Niagara Falls Advice

[LoraJ]

In early December I am going to Buffalo to see my favorite band perform.

I was thinking about staying in Niagara Falls. But I am wondering if the borders would be super crowded getting back into the US for when I go to the concert.

Does anyone know on average how long the US border line can take on a Saturday afternoon (late)?

Also, has anyone stayed at the Embassy Suites Fallsview? And if so, do you know how close it is to some of the casinos? Need something for my boyfriend to do to keep him busy while my friend and I go to the show.

And one last question, if I rent a car in Buffalo, am I allowed to drive it over the border?

 

[GaTech]

Sorry, I can't answer any of your questions but I have one comment for you. I have been to Niagra Falls once and the view from the Canadian side is much better than the US side. It is worth it to view the falls from Canada. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[JoenAdamnErinnSam]

I have rented a car in Albany and taken it over the border with no problem-they just check for ID of passengers. I've never had to wait behind any more than a couple of cars any of the 3 times we've been recently. The fallsview hotels are very close to the new casino-a couple of blocks to walk at most- Casino Niagara would be a longer walk, but doable-lots of taxis available for a reasonable price(I think it was about $3.50USD)to go from the falls to the casino.Embassy mighthave a shuttle he can use also. We stayed at the Marriott Fallsview in July the last time and had a great time. If you have any other questions-feel free to ask,it's a favorite place of ours.HTH

 

[Bob Slydell]

As a general rule of thumb, you could check this site: http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/ on a Saturday about the same time as when you're planning on going to see what the wait time is listed as.

I haven't stayed at the Embassy Suites, but I've stayed at other "Fallsview" hotels (it's a term for the general area nearest the falls) and it's an easy walk to the casinos, albeit maybe a little colder in December than when I usually go.

 

[Tina]

We stayed at the Marriott Fallsview in August - WOW! What an awesome hotel. Its right next to the Embassy Suites, so location is great. I don't know about the hotel itself, but I believe its on the same par with the Marriott. The new casino is right across the street. The other casino is across town, but there is a free shuttle that runs between the 2. We ate at a great Steak restaurant (the name escapes me right now) in the Embassy Suites and it was fantastic. I'm not sure about the border in the late afternoon. It took us about 30 minutes to get across around noon on a Saturday for our drive home. Please keep in mind that parking in Niagara is EXPENSIVE! The hotels do NOT offer free parking to guests. We paid $18 per day (Canadian, I think) to park out the Marriott and our car was actually in a dirt lot a few miles away (we found this out when we asked to get something from our car).

 

[MI mom of 3]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites Fallsview this summer,(late July)

We will never stay there again.

There are 42 floors in the hotel and 4 elevators. A wait of 20-30 minutes was normal. We had my mom with us who used a wheelchair, it was awful trying to get an elevator with room for her chair. Plus there was 11 of us, so we could never get all of us in one elevator. They even had young men manning them but that was just so that once the elevator was full they could switch it to express and not even stop at any more floors. You would stand there and you could hear them going past but they didn't stop. You learned really quickly to get on no matter which direction it was going, it may be your only chance. The kids wanted to just use the stairs. Well we were on the 40th floor. I was not going to let them in the stairwell. If something happened to them, accident or worse, it would take forever to find out.

Also, they have mandatory valet parking. $20 a day. I had no problem with that. But they give you a card that says call before you leave your room and your car will be waiting for you. OK we call, we wait for the elevator. We finally get down there. about 30 minutes later, no car. We wait another 15 minutes before I send DH to see what the problem was. At that point is when they took the keys off the hook and went to get the van. And I drive a high top conversion van. It doesn't fit in the parking structure so they had to park it off property, it took forever for them to come back.

We complained and got the money for the parking refunded, we got the rooms reduced by 50% for each nite (2) plus they gave us cards for $40 of food at TGIFridays in the lobby.

You know how when you are on vacation usually everyone is in a good mood? Not at this hotel. Everyone, from the workers, managers and guests were always crabby from dealing with all of the issues

PM me if you have any questions. There is even more that I could say about this place.


editted to add: To be fair...the room was very nice and the view was amazing.

 

[LoraJ]

That sounds like the Embassy Suites in Philly that I stay at all the time.

I was just talking to a co-worker and he stayed tehre last October and said he didn't have any problems. Wonder if it isn't as crowded in the off season?

Well, if my boyfriend doesn't go, maybe we will stay at the Marriott.

In regards to the rental car, I was just curious as to how it was up there because I remember when i was in texas for business, they specifically told us that we couldn't take the cars over the border. Hmm.. guess I should make some calls.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[Nancy]

Lora, right now there is a strike on the Canadian side. (customs) It's not a full strike, but a bit of a slowdown. they are mainly staying to the Peace Bridge, but traffic might be heavier on the Rainbow Bridge because of it.

Weekends are always busier then weekdays and the earlier you come over the borders the better. we've had times of 1 minute to over an hour, so it really is hit or miss. Hopefully all the slowdowns will be over by then, I know it really tied traffic up Sunday after the Bills game. Truck traffic is affected worse then car traffic.

You should be able to walk to any of the Casinos from either side of the falls, you can walk over the Rainbow Bridge and go through customs. The 2 casinos in Canada have a shuttle that goes between them, I prefer them to the one on the American side (because I win more there).

