Every time I say that I'm heading over to or hitting downtown Markham, it still sounds weird to me…read more I will admit that it is growing on me after a few years. Like downtown Mississauga, downtown Markham is fairly new. The notion was to create condos and have locals walk to businesses. Enterprise Boulevard is a pleasure to drive along to head there. Stores, condos, and new developments continue to be built, including York University's new Markham Center Campus in Fall 2023. Currently, York U. has YSpace Markham, which supports folks who are innovators in technology, and food, and beverage sectors. Before the pandemic, I rarely hit the downtown core. I only visited Chatime, ME-VA-ME, and Cineplex VIP. During this pandemic, I have been able to discover cool new places. Copper Branch. Comebuy. Poke Guys. South St. Burger. I love how cool the Marriott hotel looks here. One of these days, I'll need to book some time here and check it out, along with its fabulous restaurant. I am a regular bubble tea customer at Comebuy and Chatime. Who knew? I have been supporting both regularly for the past 1.5 years and have established a nice rapport with staff. There is only one Comebuy in the GTA. If I'm away for a rare couple of weeks, staff are literally concerned. One made sure before Christmas 2020 to let me know what their hours of operation were, so I wouldn't be disappointed not getting any bubble tea! There is plenty of parking. There are lots that are primarily free. I have yet to be asked to pay for parking. In front of Comebuy and Poke Guys, even where street parking isn't exactly available, parking briefly to fetch takeout is okay. I have yet to see any parking police come over and I am rarely parked longer than five minutes. There is an indoor merry-go-round at the northwest corner of Birchmount and Enterprise. I admire it from afar these days. It has been closed since the pandemic, but looked magical and festive around the Christmas holidays. Back in the summer of 2017, I came here for the Markham ribfest. It moved from Warden and highway 7 over here. I had an excellent time, despite getting caught in the rain and getting soaked trying to get to my car from the venue. I do miss seeing events downtown and hope that they return when it's safe. I like it here. It's constantly growing and changing. It's nice to briefly admire the lights in the wintertime and people-watch in the summer. (263)

Downtown Markham is not really Downtown Markham. It is a mixed use commercial and residential…read moredevelopment by developer Remington Group. It will take years to complete but I like what they are doing. An area that local residents can meet up, eat, shop and play and even actually live in the immediate area. There are a mix of franchise and smaller independent businesses has set up shops here: Cineplex VIP, Milestones, Marriott, Chatime, Golf Town, Aroma Espresso, just to name a few. Good Catch, Poke Guy, Lucullus Bakery, Kiu Japanese are some of the smaller independent restaurants. The annual Markham Ribfest has moved here and for this Summer there was live performance every Saturday night. I looking forward to all the future development and hopefully I don't need to go downtown Toronto for a fun night out and instead can just hop by Downtown Markham!

We stayed here again during a recent roadtrip. This Marriott was exactly what I wanted in Marriott…read morehotel. The only thing that could've made our stay better was if they were able to upgrade my wife and I to a better room. Unfortunately, we showed up during the week of Candian Thanksgiving when they were busy. Despite the lack of upgrades, the front desk was nice to me. They still gave us a nice room with a king bed as we reserved. My wife and I had no complaints about the room. They also greeted me every time I passed by. This hotel has a M Club Lounge for Marriott Platinum and above memebers. Breakfast and evening appetizers are served daily. Harold, the manager, does a wonderful job running the club. The foods served in the M Club is very good, not "Bonvoyed" down. During the evenings, we noticed that they served quite a few Asian dishes. Harold took the time to speak to me and other guests. The gym is one of the best gyms in in America. It has both cardio and anaerobic equipment. The equipment is well maintained. It was almost like my home gym while traveling. This is a nice hotel for my wife and I. We like it and plan on coming back.

A beautiful hotel from the outside to when you walk in. Greeted and checked in with smooth. The…read moreroom was nice, clean and comfortable. This hotel is in a good location with plenty of restaurants around.

It was an ideal space and setting for my daughter's Sweet 16 party. The venue was clean, spacious,…read moreand included a private area for the teens to relax! Anita was great to work with. She ensured all requirements were met for this special day!

From the owner: Art space designed by creatives for creatives read more

When we booked this hotel we were keeping our fingers crossed based on the mixed reviews, but we…read moredidn't have any problems at all. Our king suite on the 9th floor is quite nice. It's spacious and clean, 2 TVs and plenty of sofa seatings. We had a comfortable 6 nights stay while visiting from NY. We really love that hotel guests can use the Unionville Athletic Club on premise. The gym is big with a lot of machines & workout equipments. Plenty of parkings on site (with fee) and very convenient location for us considered our visit mostly for Asian food/eats. We will absolutely stay here again on our next 'food trip'!

