Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsview Hotel & Suites {CAN}
Jun 24, 2010, 3:11 am
#121
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC, AA, UA, BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,907
On our previous stay at the Hilton Fallsview in April (then again last week) there was a very long line-up at the regular check-in line, but no one in line at the HHonors line to the right. As soon as we got into that line, one of the four desk agents immediately took us for a fast checkin, while the regular lineup kept growing. Checking out last week, there was a large tour group (their bus parked outside) lined up for checkout, and we also got an immediate response from the front desk as soon as we stood in the HHonors line.
Parking at most of the major properties very near the falls is usually costly, with the ES a half block away from the Hilton charging $20+ a day. That's why it's better to use the casino parking garage if you can, and if it's not too far from where you're staying. Get the casino players card and the parking there is free. Some of the hotels nearby have passes for the shuttle bus that runs between the two casinos (ES has the passes, good to use in inclement weather, as does the Marriott, and I think the Sheraton Fallsview) but be aware that the bus only runs twice an hour each way, and last rt is around 11 PM.
bj-21.
Parking at most of the major properties very near the falls is usually costly, with the ES a half block away from the Hilton charging $20+ a day. That's why it's better to use the casino parking garage if you can, and if it's not too far from where you're staying. Get the casino players card and the parking there is free. Some of the hotels nearby have passes for the shuttle bus that runs between the two casinos (ES has the passes, good to use in inclement weather, as does the Marriott, and I think the Sheraton Fallsview) but be aware that the bus only runs twice an hour each way, and last rt is around 11 PM.
bj-21.
Jun 24, 2010, 4:49 pm
#122
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Toronto
Programs: SPG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 855
Just came back from a one night (wednesday night) stay at the Niagara Falls Hilton Fallsview. It was half the price for the midweek night compared to the weekend.
Got a room 'package'. It included breakfast buffet for two people and a $40 off coupon for the Hotel's Brasa restaurant (a Brazillian bbq restaurant).
The lobby (what there is of it, which is not much; it is very awkward and small) was chock full of tour bus visitors. Nevertheless checkin was empty and we were processed quickly. We had booked a two room deluxe full falls view room, which is the best view of the falls. Was an amazing view from the 49th floor.
This room was in the North Tower, which were were advised was just completed in August 2009, so was pretty much brand new. Nevertheless, although it was clean, new feeling, and contemporary, it was really quite bland and boring. Was not a "luxury" room by any means, notwithstanding the oversized jacuzzi bath tub. And thats because this is not a "luxury" hotel, even though its likely the nicest place to stay in all of Niagara Falls. I normally like to stay in suites if possible and affordable for the extra room, even when traveling by myself or with my small family. IN this case, we got the two room "Tower Suite" as aforementioned, but due to the layout, didn't really make good use of it. The second room is really suitable to be used as a separate sleeping area, rather than as a living room or sitting groom. Since we didnt need the extra bedroom, wasn't worth getting the suite in hindsight.
Room service was relatively fast and the usual expense with the automatic gratuity and 15% taxes and $3.50 delivery charge ($28 for nachos, all in...).
Location is fine if you enjoy a long and grueling walk (especially up the hill on the way back in the heat) towards the tourist attractions other than the falls itself, such as the wax museums. By the way, at $10 per person, these were totally unimpressive and a complete waste of time although some kids might get a slight (very) kick out of them.
The Bell staff at the hotel were sometimes AWOL for short periods but nevertheless took care of luggage and were otherwise fine.
Long line ups for valet parking at some times. We took the great FT advice of parking on Level 5 at the casino and taking the skybridge to the hotel. With the players card we got free parking. This was a great tip from you fellow FT'ers. Many thanks.
We went to Brasa (in the hotel) for dinner with a 630 reservation booked online through the hotel web site for the wednesday night. As I mentioned, we had a $40 coupon, which was (supposed) to be great, since we would have gone there anyway. I have visited several Brazilian rodizio bbq places all over, and it is my favorite kind of restaurant. This place however was a disaster for us. This style of dining involves an extensive appetizer buffet together with cuts of meat served and carved tableside off of skewers. The height of this kind of dining outside of Brazil, is at palces like Texas De Brazil -a US chain. Absolutely amazing. In Toronto, Copacabana is the closest replica, and pretty good.
We were seated at our table (wife and 4 year old son), and we took note of the deluge of people entering the restaurant and assembling in the reception area. They were all wearing conventioneer name badges around their necks. There were maybe 300 of them. This is a fairly large restaurant, but the buffet itself is not designed to accommodate a banquet of people all arriving at once. Nor are the meat servers able to effectively accommodate such numbers all arriving at once. Anyhow, a line formed at the buffet and was like rush hour on the 401. Bumper to bumper with food mainly gone from many dishes on the buffet. Couldn't move, couldn't get by, couldn't make any progress, and felt like were were 'crashing' a convention.
