Hi. We are planning a trip to Niagara Falls towards the end of November, and want a 5 star hotel that has the best views of the Falls. Any suggestions? Also what is the best way for 5 adults to get there from Toronto?

Not sure if this would be considered a 5 star hotel, but this hotel is nicely situated very close to the falls, and has good accomodations:
http://www.niagarafallsmarriott.com/index.php

In terms of ground transportation from the airport to the hotel, you may want to consider a private limo (listed on the hotel's website) or http://www.niagaraairbus.com/

Check on airfares into BUF, you might find it cheaper than YYZ and much closer of a drive!

It's not a 5-star, but the Ramada Plaza Fallsview has one of the highest ratings in tripadvisor and the views of the falls from the fallsview hotel rooms are absolutely incredible. I stayed there with my wife and we just spent over an hour staring out at the gorgeous falls. The room had a small fridge and the bathrooms were clean.

We spent our days enjoying the various activities and the walk down to the "Journey Beneath The Falls" is quite short, with the option of taking a very short incline train for one of the steep parts.

Another vote for the Marriott!

It's worth reserving a high-floor room if you can. Awesome view. My wife spent 3 hours just looking out the window.

A note: valet park was same price as self-park when I was there 2 years ago.

None of the hotels in Niagara Falls are 5-star, they are 3-star and below (way below). For the classic falls experience, best to stay away from the hotels with "fallsview" in their name (this means they have an inferior view of the falls, as they are located in the fallsview district). The best view is from the Sheraton on the Falls, particularly if you get one of their (many) honeymoon suites. These have a dozen floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the falls (straight across from the American falls and looking into the U of the Horseshoe falls -- so the view you see on postcards), plus a heart shaped jacuzzi for 2 (also with a full view of the falls). The hotel is a bit shabby and rundown, but the view is fantastic and nothing quite like champagne from a heart-shaped jaccuzzi with that view.

The other (newer) hotels will have nicer rooms but not as good of a view (however their view is good, too, just not "the view").

Last year I stayed at the Hilton Fallsview, and paid extra for the actual fallsview side. It was OK, as I was up on a high floor. The room had an in-room whirlpool that was nice, as you could see the falls from the hottub.

The view of the falls was there, but it was not particularly close. Go up close to one of the overlooks for an unforgettable view of unthinkable amounts of water continuously cascading over the falls.

After spending ages deliberating on which hotel to choose in order to get the best out of our short trip to the area (late December, when it will be freezing!) I considered:
Sheraton on the Falls
Embassy Suites
Marriott
All of them were quite pricey for a falls view room.

The Ramada Plaza at CAD $90 all in for a falls view room seems a wonderful option. Thanks for the recommendation!

LapLap,

We've only stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel (and the Fallsview Casino Resort Hotel, which is also very nice accomodations BTW), but after quite a few trips since the ES opened a few years ago, we think you won't be disappointed with the views of the Falls, as it's only half a block from the Horseshoe Falls, with nothing to obstruct your view. If you can get upgraded to a fallsview room (Hilton Gold or Diamond can request the upgrade and there's a good chance you'll get it, if they're not fully booked) from a cityview rate, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Try for a high floor. The view is awesome.

If it's during a holiday time, there may be lots of families in the hotel, but they didn't disturb us, and the indoor pool is a plus for them. Keg and TGIF restaurants in the hotel, and complimentary buffet breakfast. Parking is $20 CAD per day, but most properties charge for parking.

Try the search function on FT for the ES-NF and other NF properties. Lots of threads to review.

bj-21.

Thank you for taking the time to give us this advice. I have to say that I really agonised over what to do. I have Hilton Gold so the Embassy Suites was a compelling draw. But it may be many, many years before I get a chance to visit Niagara Falls again and the Ramada Plaza will guarantee us a good view of the falls and the fireworks. Should there be a problem then the viewing platform on the 25th floor (which is open 24 hours a day) will solve it. The Ramada Plaza has great reviews on tripadvisor (from everyone who didn't expect heavenlyish beds or huge or luxurious rooms) and I know my husband will love the quirkiness of the Konika tower itself.
I had a bad experience at a UK Hilton recently and am expecting some kind of formal response to my complaints within the next week (unacceptable noise levels from an inhouse 'disco' until 2am with no prior warning - and we had to be up at 6am to do our photography... ). You never know, if we get any points as compensation we could always try and stay at the Embassy Suites after all.
Again, thanks!

Try Embassy Suite or Sherton Fallsview. Both of them have excellent view.

We stayed in a fallsview room on the 19th floor at the Ramada Plaza - and I could not have been happier with the experience.

The room was like a miniature version of the Venetian at Las Vegas - the view was to die for. Neither the Marriott or the Embassy Suites had windows as large as those at the Ramada.

The rooms get progressively bigger on each higher floor - so the 19th (the top floor is the 20th) was a decent size. We'd stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, Downtown Toronto, a beautifully furnished cottage in the Haliburton Highlands and also Le Meridien King Edward (standard room), and the room at the Ramada Plaza stood up well to all of these. There was also coffee/tea making facilities, an empty fridge, a microwave (discretely hidden) and a huge TV (not that we watched much with the horseshoe falls below us)

You can go down to the observatory deck for a full 360degree look at any time of the day or night. We always had the place to ourselves: a fantastic bonus!

When you tally it all up: $5 each return on the (comfortable, clean) bus from Toronto with Safeway tours and $45 each for the room (tax inclusive) - we got over 24 hours in Niagara with fallsview accommodation thrown in for $50 each (that's just 25GBP in 'our' money )

And we made even stevens at the Casino (perhaps even 'up' $5 or so).

Amazing deal! And in no way did we feel we were 'slumming' it, quite the contrary...

Thanks Ontario!!! We love you!!!!!

We (3 of us) just returned from the Embassy Suites. We hadn't been to the falls for about 5 years so to see all these new properties (casino included) near the horseshoe falls was quite something.

The view from our room (we somehow ended in a large accessible room ending in 01) was wonderful, we actually had windows facing 3 directions (both city and fallsview) and the width of our fallsview extended from right of the horseshoe falls over to (and beyond) the Rainbow Bridge. Wow! So we could see all the falls, the river, etc. in just one glance. Plus, the windows have a small area that you can open with a crank so you can hear the roar the falls make.

We had breakfast each morning in TGIF's with made-to-cook eggs/omelet, and a dinner voucher for the Keg Restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised that the 'managers reception' went from 2-7 each day, had a chance both days to stop in for a snack, thus really eliminating the need for a full lunch after eating a big breakfast.

The Embassy and Marriotts apparently have a joint shuttle venture... free service, 4 stops including casinos, falls and Clifton Hill... I didn't mind paying the daily parking rate in exhange for the shuttle bus and not having to worry about driving, parking, etc. The newest casino complex is really within walking distance (a block or two) but in the colder weather the shuttle was welcome...

Sure, the Embassy Suites tends to be a bit pricey, but factoring in all the 'add-ons' makes it seem closer to a good value ane the room layout of course is especially attractive for groups that want to spread out a bit!