Big fan of Hilton!…read more We ended up picking Hilton as the venue for our wedding, and they certainly delivered. We checked out a few other venues, but non-hotels didn't provide the convenience that we wanted and some of the other hotels didn't look quite as good. Location wise, it was perfect. It sits right beside the 407, which was amazing for our out-of-town guests. It's also on Hwy 7 and Warden, which is good for local guests. The wedding probably couldn't have gone much better than it did, outside of the things that our Wedding Planner dealt with. Staff were extremely nice. One of our wedding party guests had a very restrictive diet at the time, so she couldn't have anything on the menu, but one of the staff managed to get her something. They brought out food in a very timely manner and everything we ate, and tasted the year prior, was great! We had a minor mishap where we couldn't find the rest of our wedding cake, but they found it late at night. There are also plenty of placed to take photos - the stairs in the lobby, the outdoor garden, and the rooms themselves. I know some parties like to use the area across the street too since it's mostly an open field, as long as there's no Canadian Geese. The room we had was also very nice, and they were able to set accommodations for us to stay an extra night too. All our guests that wanted to stay were able to also book rooms there at a small discount. Rooms were well kept and comfy. Parking was included with our group. Overall, a great place to go for both a room to stay, and an event for your loved ones.

Who would have thought possibly the best steak I have ever had is at the dinner from a golf course?…read more I didn't even think of dining in a golf course restaurant. It ended up being a great meal, the view, the service, the vibe, everything great. The pizza (very fresh shrimp), fish & chips (that's the biggest "fish" I have ever seen, maybe it was salmon?) were also pretty good.

Met up with some friends for breakfast. Large parking area with a short walk to the clubhouse…read more Golf clubhouse setting, beautiful scenery, too bad it was raining so patio seating was out of the question. Ordered Western omelette and the breakfast burrito. If this is what the golfers eat on a daily basis then sign me up. Complimentary ramekins of fruit before the main dishes arrived. Omelette was stuffed with fresh ingredients, fluffy and moist. Perfect ratio of onions, peppers, ham, etc. Potatos were crispy and fluffy with a side of whole grain toast. Breakfast burrito was grilled, stuffed with egg, avocado and bacon with crispy potatoes on the side Fireplace burning in the background, attentive staff, surrounded by 2 eighteen home golf courses, did I die and go to heaven. Maybe a little pricy for breakfast but I think my golf game may have improved just by the surroundings, well worth it.

If this venue had my wedding date available, I would have gone here in a heartbeat. The Markham…read moreEvent Centre opened about three years ago so it is relatively new. The space is beautiful & I absolutely love the high ceilings with chandeliers. The capacity varies but it can accommodate up to 700 (rounds of 10 & with dance floor). They can split the hall into 2 to fit a smaller party (minimum 140). Food - I can only write about the Chinese food as I read this in the Chinese bride section of the Frugal Bride Forum & also asked a friend who'd gone there once. The Chinese food at MEC was better than other banquet halls & the temperature & portion was decent sized as well. I dealt with Christina, who was very pleasant, accommodating and patient (especially with my future MIL). I really liked her and felt if I had my wedding here she would've taken care of a lot of things. If you plan to check this place out, talk to her! What I also love about this venue is they threw in a lot of 'freebies'. The backdrop (your choice of colour), registration table (your colour), standard 6 hour bar, wedding cake, money box, dessert table was included in the package. This is perfect for busy brides! The only bad thing? I didn't really notice it but my fiancé did not like the carpet. If you plan to keep your wedding neutral I think it will look very elegant here. Love it just too bad they did not have our date.

I actually came here when I was researching for a venue for my wedding. I was VERY close in booking…read morethis venue, until I read some reviews that the alcohol was really watered down. To me, open bar was very important to me, I have a lot of guests that love a good drink. Overall, the place is very grand, they have a high ceiling. But I do hate their carpet, they really need to do something about that. It's like green/orange color. They look like fall leaves, but in rainbow color. Everything seems to be all packaged, your cake (fake), backdrop with your names on the backboard, table clothes, and chair covers, they even come with center pieces - which is the 3 jars with floating candles. The price is decent, if you pay cash, they usually give you a discount. If you are one of those brides that can't be bothered with little details that this venue is for you. Everything is very simple, you pick the menu, pick your decor/color and you are pretty much set! I'm still unsure how I think about the manager, he seems - nice, but I just can't quite put my finger on him... The food. I had a wedding here just last weekend, and I must say... the food I have to give it a........ 2 out of 5. I really wasn't full after that meal, and the quality is pretty bad. Noise level: if you have another wedding next to your wedding - you will hear EVERYTHING they are doing. Their music, their speeches.... Service: is pretty good, overall the staff is very tentative. Open Bar: Because the bar is outside - it actually takes the attention away from the groom/bride and the party dancing inside the event. Everyone was pretty much hovering the open bar outside AND the dessert table outside. It really makes a pretty empty dance floor. I don't think I would recommend this venue to the future bride/groom. The place is decent with decent priced. But there's a few flaws about this place which is quite important to me!