We spoke to the manager and waitress (waitress apologized and understood) but manager didn't say or do anything other than nod his head when we told him we were leaving. We left. Left our drinks and gave up on our coupon. wouldnt want that cattle car experience for free. So unfair for a hotel restaurant to book a convention into the main hotel dining room without any fair warning to the other guests, particularly in this buffet style restaurant with a small buffet. I shoudl probably also mention that the couple bites I did manage were spit out. The coleslaw smelled and tasted rancid, and the tomato slices were all over ripened and all unappetizing.
We ended up going to Niagara Falls Copacabana, but the appetizer buffet station was lacklustre and disappointing compared to Toronto. We stayed anyhow at that point.
Breakfast buffet was good at the hotel. Sells for $14.95 a person but was included in our rate. Was very busy with guests. The usual eggs, waffles, breakfast meats, potatoes, yogurt, omelet station. Nothing fancy or unusual but good. Was served in their family Italian restaurant which was converted into the breakfast restaurant in the mornings. On weekends you can apparently have the breakfast buffet in the Watermark, a nicer restaurant with a view, for $5.00 more.
Breakfast however was only served from 7 am...And coffee shop didnt even open until 7 am. Bartender at the coffee shop was one of most surly staff persons I have come across in a while. Grunted. Some of the staff people were unshaven (the guys at least) and the a couple of the front desk persons looked like they just rolled out of bed. No jacket. No shave. Unkempt. Unprofessional looking. One foreign sounding attendant was however quite professional.
Check out was a breeze. Stay was fine overall. Didn't feel like we missed a better option in Niagara Falls for a hotel. Felt it was reasonably good value for money ($189 a night midweek).
Got a room 'package'. It included breakfast buffet for two people and a $40 off coupon for the Hotel's Brasa restaurant (a Brazillian bbq restaurant).
The lobby (what there is of it, which is not much; it is very awkward and small) was chock full of tour bus visitors. Nevertheless checkin was empty and we were processed quickly. We had booked a two room deluxe full falls view room, which is the best view of the falls. Was an amazing view from the 49th floor.
This room was in the North Tower, which were were advised was just completed in August 2009, so was pretty much brand new. Nevertheless, although it was clean, new feeling, and contemporary, it was really quite bland and boring. Was not a "luxury" room by any means, notwithstanding the oversized jacuzzi bath tub. And thats because this is not a "luxury" hotel, even though its likely the nicest place to stay in all of Niagara Falls. I normally like to stay in suites if possible and affordable for the extra room, even when traveling by myself or with my small family. IN this case, we got the two room "Tower Suite" as aforementioned, but due to the layout, didn't really make good use of it. The second room is really suitable to be used as a separate sleeping area, rather than as a living room or sitting groom. Since we didnt need the extra bedroom, wasn't worth getting the suite in hindsight.
Room service was relatively fast and the usual expense with the automatic gratuity and 15% taxes and $3.50 delivery charge ($28 for nachos, all in...).
Location is fine if you enjoy a long and grueling walk (especially up the hill on the way back in the heat) towards the tourist attractions other than the falls itself, such as the wax museums. By the way, at $10 per person, these were totally unimpressive and a complete waste of time although some kids might get a slight (very) kick out of them.
The Bell staff at the hotel were sometimes AWOL for short periods but nevertheless took care of luggage and were otherwise fine.
Long line ups for valet parking at some times. We took the great FT advice of parking on Level 5 at the casino and taking the skybridge to the hotel. With the players card we got free parking. This was a great tip from you fellow FT'ers. Many thanks.
We went to Brasa (in the hotel) for dinner with a 630 reservation booked online through the hotel web site for the wednesday night. As I mentioned, we had a $40 coupon, which was (supposed) to be great, since we would have gone there anyway. I have visited several Brazilian rodizio bbq places all over, and it is my favorite kind of restaurant. This place however was a disaster for us. This style of dining involves an extensive appetizer buffet together with cuts of meat served and carved tableside off of skewers. The height of this kind of dining outside of Brazil, is at palces like Texas De Brazil -a US chain. Absolutely amazing. In Toronto, Copacabana is the closest replica, and pretty good.
We were seated at our table (wife and 4 year old son), and we took note of the deluge of people entering the restaurant and assembling in the reception area. They were all wearing conventioneer name badges around their necks. There were maybe 300 of them. This is a fairly large restaurant, but the buffet itself is not designed to accommodate a banquet of people all arriving at once. Nor are the meat servers able to effectively accommodate such numbers all arriving at once. Anyhow, a line formed at the buffet and was like rush hour on the 401. Bumper to bumper with food mainly gone from many dishes on the buffet. Couldn't move, couldn't get by, couldn't make any progress, and felt like were were 'crashing' a convention.
