We just stayed here over the weekend. When we reserved the room on points, the reservation showed $10 for parking in addition to the points. When we arrived, the first question asked was whether we had a vehicle or not, so I assume that means that if you don't utilize the parking lot, you don't pay the fee. We received a slip for the dashboard to show we were staying at the hotel. I also was surprised at the parking fee, but when you arrive at the front door, there is a sign mentioning that there is no public parking for the neighborhood parks. That seems a bit of an exaggeration, since I didn't notice anything nearby. That being said, my wife is Gold, and the parking fee was waived at least for us during this stay.

4pm late checkout was offered on the spot without asking.

As for the hotel itself, it is a very busy place on this summer weekend. It's very close to Military Rd / Niagara Falls Blvd for shopping (less than 5 minutes), and a 10-15 minute drive to the Falls themselves. The river view rooms have a nice view of the river and the bridge, although on the 4th floor, we had a sweeping view of the roof below! Still nice though.

Rooms are fine; hallway carpeting seems a little stained. Lobby feels crowded, especially with the number of guests, but the front desk was very professional and fast. There is an indoor pool, used to the fullest by the kids! We didn't use any of the dining facilities, so can't comment on that. We were the last room on the floor, and wifi was definitely sketchy during the entire stay.

For the location, category 2 felt like an absolute bargain for the weekend in the summer. Moving up to a category 3 in the combined reward chart is probably warranted, but of course we loved the 9K Marriott rate now. I'll probably book a another weekend stay or 2 before the award chart changes.