I can't see a problem driving over with a rental car, just make sure you have plenty of ID (photo).

What band are you coming to see? I don't even know who is playing here in December.

 

[GaryAdams]

dont lean to far over the railing..................


if you get a chance try 1 of the barrel rides,its really slow at first, then really fast, the only bad part is the sudden stop at the end...................



really though,if you just want to see the falls drive over,make sure you have your licence and have fun.
try and stay away from the tourist trap places.
if you smoke dont buy them in canada.

if theres alot of snow on the ground,when they light the falls at night it really looks cool.

 

[LoraJ]

We're seeing Barenaked Ladies at Shea's Performing Arts Center.

Eeep, about the strike, any chance it will be over by then?

Gary,
I think I remember going to the Falls once in winter when I was young. I remember how pretty it was. Or maybe I am just thinking of a picture in my old viewmaster?

I have a pic of me and my brother in one of those barrels when we were kids.

 

[caitycaity]

te falls in winter are really awesome. i was there one year on new years and some of the water around the falls had frozen. it was really beautiful.

 

[Nancy]

Barenaked Ladies are awesome in concert, and Sheas is a very nice theater. It was just renovated and is beautiful...old and elegant. The strike like I said is more of a slowdown. Sunday they were standing in front of cars and not moving to let them go through customs. I am very surprised no one got hurt...football fans, beer and then slow lines could have made for some bad tempers, but everyone they showed on TV said they were in support of the workers, but they just want to get home.
You should have no problems getting into the States, the slowdown is going into Canada.

And winter in the falls is really pretty, if it gets really cold there is an ice bridge that forms. December will probably be too early for that. Any of the hotels on the Canadian side have good views of the falls, and the Canadian side is much better then the American side. The Canadian side is way more commercial though. The American side is a State Park, so is more natural.

Also remember, going from the Falls into Buffalo is about a 20 minute drive once you get through customs. Parking isn't too expensive around the Theater, driving isn't too confusing either...just hope the snow stays away cause the city does a lousy job of plowing.

 

[GaryAdams]

On an evening such as this

It's hard to tell if I exist

If I pack the car and leave this town

You'll notice that I'm not around

I could hide out under there

I just made you say "underwear"

I could leave but I'll just stay

All my stuff's here anyway

 

[LoraJ]

Oh, you just reminded me that I need to get a pair of panties to throw on stage at that line.

I have seen them in concert over 20 times (I lost count). And every time it just gets better.

 

[GaryAdams]

now see a republican/real BNL fan wouldnt bring a extra pair, they use the pair they wore to the concert.



ok,ok........ i made 2 nice posts,it was killing me here lol

i had to say it. lol

anyway have fun at the concert.............

after the concert and lots of drinks at the bars, go to the town restaurant and have a souvlaki.






i shouldnt have said that, now im going to lay in bed thinking about souvlaki's all night.

im not going to even bring up beef on wicks.

too late now im thinking of them too.

now im really hungry

 

[Nancy]

Originally posted by GaryAdams
now see a republican/real BNL fan wouldnt bring a extra pair, they use the pair they wore to the concert.



ok,ok........ i made 2 nice posts,it was killing me here lol

i had to say it. lol

anyway have fun at the concert.............

after the concert and lots of drinks at the bars, go to the town restaurant and have a souvlaki.






i shouldnt have said that, now im going to lay in bed thinking about souvlaki's all night.

im not going to even bring up beef on wicks.

too late now im thinking of them too.

now im really hungry

chicken wings, beef on weck and beer oh my!

Never had a souvlaki...but now I'll be thinking Of Charlie The Butchers all night!

 

[Molokai Gram]

Aloha,
We had a jacuzzi suite at the Embassy Suites fallsview in late June and loved it. We did not have excessive waits for the elevator, but I think that they were putting more in so the waits should be less even if it is crowded.
We could lay in our bed and see the falls! Fabulous. It is the closest hotel to the edge of the falls and nothing blocks the view. Check out their website for room pictures. The view from the rooms looks just like it does on the website.
And the free breakfast was terrific. They had made to order omlets that had so much stuff you could barely see the eggs. And waffles and just about everything else you could think of. And they had enough cooks that the wait was not long.
We really enjoyed ourselves and were very happy with this hotel.
We walked to the casino, it was very close. Closer than walking between casinos on the Vegas strip.
If you intend to play tourist, DO NOT buy your tickets downstairs at the hotel. Go down the incline and buy the same tickets for about $50 less. We got the entire package -under the falls; the boat; the butterfly conservatory...and bus transportation among all.
Have fun.

 

[Tina]

I 2nd the recommendation NOT to buy the tour package in the hotel. We did that at the Marriott. We spent more time stopping at souvenier shops than anywhere else. It was very aggravating. They took us to the most EXPENSIVE shops and we were just stuck there until the tour guide was ready to move on. On the upside, we did get exclusive entry into all the attractions and by-passed the lines. That was nice. We "back-doored" every attraction.

 

[Anne34]

We stayed at the Hilton Fallsview (1 block east of the Embassy suites) and it was wonderful. I don't remember the parkiing fee being too excessive, but the car was parked next to the hotel or at a lot behind the hotel. It was very easy to get things from the car. The new casino was being built about a block away.

Have fun!!