I think that not only is Del Toro a perfect choice, he is better than Jackson. Tolkein wrote The Hobbit as a whimsical fairy tale, while LotR was an epic mythology. Jackson does epic, Del Toro does fairytale. I can't wait for his take on this.
I think it's an easier book to adapt too. Plenty of room to breathe and Del Toro loves filling in the details. Much as I love Jackson's trilogy, I often felt it was a bit rushed, and quite frankly, the ending of Return was rubbish. We didn't need six of 'em! I wished he'd been braver with the source.