When visiting Sudbury, Ontario with two kids under five years old, when the temperature is well below freezing, hotel criteria is specific. There must be an indoor pool. There must be food readily available. There must not be a long walk from the parking area. The attractions must be easy to get to.
Radisson Hotel Sudbury has all that.
Sudbury Radisson Hotel
Located at 85 Ste. Anne Road, on the northern edge of downtown Sudbury, Ontario, the Sudbury Radisson Hotel is attached to the Rainbow Centre, a shopping centre, movie theatre and office building. The hotel is home to the city’s largest indoor pool with the city’s not largest hot tub right beside it.
There are 147 rooms in this hotel with free wi-fi available throughout the building. The onsite restaurant, Pesto’s Italian Eatery & Saloon is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are even pet-friendly rooms available with an additional fee.
Parking is interesting. There is an impossibly small number of spots in the front of the hotel, that can be a cause of stress for guests. Parking anywhere in downtown Sudbury comes with a fee – it’s just one of those cities.
However, what they don’t seem to announce too loudly is that in the adjacent covered parking garage that is shared with the Rainbow Centre, there is a section that is reserved for Radisson guests. These spots are free with the parking pass the hotel gives you. They are 90% out of the elements. The bonus is, these spots have a direct entrance to the hotel room area and are actually closer to your bed than the coveted spots in the front of the hotel.
This is a simply a great hotel to stay at. This is not a new property. A picture in the walkway between the Radisson and the Rainbow Centre is from 1982 and shows the hotel as it is today, except that it was a Holiday Inn back then.
Sudbury Rainbow Centre
Once home to a large Eaton’s department store, the shopping has toned down over the past decade or two but the Rainbow Centre is still active. Attached to the Radisson via an indoor walkway, guests at the hotel need not even wear a coat in the dead of winter to do some shopping or grab a bite to eat.
As far as fast food, the food court at the Rainbow Centre has an A&W, Mr. Sub, Pita Hut, King Wong, Smoke’s Poutinerie and Gino’s Pizza. Radisson Hotel guests can work out for free at the World Gym during their stay. There is also a movie theatre. The Imagine Cinemas Downtown Movie Lounge shows current films and is even licensed.
At worst, going through the shopping centre gets you one block closer to the rest of downtown before having to head out into the elements.
Photography Opportunities Downtown Sudbury
If you’re a shutterbug, there are some great spots within walking distance from the Sudbury Radisson for excellent panoramics of the area. Please keep in mind, there is no such thing as underground wires in Sudbury. The city is literally built on a rock so every power, telephone and television line is above ground, old school. These will always turn up in your pictures.
Grotto Park is located off Van Horne Street, just east of Paris Street. The park is designated for religious monuments but also offers some of the best elevated views of the downtown core and beyond. There is also a great view of Ramsey Lake and Laurentian University, as well as Science North and the iconic Inco Super Stack. The night shot of downtown and the panorama are taken from this spot.
A local favourite, their is a stairway up the rock from the corner of Larch Street and Brady Street that climbs up to St. Raphael Street. From the top, you have a great view running straight down Larch Street. You can climb the stairs but you can also drive to the end of St. Raphael Street and park. The sunset image shown here is from this spot – note the power lines.
The Sudbury water town is a bit of skyline icon, as well. There are several spots in downtown to capture the tower from below. You can follow the steep and narrow Pearl Street to the water tower. There is a crude parking lot at this spot with views of the city below.
Sudbury, Ontario
Sudbury, Ontario is a city of over 160,000 located just above the northeast corner of Georgian Bay. By land area, this is the largest city in Ontario. Sudbury was established in 1893 and was transformed into Greater Sudbury in 2001.
The city is much more diverse than before but the Vale Nickel Mine is still Sudbury’s top employer. This is home to not one but three major post secondary institutes: Laurentian University, Cambrian College and College Boreal.
Located at a cross roads in Ontario, Sudbury is 414 kilometres north of Toronto, 124 KM west of North Bay, 315 km east of Sault Ste. Marie and 297 km south of Timmins.
The city has been home to the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League since the 1972-73 season. The franchise previously was known as the Niagara Falls Flyers and, before that, the Barrie Flyers. The team plays at the Memorial Arena, seen at the left side of the panorama (brown brick building with green metal roof).
