TheFurnishedStay.com

Toronto Film Festival Begins

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:59:56 -0700

The Toronto International Film Festival begins today. The Festival runs from September 6 to September 15,2007.

Call it home town bravado, but The Toronto Star reports the Toronto Film Festival rivalling the prestige and importance of Cannes.

During the ten days of the Toronto Film Festival, the city bursts with an influx of celebrities, movie executives, and ofcourse film fans.

The film festival is one of three annual events in Toronto that places the hotel accomodations industry at or close to capacity, the others include the Toronto Gay Pride Parade/Pride Week in June and Caribanain July.

For more information about the Toronto International Film Festival:

Official Site

Wikipedia

Canadian Dollar forecasted to be at par with US Dollar

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:05:24 -0700

CIBC World Markets economists have forecasted that the Canadian dollar will be at par with the US dollar by the end of the year, reports the Canadian Press (CP).

The Canadian dollar has hit a 30 year high versus the American dollar, with the current exchange rate hovering at $.09448. The last time the Canadian dollar was worth as much as the US dollar was back in November, 1976.

While the stronger dollar benefits the purchasing power of Canadian consumers, tourism (from the US) and the manufacturing sector are struggling with the weaker US currency.

Toronto Raptors win Atlantic Division

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 03:58:19 -0700

The NBA Toronto Raptors have won their first Divisional title, after defeating Orlando coupled with a New Jersey loss to Chicago.

The Raptors currently have the 3rd of 8 seeds for the Eastern Conference playoffs. If they can maintain their position for the remaining six games they will have home court advantage for the first playoff round against the 6th seed team, currently an injured plagued Washington team.

The rapid rise of the the Raptors after many dismal and embarrassing seasons was not expected. The hopes for most fans was to improve on last seasons 27 wins, and hopefully sneak into the playoffs. The current situation is better than the best case scenario that most fans could have realistically anticipated.

With great success, comes great expectations. The complete retooling and change of atmosphere and structure of the organization has many fans now expecting a perennial contending team.

And with Toronto Maple Leafs struggling to make the playoffs, the Toronto Raptors hope to make in roads in capturing the hearts and minds, and a larger fan base in a hockey mad town.

50 Furnished Apartment Companies in Toronto

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:19:18 -0700

Our list of furnished apartment companies in Toronto has grown to 50 companies. Follow the link to
-> 50 Furnished Apartment Companies in Toronto.

TheFurnishedStay is not only a provider of furnished apartments, but we also aim to be the most informative source of information for furnished apartments in Toronto, even if that means providing information about our competitors.

We encourage customers to compare prices, services, and websites to make informed consumer decicisions.

Our list of 50 furnished apartment providers contains a broad spectrum of companies: From large conglomerates, to condo/hotel operators, to bed and breakfasts and to small husband and wife operations.

The product and price range of furnished accommodations vary greatly as well. Prices can range from several hundred dollars a night to as low as $60 dollars a night. Accommodations on the high should be centrally located in a quality condo building or condo/hotel, furnished with comfortable furnishings with first class service, while accomodations on the lower end may be located in secondary areas and have lesser ammenities.

These are generalizations of course, as there are always bargains and rip-offs. Be sure to shop and compare. To get an idea of what to expect you can read our article : 100 Items to expect in a furnished apartment.

Plans for Condo development at one of Toronto's most important intesections: Yonge and Bloor

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:56:56 -0700

The Yonge and Bloor intersection, described as one of the most important intersections in the downtown Toronto core as well as one of the ugliest, has been absent of any meaningful development, as the rest of city transforms.

Importance

It is described as one of the most important intersections in downtown Toronto, because it is one of it's busiest. It is where the major north-south south j(Yonge line) and east-west(Bloor) subway lines intersect, and it also the gateway intersection from the uptown to the downtown core. It is also home to the high end shopping and residential district of Yorkville, which is currently undergoing it's own high rise residential and luxury hotel transformation, including another condominium development by Basiz International called Crystal Blu,located a block away from Yonge and Bloor.

Ugly

It is described as one of the ugliest intersections in downtown Toronto because of it's dated architecture (i.e bunkered bank buildings on the north-east corner) and unfriendliness to pedestrians (narrow sidewalks, wind tunnel effect, and lack of inviting street level retail).

Plans to redevelop the south-east corner of Yonge and Bloor date back to 2003, where a development was proposed, but never developed.

For more information:

-The CNW release: Bazis International unveils plans for Canada's most celebrated corner

-From the Toronto Star: Condo would be country's tallest

-The developers website: Basiz International

-An article from Now Toronto from a few years back: here.

-Old Renderings and plans from the past: here.

