Toronto's Fab, Ay

The Cambridge Suites is located in a convenient area amongst the financial district and entertainment district. The time I was in Toronto was the weekend of Caribana, which is a crazy festival. Loads of people from everywhere enjoy these week-long festivities filled with culture.

With its location on Richmond and Yonge St., the Cambridge Suites is within walking distance of many sites. Consisting of almost 250 suites (one- and two-bedroom), each suite consists of a microwave and fridge, king or two double beds, a pull-out couch, relatively large bathroom, and many amenities to date. Each night, the hotel provides complimentary chocolate, bottled water, and popcorn. One of the best qualities of this hotel was its complimentary service of continental breakfast. Each day was filled with different pastries and doughnuts.

This hotel is best suited for families and not a mixture of adults. With four adults and only two beds (including pull-out), one adult (me) had to sleep on the floor; we had to put in a request for a two-double suite on the cityscape. The pictures from the hotel are deceiving because they must be from the penthouse suite. The furniture and room were pretty dated and not really worth the high rating. Also, the TVs were pretty old in the sense of poor color and quality.

The Cambridge Suites are within a few hundred feet of Eaton Centre, the shopping mall. All the women will love this mall, consisting of many stores that may be found in the U.S. or not. Also, Queen St. West is the next street over, where many retailers are located.

Mostly, the employees were very nice and helpful to find any attractions. If you are looking for pure luxury, I would recommend the Four Seasons or some other five-star resort. If you are looking for comfort and affordability, Cambridge Suites may be for you.

If you want to shop til' you drop, Eaton Centre is for you. This shopping mecca is located between Queen St. West and Dundas St. and consists of hundreds of stores. Frequented by many tourists and locals, it consists of a vast diversity of stores.

With your everyday Gap to a large H&M, you could very well spend the day there. For U.S. Residents, don't spend your money at the stores we have (Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, etc.) because it'll be more expensive after the U.S. dollar conversion. Check out stores, such as: Aritzia (for teens to 30 year-olds), Jacob Connexion (store for all females), Le Chateau (VERY trendy store for both genders), H&M (largest location at this mall), Roots (a favorite) and several others. These stores are directed more towards the younger "heart" of those in the teens to younger adults (30s). However, they do have Talbots and a VERY nice Sears. The Sears in Canada is on a different caliber as those in the US. The Canadian sells high-end brands such as, Tommy Bahama and Kenneth Cole.

With the selection of clothing, Canadian style does not differ that much from most American style. They enjoy the casual look of Gap to the more sophiscated of Chanel.

This mall has two separate food courts. They are both located on the lower level, however are not relatively near one another. One of the food courts contain McDonalds and some other unknown chains. The other food court is cleaner and has a better selection (Quiznos, Arbys, etc.). Also the 2nd food court is brighter and not as loud as the former. For currency exchange, there is one on the 2nd level by Sears. They have a one-time charge for all currency exchange. I forgot the name but definitely check out that one place. If you feel the need to stay inside an air-conditioned location that is constantly busy, this mall is for you.

The Queen Street West strip is filled with many great stores and goodies. Known as one of the most fashionable streets in the area, this is filled with some great buys.

Before I left for Toronto, I viewed www.torontolife.com. This site gave many wonderful suggestions for fashion, vintage, shoes, etc.

Aritzia (280 Queen St. W): Filled with 7 jeans, Juicy Couture, and the house label, TNA, this store is for the trendy and fashionable. Although not the cheapest store on the block, there are designers that fill the racks of the store that are not found in the U.S.

Brava (483 Queen): This vintage store is filled mostly of vintage T-shirts for gals and guys. There is a handful selection of jackets, skirts, dresses, purses, etc.

Preloved (613 Queen): This was my favorite vintage store. Many of their clothing have been taken for vintage pieces and reassembled with new pieces consisting of deconstructed T-shirts, blouses, purses, etc.

C-squared (365 Queen): This shoe mecca has some of the best shoes around town. It mostly consists of trendy shoes for both gals and guys.

La Chateau (336 Queen): This is probably not the most conventional store for a casual look, but mimics a "French" style of trendiness. Its prices are probably ranked alongside H&M and Zara.

Zara: This Spanish H&M-type store has some of the cutest clothes for gals and dapper looks for guys. Although more expensive than H&M, the clothing is very cute and trendy for the young at heart.

Bedo: It contains trendy items for women and men similar in style to the other stores.

Caban (262 Queen): It contains both clothes and furniture. Although I only looked through the window, the style was somewhat contemporary and stylish

For music entertainment, there are many record/music stores to peruse and add to your collection. HMV carries the newer selection of DVDs and CDs, whereas others consist of the vinyl.

Canada's version of MTV, called Muchmusic, is also located on Queen Street West. While I was there, Seann William Scott (Stifler), Johnny Knoxville, and Jessica Simpson were promoting their Dukes of Hazzard movie. This is the equal rank of MTV in terms of status and wonderful music.

You should definitely check out this street for new goodies filled with clothes, shoes, etc.