Niagara Falls Experts

[HeyIt'sMe]

Happy Monday ~

My DD has a Fall Break in October so DH & I thought it might be fun to go the Niagara Falls for a few days.

I've been looking at some of the local hotels (Marriott, Sheraton,etc) and some of the attractions. I remember the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride from when I was a child but it stops operating for the season on October 24 ... the day before we'd arrive.

Anyway, I'm looking for feedback on the best hotel to stay at. I want to stay somewhere with the best possible view of the falls, nice room, great service.

Anyone stay somewhere that they'd highly recommend?

Thanks,
Debbie

 

[kjs1976]

I saw your post and had to comment. I watched the coolest travel channel special on NF last night! Totally made me want to plan a vacation there...TODAY! I've been once for a choir festival in Canada, but never really toured it.

One attraction I saw that would be awesome to see if still open in Oct. is an attraction that takes you to the base of the falls to see them in tunnels and covered observation decks. Ok...I found it! It's called Behind the Falls and is open year round! Here is the link!

http://www.niagarafallslive.com/journey_behind_the_falls.htm

 

[DMRick]

Keep an eye on travelzoo.com. We've gotten a great hotel from them at a hugh discount. One had breakfast and a $75 coupon for dinner included (which was not that great, since the food was wayyy over priced). But the hotel was great, with an awesome view. Right next to the Casino. Of course I can't remember the name, but I just saw it up on travelzoo recently.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Do you want to stay on the American or Canadian side? The Canadian side has much better views.

We stayed at the Days Inn on the American side (directly across from the border). It was decent, but I doubt if I would stay there again. There is a Ho Jo across from it and you can hear a helicopter from time to time (you can ride the helicopter for a view of the falls).

 

[FormrCastMbr]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a Fallsview room. Best view I have ever had in a hotel...the falls are right outside.

Hope this helps! Have fun!

http://www.niagarafallsembassysuites.com/?src=google

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Keep an eye on travelzoo.com. We've gotten a great hotel from them at a hugh discount. One had breakfast and a $75 coupon for dinner included (which was not that great, since the food was wayyy over priced). But the hotel was great, with an awesome view. Right next to the Casino. Of course I can't remember the name, but I just saw it up on travelzoo recently.

Was it the the Brock? We thought about staying there.

 

[AprilShowers]

We stayed on the Canadian side in October. We stayed at DoubleTree Suites. It is a beautiful hotel. We had a fallsview room, and the view was magnificent. Even though the hotel is several blocks from the falls, you can still see them very well! At the Doubletree they have a spa and we enjoyed a massage one morning. That was heavenly@

 

[java]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a Fallsview room. Best view I have ever had in a hotel...the falls are right outside.

Hope this helps! Have fun!

http://www.niagarafallsembassysuites.com/?src=google

We stayed there too and the View is unbelievable!!! Falls view- upper floor level is what we booked. And it was spectacular- the fireworks at night just great! The kids loved it. Some if you go things to remember
That trip through customs on the border will take about 100xs longer than you think on the trip back to the us(buy a map and be prepared to be aggressive in your driving...)
Take the short trip to Niagra on the lake!! So cute- adorable little town fun shops and just a nice little break from the "hype" of the falls.
If you stay at the Embassy Suites say Hi to Dino! (hubba hubba....)
When we stayed they had the magician from the casino come over during cocktail hour(hello FREE COCKTAIL HOUR!!- ok maybe they should call it free drink but still...)and he brought the baby white tigers around! My kids loved it.
We bought the package of tickets that included the Maid of the Mist, the butterfly thing(great!) the behind the falls(mob scene and I would say eh) and one that we didn't get to do... but it was still cheaper for us with the ticket package.
We hit the IMAX one night.
We let everyone pick one place on the Strip to do. so we did a guiness museum tour, a wax museum tour and a Ripley's tour. I picked lunch....
We had a really great time and it rained the entire time and we still loved it. So fun and we are heading back asap...Maybe Toronto this time.
I am pretty sure you will need passports by october to get in though.
And without a doubt Canadian side!

 

[DMRick]

Was it the the Brock? We thought about staying there.

