I’m Only Here for the Food!

The last week of August, I was sent by my company to Hamilton, Ontario. As described in a couple of previous posts, the getting there was an adventure itself. Fortunately, I survived. I stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Hamilton and here is a picture of my room.

I don’t recall ever being on a Sheraton (previous business trips I have stayed at a Hilton) but, if they are supposed to be a competition, this is extremely subpar. The carpet and the hallway didn’t feel that clean, the elevator broke down on once, the underground parking lot had a funny garbage smell, the concierge was not really helpful and, since I am in a business trip, there was no ironing board in either rooms (we had to call for one). Oh, well, if by any odd chance I end up in Hamilton again, I think I will be staying at the Staybridge Suites (operated by the Holiday Inn) which is in the next block and are about the same rate. Now, as for a view of the area…

I wished I took pictures on other days but here are pictures of the view of my room on one of the two days that was rainy.

For this particular post, there will be no food related entry (they will be at Jessica’s blog - under the label Hamilton). Instead, this is about the City of Hamilton itself, what I saw, what I did not see and my opinion of the city itself - or at least the area where I stayed.

Please keep in mind I was leaving the hotel around 8:00 a.m. to meet LD, have breakfast, drive west to the outskirts of Dundas (west of Hamilton), usually came back by 6:00 p.m. for dinner and then call it a day. In other words, it is possible I missed a lot because either the “interesting” things were nowhere nearby our hotel or, by the time we came back and had dinner, almost all - if not all - activity had died out. So, again, for reference purposes, here is the area where we stayed.

In a couple of instances, we walked around the area to find local eats, like an Indian restaurant, Italian restaurant and a pub. On other nights, I went on my own. So, without further ado…

King Street East: This is east of where our hotel is located. Since I have been driving westbound King Street, I chose to walk the east side instead. First, the pictures.

To those who live in Metro Vancouver, the best analogy I can give is Gastown. Or rather, or the streets of Gastown near the Downtown Eastside. During weekdays/weeknights, it lacks the vibe but, if you look at the different stores, it has the potential to be a vibrant area. Or, at least, that’s the opinion I got.

James Street South (around 100 James Street South): First, a picture around 100 James Street North. Well, not of grandma herself but, if you look around it, you should get the gist.

Now, pictures near 100 James Street South. It is really striking the difference less than a kilometre can make.

McNab Street North: Here is a curveball, these pictures were taken in an area less than 2 Km at most from the pictures from James Street South and a couple of blocks from James Street North.

Barton Street East: Unfortunately, no pictures from this street as LD was uncomfortable of me stopping the car and getting out. I will not say it is a ghetto area; rather, it was a bit rundown. Think of the pictures from McNab Street North above and make them rundown. I felt the dichotomy.

Hess Street (Hess Village): And, suddenly, there is something different… You feel again the sharp contrast.

In the end, I must admit I am not sure what to think of Hamilton. I asked one of the local people we were working with and she mentioned she lives in an area called “The Mountain”. Based on her description of the area, it sounded quaint. As for commerce itself, below the hotel is a mall called Jackson Square with Copps Coliseum right next to it. On one of the nights, there was a Cirque de Soleil function there was the parking area surrounding it was packed. However, the mall itself, well, after 5:00 p.m., it was pretty much dead - think of Pacific Center in Downtown Vancouver after 6:00 p.m.

There are a lot of houses for sale, which makes me believe it might either be undervalued or the economy is down. However, according to economic indicators, things are fine there. And, of course, being Ontario, there were a lot of cars. Not surprisingly, most of the people we were working there drove to the workplace, though some of them mentioned the transit system was quite good.

Overall, I don’t think I can make an accurate assessment of Hamilton. Again, I did not go to too many places (I did not even go to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame) and the areas I did see were disappointing. Will I be going here on my own anytime soon? Probably not. If the company sends me here again, oh, well… At least I will ask for an additional day off to go to Niagara Falls! (Post coming soon!).

Other pictures…

Bayfront Park	Marina in Bayfront Park
St. Paul’s Church in James Street South	Veteran’s Place at Gore Park