.75 each on weekdays, $8.75 for 2 adults or a family on weekends and holidays). We got our money's worth on both days. On one day we took the 501 streetcar (tram) to Long Branch and then a Mississauga bus to the Dixie Mall. 120 outlet shops. Jeans £4 a pair, trainers as low as £9 a pair etc.

We had been told that you can claim your sales tax back however the State Government has stopped this from April 1st this year and we were told at the airport that even tax paid before the 1st cannot be reclaimed! Pity really as we spent at least £600 on Ice Hockey equipment for my son.

The people were very friendly and helpful. However it is still unpeleasant to see large numbers of homeless sleeping rough on the streets over the warm air vents!