Roy Thomson Hall limo service
Gala nights at the Toronto International Film Festival, at 60 Simcoe Street on the corner of Simcoe Street and King Street West. The car holds while the carpet runs and is waiting on the same block when the screening lets out.
Roy Thomson Hall limo service rates
A gala is an hourly booking, not a transfer. The car is yours for the evening: the arrival, the wait, and the run afterwards. Rates are the published figures on our rate card.
All rates are plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent. A Rolls-Royce runs $350 to $600 an hour depending on the model, with a five hour minimum, and is quoted on your date. Every figure here is a starting point for a GTA pickup.
What a Toronto International Film Festival gala at Roy Thomson Hall asks of a car
Roy Thomson Hall seats over 2,600 people under that curved glass roof, and it is where the Toronto International Film Festival stages its gala screenings. On a gala night the whole block works differently. The carpet runs along the Simcoe Street frontage, a stretch of road is given over to it, and arrivals are sequenced rather than first-come. You do not simply pull up.
That has three consequences for the booking. Your arrival window is set by the event, not by you, so the pickup time at home runs earlier than the ticket implies. The car cannot wait at the door, so it needs a holding point agreed in advance. And the run afterwards leaves into a street that is still closed, which is the part people have not thought about when they book a one-way.
Where the car stops at 60 Simcoe Street
The hall sits on the corner of Simcoe Street and King Street West, which means two approaches and two very different evenings depending on which one your driver takes.
On a non-gala night this is a straightforward kerbside drop and the whole question disappears. On a gala it is the entire job. Tell us which screening you are attending when you book and the driver plans the approach around it rather than discovering the closure on the night.
Holding the car and the pickup afterwards
We ask which gala you are attending. The arrival window follows the event’s sequence, so that detail sets your pickup time at home.
The driver joins the arrival order rather than cutting into it. You step out at the carpet end of the block.
It does not sit on a closed street. It waits at a point the driver names before you get out, close enough to walk to in a couple of minutes.
You text the chauffeur directly on the number you were given. No app, no dispatch queue, and no fare that reprices because a gala just emptied.
The driver has watched which streets reopened while you were inside. That is the part no app can do, because it only starts thinking once you ask.
Arriving at Roy Thomson Hall as a party
Galas are rarely a solo booking. A film team, a sponsor table or a group of six arriving from the same dinner all have the same problem: separate cars mean separate arrival slots, and the sequence does not care that you are together.
Two to six
Escalade or Maybach.
- One vehicle, one slot in the arrival order
- The Maybach carries two, the Escalade six
- Four hour minimum on the Maybach
Seven to ten
Jet Sprinter, from $1,200.
- Conference cabin and captain’s chairs
- The whole party arrives in one movement
- Books first on gala dates
Eleven and up
Executive Sprinter or a mini bus.
- Fourteen in an Executive Sprinter at $195/hr
- Twenty-seven in a mini bus at $250/hr
- Priced on your date and the hours held
If the evening runs on to a party afterwards, say so at the quote stage. Holding one vehicle across both is almost always cheaper than booking a second one late, and it is covered on the party and afterparty page.
Roy Thomson Hall the rest of the year, not just festival week
The Toronto International Film Festival owns Roy Thomson Hall for eleven days each September. The other fifty-one weeks it is one of the busiest concert halls in the country, and the transport problem is the same shape on a symphony night as on a gala night: a full house of over 2,600 people leaving a single block at once.
What changes is the arrival. Outside festival week there is no carpet and no closure, so the drop is a straightforward kerbside stop and an hourly booking is optional rather than the point. A concert or a speaker night is usually two transfers, in and out, and we price it that way instead of holding the car for four hours you do not need.
Booking the same venue twice a year is common enough that it is worth saying plainly: tell us which kind of night it is and we will price the shape that fits, rather than defaulting everyone to the gala booking.
Roy Thomson Hall limo service: questions buyers ask
Do you serve Roy Thomson Hall during the Toronto International Film Festival?
Yes. Roy Thomson Hall is the Toronto International Film Festival gala venue, and gala nights are the single most booked evening we run there. The car arrives on the event’s sequence, holds through the screening and takes you on afterwards.
How much is a limo to Roy Thomson Hall?
A Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach is $250 an hour with a four hour minimum, and a Cadillac Escalade is $175 an hour from $525, both within the GTA and plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent. A gala evening is normally a four hour booking.
Why is it priced by the hour instead of per trip?
Because a gala is not a transfer. The car arrives on the event’s schedule, holds through the screening and takes you on afterwards, so you are booking the evening rather than a drop. A plain one-way to the venue can still be quoted if that is genuinely all you need.
Where exactly does the car drop off?
On the the corner of Simcoe Street and King Street West side, into the arrival sequence on a gala night, or kerbside on a regular screening night. Which one applies depends on the event, which is why we ask which screening you are attending when you book.
Can the car wait outside during the film?
Not on the closed block, and no operator can. It holds at a point your chauffeur names before you get out, close enough to reach in a couple of minutes, and comes to you when you message.
How far ahead should I book a gala night?
Three to four weeks. Gala dates clear the Maybach and the Jet Sprinter first, and those are the two vehicles most people want for exactly this evening.
What time will you collect me?
Earlier than the ticket time suggests. Gala arrivals are sequenced by the event, so your slot rather than the screening start sets the pickup. We work it back from the arrival window when you book.
How many people fit?
Two in the Maybach, six in the Escalade, seven to ten in the Jet Sprinter and up to fourteen in an Executive Sprinter at $195 an hour. Above fourteen we quote a 27-Passenger Mini Bus at $250 an hour.
Do you have a Rolls-Royce?
Yes, at $350 to $600 an hour depending on the model, with a five hour minimum. It is quoted on your specific date rather than listed at one price, because availability drives the figure on festival nights.
Is gratuity included?
No. Every rate is plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent, stated separately so the number you compare against another operator is the same kind of number.
Can you take us on to a party afterwards?
Yes, and holding the same vehicle across both is almost always cheaper than booking a second car late on a festival night. Flag it at the quote stage so the hours are built in.
What if the screening runs long?
Hourly billing means a long screening is simply more of the hours you already booked, and the vehicle is not released. There is no penalty and no surge for finishing late.
Do you serve the other festival venues the same night?
Yes. TIFF Lightbox, the Princess of Wales Theatre and the Royal Alexandra Theatre at 260 King Street West all sit within a short distance, so an evening that takes in two venues is one booking rather than two.
Is there parking at Roy Thomson Hall if I drive myself?
There is parking in the area, but on a gala night part of the Simcoe Street frontage is given over to the carpet and the surrounding blocks are managed. That is the specific evening where being dropped beats parking, whatever the lot costs.
Can I book just the ride home?
Yes, though it is the harder half to secure late on a gala night. If you only book one direction, the ride home is the one worth locking.
Will the same chauffeur stay with us all evening?
Yes. An hourly booking is one vehicle and one driver for the whole block of time, which is why you have their direct number rather than a dispatch line.
Do you take corporate bookings for a sponsor table?
Yes, including invoicing rather than a card on the night, a named driver confirmed in advance, and one booking covering several pickup addresses.
What is the dress code impact on the vehicle choice?
Practical rather than cosmetic: a floor-length gown and a low sedan seat do not get along. It is the honest reason many gala bookings end up in the Escalade rather than the sedan.
How do I get a firm price?
Send the screening, the date, your pickup address and how many of you there are. A fixed figure comes back, and nothing is charged until you accept it.
Do you pick up outside Toronto?
Yes, from anywhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Runs starting outside the GTA are quoted on distance rather than the GTA hourly figures on this page.
Can we stop for dinner before the screening?
Yes, and on this venue it is common because the restaurants sit on the same stretch of King Street West. Build it into the hours at the quote stage rather than adding it on the night.
What happens if our plans change on the night?
Within an hourly booking the driver goes where you direct, so a changed plan is a conversation rather than a rebooking. Extra hours beyond what you booked bill at the same rate.
Do you cover the whole festival, not just one night?
Yes. Multi-day bookings across the festival are handled as a held vehicle rather than a series of separate jobs, which is set out on the industry and press page.
Related TIFF services
Book the car before the gala dates fill
Send the screening, your pickup address and the party size. A fixed figure comes back and the vehicle is held for the evening.