No, it was something fallsview. Maybe the embassy, but I didn't think it was..is that two hotels from the casino to the right as you look at the front door? It was $75 US a night.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I thought they were going to ask for passports beginning in 2008. Does anyone know? We want to go to Niagara Falls this summer for a weekend. Only DH has a passport and I don't want to have to buy them for the rest of us for a 2 day trip!

 

[jekajekalynn]

My advice whatever you do if you are staying on the Canadian side is to stay in the Clifton Hill area..

In a hotel like the Sherraton is alright. (the one we always stay it). It is super convient to both the touristy stuff AND its a short walk to the sidewalk that leads over to the falls, so you don't have to pay the OUTRAGIOUS parking fees they charge to park near the falls.

 

[dolcezena]

I thought they were going to ask for passports beginning in 2008. Does anyone know? We want to go to Niagara Falls this summer for a weekend. Only DH has a passport and I don't want to have to buy them for the rest of us for a 2 day trip!

As far as I know it's only for air travel, although I could be misreading it. Here's a couple of links I've looked into - although I'm planning to go from Niagara to Buffalo!

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ (US Customs)

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency/whti-ivho/menu-e.html (Canada Customs)

Also, 2 more suggestions - If you're at all interested in wine, a LOT of the wineries are really quite near to the falls & most of them offer tours. I know I plan on doing that! And you might want to post a question on the Canadian Trip Planning board - I got tons of awesome ideas from people who live in the Niagara area.

 

[TiggerPiglet]

We stayed there last summer in the Marriott and had a great view of the falls. We did the Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls and also rode the rapids with Whirlpool Jets. I'm not sure if they'll be open at the time you go, but if they are, it's a great ride. We also went to Marineland, the butterfly conservatory and the aviary that they have there and we also did the White Water Walk, which was really nice.
We also stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara for a couple of days, which the kids loved.


Here are a couple of pictures of the falls from our room:

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

We definitely plan on staying on the Canadian side. Just trying to pick the best place. DH & DD have never been to NF - I went several times as a child -and I want to treat them to a great trip.

kjs1976 - I saw that show too! (well, most of it anyway). It psyched me up to go! Looks like it isn't worth it to do hair & make-up on days you visit the falls. Man were those people soaked!!! And, I think we'll pass on that trolley-type thing on the cables that goes over the whirlpool! Ugh. I get scared just thinking about it!

TiggerPiglet - Thanks for posting your pics. What a stunning view!!

Thanks again!

Debbie

 

[Sherri]

Happy Monday ~

My DD has a Fall Break in October so DH & I thought it might be fun to go the Niagara Falls for a few days.

I've been looking at some of the local hotels (Marriott, Sheraton,etc) and some of the attractions. I remember the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride from when I was a child but it stops operating for the season on October 24 ... the day before we'd arrive.

Anyway, I'm looking for feedback on the best hotel to stay at. I want to stay somewhere with the best possible view of the falls, nice room, great service.

Anyone stay somewhere that they'd highly recommend?

Thanks,

when we went a few years back we stayed at the Brock, it had a lot of history. Shirly Temple had stayed there, I think a president and some other famous people. I felt like it had a rich history so dd and I wanted to stay there. All I can say is history belongs in the past (lol). My dh and ds wanted to stay at the Sheraton, can you believe even years later I still hear how we should have stayed at the Sheraton? I would DEFINATLY stay at the Sheraton because like the Brock it is at a great location, but it is modern.

 

[TwinMom7]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and had a Fallsview room. Best view I have ever had in a hotel...the falls are right outside.

Hope this helps! Have fun!

http://www.niagarafallsembassysuites.com/?src=google

We also visited in October - and we were lucky enough to get to ride the Maid of the Mist. We stayed at the Embassy Suites - Jr. Presidential Suite. We had some sort of a 2 night weekend get-away package, which included breakfast both mornings. Our room was unbelievable!!!! We looked right out over the falls and had a hot tub and a fireplace in our room!!

Make sure you take the tour behind the falls.

This is pretty much what the view looks like from the those suites -