Travel Accommodation: Choosing a Hotel or Motel
There are a number of considerations in selecting accommodations that can
make the difference between an enjoyable stay and a major headache, whether
your trip to Thunder Bay is for business or pleasure. You can select a hotel
based on its name, features,
price range, or its location.
By Name
Most of the major hotel chains have properties in the Thunder Bay marketplace.
If you are familiar with and happy with a chain, or just want its frequent flyer
miles, then you will like their hotel in Thunder Bay.
Some chains focus on business travellers, in the upper-middle
price range. In Thunder Bay you'll find: Sheraton, Valhalla
several other chains. Some chains target families and budget
conscious business travellers. These chains are: Best Western, Comfort Inn,
Super 8 and Travelodge.
Thunder Bay has several fine hotels and motels that do not belong to a chain.
The Prince Arthur by Marina Park is probably one of the nicest hotels in the
area, and with a great waterfront view.
By Features
A traveller may need to rely on a specific feature in a hotel. It may be a hotel-wide capability like airport shuttle or business centre, it may be an in-room feature like Internet access or a whirlpool bath (and vary from room to room), it may relate to fitness to stay in shape on the road or to entertain the children, or you may require special suites. We have tried to catalogue them all in the FoundLocally database.
The range of features will vary from hotel to hotel, and sometimes from room to room. If there is a feature that is critical to your stay (ie wheelchair access or coach
parking) request it in the Hotel Search screen, to display only to those establishments. Be sure to request this feature when making your room reservation.
Some commonly sought features are:
Price Range
There is accommodation in Thunder Bay to suit any budget. You can stay at the local Hostel for only dollars a day,
or you can stay in hotel suites that are good enough for visiting prime ministers.
Pricing is seasonal. Summer is high travel season in the Thunder Bay area, and more so
in the lake country further west. Area hotels are also more expensive over holidays and long weekends.
Fall (September to December) and spring (March to June) are definitely the less expensive times to visit. Each hotel's dates for high, low, and shoulder seasons differ a bit so watch your timing or your hotel.
Our pricing guidelines (exclusive of taxes) are as follows:
| Price |
Low Season |
Peak Season |
$ |
<50 |
<60 |
$$ |
50-79 |
60-99 |
$$$ |
80-119 |
100-149 |
$$$$ |
120+ |
150+ |
Location
The desired location of the hotel depends on the purpose of your visit.
We have grouped the hotels by "Area" to assist you with selecting appropriate
accommodation. The Area you select is generally North (formerly Port Arthur),
or South (formerly For William) and will depend on what you are planning to do
in Thunder Bay. There is no central tourist district in Thunder Bay, and the
hotels are pretty evenly spread around town.
If you are in Thunder Bay on business, you would want a hotel close to your client.
Those along Arthur are convenient to the Bowater-Bombardier, along Memorial to
the Harbour and Intercity industrial, and Cumberland/Hooder for the Current
River industrial. If you are visiting the College or University there are some
hotels close-by.
There are plenty of hotel options close to the area's major parks and
attractions, including Kakabeka Falls to the west, and Sleeping Giant to the east.
If you are travelling across Canada along the TransCanada Highway (#17) or
to-from the USA on Highway #61, you'll need to get off the main highway (the
"Thunder Bay Expressway") to get a selection of hotels & motels. There is one
hotel at Dawson Rd in the north, and there are several at Arthur Street by the
airport in the south.
If you are trying to find something VERY NEAR your meeting, use the "Postal" feature in the Hotel Search screen, where we match the first the digits/characters of the postal code! This also works on our Restaurant search, to find a restaurant near your hotel (and in every other search form on our site).
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