I am a hotel guy…through and through. Where you stay sets the tone for your entire holiday. So as part of our Best of Canada series, we had to include the Top Five Places in Canada to stay.

This morning's segment was live from the rooftop of the Thompson Hotel, Toronto's newest and swankiest boutique hotel. Thompson Hotels has nine locations in the United States including the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, which is one of the hot spots for spotting celebrities. Based on the bashes the Thompson here in Toronto has held so far, I am thinking it is going be Canada's place to see and be seen, especially during the Toronto International Film Festival.

The private rooftop called Sixteenth Floor has an unbeatable panoramic view of the city and includes an awesome pool area, complete with seasonal cabanas and an indoor lounge open year-round with a fireplace and bar.

The exterior is made entirely of glass and the interior features floor-to-ceiling glass on every level creating unobstructed views of the city. The hotel even offers a 40-seat screening room with state-of-the�]art projection and sound equipment and a yoga studio. They only have 102 guestrooms, so if you want stay somewhere that makes you feel like you are where it's at….book now. Remember though, you need to pay for that kind of style!

• Thompson Hotels

My other suggestions include:

The Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, B.C. is incredible. I don't think I have ever stayed somewhere that does such an elegant job celebrating the local art, culture, food and surroundings in everything it does. Each of the 63 rooms comes with a soaker tub, gas fireplace and fun extras like a set of binoculars and a pair of rain jackets and pants. There are great secret spots for reading and relaxing and an amazing restaurant right on the beach with a 240 degree view out the windows. The surf pounds against the rocks and the windows as you eat.

• Wickaninnish Inn

The West Point Lighthouse in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island is something totally different. Check out this fully functioning lighthouse where you can actually spend the night. This 68-foot lighthouse was built in 1875 and manned until 1963 when its second keeper retired. The lighthouse is a now museum but the tower room on the second floor is actually a guest room. You can rent it and be the "light keeper" for the night. There is also the "keepers quarters" guest room through the lighthouse, located on the second floor of the house that was always attached to the lighthouse. This is the area the lighthouse keeper and his family would have used as their dwelling for the eight months that the light was burning.

The attached inn and keepers quarters have been completely renovated with thirteen guest rooms (including the tower room) at the lighthouse. Inn rooms all face the water and have their own decks. It is less than 20 metres from the waters of the Northumberland Strait, which are said to be the warmest waters north of the Carolinas.

• West Point Lighthouse

If you got a hankering for something rustic, but not too rustic, think about a yurt. They are a "glampers" dream. Glampers by the way are those who enjoy "glamourous camping"!

Yurts are semi-permanent, canvas-covered structures that are 16 feet in diameter. In Ontario, each one is mounted on a wooden deck about two feet off the ground. Yurts can accommodate up to six people and come equipped with two sets of bunk beds, a table and chairs, plywood floors, electric heat and lighting. Some may also include a propane barbecue, a fire pit and a picnic table.

Algonquin Provincial Park has made yurts available to campers for years and to date nine Ontario provincial parks offer yurt accommodation.  Other provincial and territorial parks in Quebec, Yukon and New Brunswick are also now offering yurts.

They are very economical as they can easily sleep a six people for less than $100.   One down-beat note is that pets are not permitted, so dog-owners like me are out of luck.  

• Ontario Parks

For something rustic and totally out of the ordinary check out the Free Spirit Spheres in Qualicum Beach, BC. You will find three wood and fiberglass orbs suspended in the branches of a west coast rainforest… by ropes. They even have names; Eve, Melody and Eryn. Inside there are beds, built in cabinets, water canisters and even mini speakers for your iPod. On the ground there are outhouses, heated washrooms and showers, a kitchenette and a small sauna.

• Free Spirit Spheres

Loren Christie appears regularly on Canada AM. If you have a travel question, email us at traveltips@ctv.ca.