Ferry ride to the Toronto City Centre Airport

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:25:04 -0700

Our latest video, described as one of the shortest ferry rides in the world, shows the ferry ride from the waterfront of downtown Toronto to the Toronto City Centre Airpot (also known as the Toronto Island Airport). The ferry rides takes just over a minute long!

Currently, Porter Airlines flies out of the Toronto City Centre Airport to Ottawa and Montreal.

Special thanks our videographer, Sam W!

Photo Update

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:28:36 -0700

A new photo update! 30 new photos across downtown Toronto.

Taken by our very own photographers.

Click here

Toronto Raptors take on the Los Angeles Lakers

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:53:00 -0700

Cick here for Photos of Toronto Raptors vs Los Angeles Lakers Photos

As huge NBA basketball fans, we took our camera to the Toronto Raptors game vs the Los Angeles Lakers today at the Air Canada Centre.

The Toronto Raptors have suffered some very tough times over the past few years, but have turned it around in the 2006/2007 season with the arrival of former Pheonix Suns General Manager, Bryan Colangelo.

Colangelo, former NBA Executive of the Year who built the Pheonix Suns into the NBA's most exciting team and a perennial championship contender, re-constructed the Raptors organization in the off season.

One of his first moves was to hire European basketball mind Maurizio Gherardini as Raptors VP & Assistant GM. Gherardini was the general manager of Italy�s Benetton Treviso, where among many of his accolades, won 4 European Cups, 7 Italian Cups and crafted a scouting system that was the envy in Europe.

Colangelo followed the European influence by drafting Andrea Bargnani number 1 overall in the NBA draft. The seven foot Italian played under Gherardini with Benetton.

A total of nine new players were added in the off season - Bargnani (Europe), Anthony Parker (Europe), Uros Slokar(Europe), Jorge Garbajosa (Europe)Fred Jones, Kris Humphries, PJ Tucker, TJ Ford, and Rasho Nesterovic.

With all the turnover and the teams history of mismanagement (which culminated in the trade of Vince Carter for neglible players), many of the experts were not expecting much from the Toronto Raptors this year.

However, the Raptors lead the Atlantic Division with a 27-23 record, and currently hold down the 4th out of 8 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto basketball fans are buzzing with excitement at the prospect of playoff basketball once again in Toronto.

Yonge Street lights up

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 23:15:38 -0700

Yonge Street Lights up

At TheFurnishedStay.com, one of our passions is to present to you a sense of the urban fabric of downtown Toronto.

This night video we took on January 19,2007 is of the new lights on the Arcade Building (137 Yonge Street), located on the east side of Yonge Street where Temeperance Street ends.

The lights were ironically added around December 2006, during the
Cavalcade of Lights, a holiday tradition that dates back 40 years.

The long vertical bars of lights, change colours and patterns, lighting and livening up what once was a dark and quiet section of Yonge Street.

The addition of lights on the Arcade building is quite dramatic for Toronto. It's something that really has not been seen in the city: large displays of light serving only as a function of loud, peacocking decoration.

Some see it as a waste of energy and some see it as "tacky", and some see it as the next step for the growth of Yonge Street, and downtown Toronto.

The illumination of Yonge Street as a tunnel of light which turns night to day, began some time ago, as bright LCD screens, side building flood lights and back and front lit advertising banners, started to appear one by one along Yonge Street from Gerrard to Adelaide.

The upcoming arrival of Metropolis, Toronto's version on Times Square, aims to be the beacon of all lights, for the Yonge Street strip.

100 Items to expect in a furnished apartment

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 14:22:50 -0700

In the hotel sector, Hotel chains build branding and product consistency which helps to manage comsumer expectations. For the most part, the service and accommodation you recieve from a hotel in one city, is the same in another.

Hotels primarily focus on short term accommodations ranging in length from 1 day to a couple of weeks. Enduring an unpleasant housing situation while staying at a hotel, will only inconvenience the traveller temporarily.

Caveat Emptor- Let the Buyer beware

Unlike in the hotel sector, brand recognition and product consistency do not exist for furnished rentals.

Furnished apartments are usually required for extended stays, long term periods, averaging anywhere from 1 month to a year.

Great Expectations

At TheFurnishedStay, our objective is to give our customers a clear expectation of their housing stay by building brand recognition and product consistency. Renting a furnished rental is no small matter!

We strive to give our customers as much information as possible to make an informed consumer decision, from detailed property profiles for available suites, to apartment guides outlining the features of the unit.

We have created TheFurnishedStay Furnished Apartment 100 Item List. A list containing all the items you would expect to find in our furnished rentals.

Please click here for our Funished Apartment 100 Item List HTML version of our list.
Please click here for our Funished Apartment 100 Item List PDF version of our list.

Items on this list may sound trivial, but when you are packing your suit cases, wouldn't it be nice to know whether or not you need a towel, an iron or hair-dryer?