Jimmy Awards 2021: Hotels, Harleys, Boat Rides and Adorable Pigs

Last week I published my Jimmy Awards for best food and drinks in the abbreviated travel year of 2021. Today I focus on hotels, events, attractions, riding in 60-year-old cars, the joy of COVID tests, and great parks I never knew about.

Best train experience: The Rocky Mountaineer ride from Kamloops B.C. to Banff. Truly one of the world’s great train experiences, with luxurious, glass-roof coaches and excellent food and wine.

Best hotel makeover: They spent $30 million refurbishing the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Toronto Pearson Airport, and it shows. The lobby and rooms are sleek and stylish, and there’s tons of great art and fun design elements. The food and drinks are also exceptional. Try the poke bowl at their &More lobby restaurant. If you’re in the club lounge, which is terrific, try a French 75 or an aged Manhattan.

Best new Canadian attraction: Little Canada in downtown Toronto is a fabulous place to visit. They’ve built five miniature Canadian destinations so far: Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Niagara Falls and Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe. They have plans for Little B.C., Little Maritimes, Little Prairies, Little North and more. You’ll find spot-on reproductions of everything from the Scotiabank Arena (complete with video and tiny, cheering fans) to Chateau Frontenac in Quebec and the pretty streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The level of detail is astonishing, and they also have moving cars, trains, and even miniature skaters at the Wayne Gretzky Arena in Brantford, Ontario. On top of that, you can watch workers paint tiny benches or other features the size of a fingernail.

Best hotel amenities: The Williamsburg Inn in Williamsburg, Virginia had free copies of the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal when I was there. Sheer heaven.

Most instagrammable hotel lobby: The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee.

Best cow video: I foolishly held my iPhone out the window of a gondola in the Swiss Alps to get a short video of some cows with tinkling cowbells. 

Best historic spot I didn’t know about: The Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site in Danville, California

Most artsy hotel: The aptly named Saint Kate Arts Hotel in Milwaukee doubles as an art gallery. Lovely rooms, too.

Best B&B: Foxingham Farm B&B in Mulmur, Ontario. A beautiful home with amazing, welcoming owners and a fine breakfast. It’s right across the road from the Mansfield ski hill.

Best Canadian park I didn’t know about: Rattray Marsh Conservation Area in Mississauga. Beautiful boardwalks and a quiet, small beach.

Fave sporting moment: Welcoming the Blue Jays back to the Rogers Centre this summer. So special.

Best musical interlude: I was walking through the streets of Basel, Switzerland in late summer, taking photos of the Basel Minster church. Suddenly a group of musicians began playing a pretty melody. I looked up and saw them on the ledge of one of the Minster towers. It was a beautiful moment. 

Cutest pig: This little guy at Heartwood Farm and Cidery in Dufferin County, Ontario. The farm has several of these little kunekune pigs from New Zealand.

Best sound and light show: Currents is a tremendous show at the Niagara Parks Power Station in Niagara Falls.

Prettiest rhododendron display: Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens, Mississauga.

The Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Worst imitation of a biker: Me at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

Best zip line photo: This one, at Niagara Falls.

Best Swiss city discovery: I’d somehow never been to Lucerne, but it’s a beautiful, beautiful place.

Best moon photo: This one at Jamestown in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Best Swiss village I never knew about: Engelberg, Switzerland. The mountains that surround the town on three sides are truly spectacular. No offence to my adopted home, but I think the Engelberg area (just 40 minutes from Lucerne by train) is even more striking than the Canadian Rockies.

Most annoying travel experiences: Multiple PCR and rapid antigen tests for my trips to the US and back home. Expensive, too.

Best boat ride USA: An evening ride on the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan.

Coolest hotel bar: The lobby bar at 1 Hotel Toronto, which is covered with living plants.

Best Canadian boat ride: On Lake Minnewanka in Banff. So pretty and so peaceful.

Best car photo: This one of my Dad’s old 1963 Chevy. My cousin, Charlie, did the restoration. A beauty, and a blast to drive.

Best new Canadian hotel: The Pearle Hotel and Spa in Burlington, Ontario. This is a delicious bit of hotel making, with large, striking rooms and great design. It’s right on Lake Ontario, and the theme is a large, modern lakehouse, with huge, floor-to-ceiling windows and lots of natural light. There’s a beautiful indoor pool and a nice spa, as well. Their on-site restaurant, Isabelle, is tremendous. Chef Ben Heaton does marvellous things with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours, and they have their own farm for fresh produce. Truly remarkable property that’s part of the Marriott Autograph Collection.

Best photo shoot interruption: This one at Adamson Estate in Mississauga.

Fave museum shot: The Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by the immensely talented Santiago Calatrava.