In Grand Falls-Windsor
The simple brick Mount Peyton Hotel (tel. 800/563-4894 or 709/489-2251; www.mountpeyton.com) is the town's largest hotel and motel. Take your pick: The seasonal motel is on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway, while the year-round hotel is on the south side. All the hotel rooms are air-conditioned, and it's a good enough option. You might prefer the slower pace of the Hotel Robin Hood , though; the Mount Peyton can get noisy with highway noise, believe it or not, and sometimes bustles with meetings or conferences. Double rooms can range from C$87 all the way up to C$250.
In Twillingate
Camping is available in season at oddly named Dildo Run Provincial Park (tel. 709/629-3350) on Route 340 in Virgin Arm (yes, really) about 20 minutes south of Twillingate. This very nice park has 55 campsites, all recently upgraded; there are also about a dozen picnic tables with clean water and toilets right on the water. A nicely maintained hiking trail winds along the remote coastline to Black Head (a hike of about an hour). Rates for camping are C$15 per night.
One of Newfoundland's most dramatically sited campgrounds is at Seabreeze Municipal Park, near the Long Point Lighthouse. The park is aging and offers only primitive camping (no showers or bathrooms at all), but it's undeniably scenic: The sites are grassy and perched at the edge of soaring cliffs, and the sunsets can't be beat. The park is open from June through mid-October.
In Gander
Good food and interesting beds are both very thin on the ground here. Three big hotel-motels on or near the Trans-Canada Highway offer the easiest-to-book accommodations, though none of them will win any personality awards.
The largest, the Hotel Gander (tel. 800/563-2988 or 709/256-3931), has about 150 rooms in an aviation theme; a small indoor pool; modest fitness facilities; and a chain hotel-style family restaurant serving traditional Newfoundland specialties and a kids' menu. Room rates start from around C$89 and ascend to about C$129. Nearby, the Albatross Motel (tel. 800/563-4900 in Canada or 709/256-3956) has about a hundred modern rooms and a ground-floor restaurant and cocktail lounge. It's a basic place, nothing special. Prices go from C$82 up to C$165for a double room.
A third option is Sinbad's Hotel and Suites (tel. 800/563-8330 or 709/651-2678) on Bennett Drive off the highway, a 100-plus-room property with suites and a serviceable dining room. The comedian/actor Sinbad is not a partner, so far as I can tell. Room rates generally range from around C$84 up to C$162 for a double room or suite.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.