This is a huge local community centre in heart of Markham East with swimming pools, public library,…read morea gym with a running track and courts to play sports, an indoor and outside playground for kids, and multi-purpose rooms. The staff at the info desk was friendly and helpful. You can pay and get your activity passes here (per day or per month options available) to enjoy the facility. There are lots of programs available for kids, adults and seniors. There were Flow EV charging stations outside and ample parking space.

For under 3$ we were able to enjoy this indoor playground in the Aanin Community Centre. We didnt…read morereserve ahead of time, came in a group of 8 and yet they were able to accomodate us right away. Some bench seating for parents along the walls, large play structure and some ride on cars. Definately worth a visit. Plenty of parking and kids can spend another hour in the outdoor playground just outside or in the library which has its own set of unique features ( review to follow).

My review is based on the visit of Coffee Now @Kaleido. Kaleido is a new event space at 16th Ave /…read moreLeslie Ave in Richmond Hill. There is a coffee bar inside the premise. Coffee Now is having their pop up shop at Kaleido to offer specialty coffee every weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm). Coffee Now is well-known for organizing specialty coffee events, workshops and training. They roast their own coffee beans and I have visited their pop-up shop in North York. Of course I am thrilled to know their pop up shop is closer in my neighborhood. During their soft-opening, I have tried their signature Koji Latte which is very interesting which bring out the "sake" like flavour yet without alcohol. I, of course, tried their pour over coffee. Owner, Day is a well trained barista to make very good pour over coffee. I could taste multi-layers of taste notes in different temperatures which is the beauty of specialty coffee. They also have collaboration with a local patisserie maker, Once Patisserie to offer some desserts to pair with the coffee. Purin, Japanese pudding which is hard to find in Toronto. Brûlée basque cheesecake tastes very light that fits Asian's taste bud. During their soft opening, the service was friendly although they may not have cover for their hot drink for take out, but I got my drink and food with reasonable wait time. I will definitely go back as it is very close to me. The space is very comfortable to spend time to enjoy coffee on my own or as a group.

Was here for an event, a very nice and newly opened event place in town…read more There is also a coffee bar within the place as well. The event space is spacious and seems to be able to accommodate different event needs.

Pro: -Quiet…read more -Comfortable beds -Clean -Ample free parking -Close to lots of good restaurants -Fairly large room -Plenty of outlets, including USB Cons: -Nothing major

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE If you want a decent place to stay in a…read morelight industrial neighbourhood, this could one one of your choices. If you want to stay in the same building and get a free breakfast, choose the Towneplace Suites. Tips: - If you stay 5 nights or more, parking can be credited. - If you are Marriott Bonvoy Gold or higher, the gift can be $10 credit each night in the market - but keep in mind they charge tax in the market when considering pricing :) === 2. ROOMS Having stayed in double Queen and single King rooms: the rooms are updated and comfortable. The beds are decent, the linens in reasonable shape. LED lighting is available from the entrance with the mirrored sliding closet doors to the room and underlit desk area, and around the room which includes a couch, small. fridge and more. The HVAC is centrally controlled, though I found there is a switch on the unit that lets the unit produce only heat or only cold. The windows do not open in any way and the curtains are handy to stop the outdoor heat/cold as well as some of the low-level traffic noise. The bathrooms are fine; the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are available in pumps in the shower, but like may other hotels, there are not nearly enough places to hang a hand towel or bath towel. There is a decent-sized LCD TV though there is no digital TV guide available so get ready to keep flipping :) === 3. COMMON AREAS The lobby is modernized with the ability to print out boarding passes. The restaurant area is nice with a small business centre. The pricing is love-it-or-hate-it like all other Courtyards; might I suggest any one of the nearby eateries? The market beside the front desk has a selection of items but they charge tax and/or it's not complementary unlike some other Marriott properties. There are conference ballrooms downstairs along with a small gym that has free weights and some cardio machines. === 4. SERVICE Service is prompt and professional at the front desk. I had an issue with my latest room where in the desk light tube could not be turned on reliably and the HVAC seemed not to cool. They responded right away, but ultimately couldn't fix the light. But at least they tried, twice. === 5. ENVIRONMENT Overall, it looks like the place was modernized in the last 5-10 years. There is a Chinese chain restaurant and a spa on one end of the building. Parking is a little interesting: it's outside along the edge of the property or it's in old, strangely structured parking garage where it's $6 per night (unless you stay 5 nights in a row).