We spoke to the manager and waitress (waitress apologized and understood) but manager didn't say or do anything other than nod his head when we told him we were leaving. We left. Left our drinks and gave up on our coupon. wouldnt want that cattle car experience for free. So unfair for a hotel restaurant to book a convention into the main hotel dining room without any fair warning to the other guests, particularly in this buffet style restaurant with a small buffet. I shoudl probably also mention that the couple bites I did manage were spit out. The coleslaw smelled and tasted rancid, and the tomato slices were all over ripened and all unappetizing.
We ended up going to Niagara Falls Copacabana, but the appetizer buffet station was lacklustre and disappointing compared to Toronto. We stayed anyhow at that point.
Breakfast buffet was good at the hotel. Sells for $14.95 a person but was included in our rate. Was very busy with guests. The usual eggs, waffles, breakfast meats, potatoes, yogurt, omelet station. Nothing fancy or unusual but good. Was served in their family Italian restaurant which was converted into the breakfast restaurant in the mornings. On weekends you can apparently have the breakfast buffet in the Watermark, a nicer restaurant with a view, for $5.00 more.
Breakfast however was only served from 7 am...And coffee shop didnt even open until 7 am. Bartender at the coffee shop was one of most surly staff persons I have come across in a while. Grunted. Some of the staff people were unshaven (the guys at least) and the a couple of the front desk persons looked like they just rolled out of bed. No jacket. No shave. Unkempt. Unprofessional looking. One foreign sounding attendant was however quite professional.
Check out was a breeze. Stay was fine overall. Didn't feel like we missed a better option in Niagara Falls for a hotel. Felt it was reasonably good value for money ($189 a night midweek).
Last edited by blueline7; Jun 24, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Sep 20, 2010, 6:42 am
#124
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SE USA
Programs: HHonors Diamond, WN A-List Preferred & CP, Marriott Gold, American Platinum Pro, National Executive
Posts: 222
Just stayed at the Embassy Suites and would not do it again (see my comments under that post)... The hilton looked much nicer and would most likely choose it if in Niagara Falls again.
Sep 20, 2010, 11:51 am
#126
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 492
Sep 20, 2010, 7:24 pm
#127
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Back to Florida...... bye London
Programs: Hilton, AA,, Delta
Posts: 5,149
Feb 21, 2011, 7:02 pm
#128
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Toronto, ON
Programs: HH Gold VIP, BonVoy Gold, BAEC Gold, AmEx Platinum, Visa Infinite
Posts: 689
Hilton Hotel and Suites Niagara Falls/Fallsview
I just had a wonderful stay at this property and would like to email the manager to thank him for their hospitality. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find an email for the hotel nor the manager on the website.
If someone could help with this matter I'd be very thankful.
If someone could help with this matter I'd be very thankful.
Feb 22, 2011, 10:39 pm
#129
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Toronto, ON
Programs: HH Gold VIP, BonVoy Gold, BAEC Gold, AmEx Platinum, Visa Infinite
Posts: 689
Just to summerize my experience.. This past sunday, my friend has received some good news and we decided to celebrate. So I booked an award stay to be used on the same day.
The room booked was 2 Queen City view.
I called up the hotel and spoke to someone at front desk, I am not sure if she was the manager or not. I informed her that I am a diamond member and will be coming in few hours and would like to get upgraded if possible since we are coming for a special ocassion. In fact, I was very specific and asked for a two bedroom suite (we were 3 adults and a child). She was very kind enough to hold a 2-bedroom suite with a US falls view.
At check in, I informed the FD that we will be three adults and if it was possible to get an added free breakfast. They were pleased to extend the gesture to the third guest.
I used a Q3FN certificate for this stay and as a Diamond member I got:
- Free upgrade to one of their better suites.
- Full Buffet Breakfast for three adults
- Free internet
- A couple of hours of late check out.
One more thing: One of the very few moments when I really did feel a difference checking in using the HH members line. The regular line was too long.
A happy and satisfied Diamond VIP member.. Thank you hilton Niagara Falls/Falls view.
The room booked was 2 Queen City view.
I called up the hotel and spoke to someone at front desk, I am not sure if she was the manager or not. I informed her that I am a diamond member and will be coming in few hours and would like to get upgraded if possible since we are coming for a special ocassion. In fact, I was very specific and asked for a two bedroom suite (we were 3 adults and a child). She was very kind enough to hold a 2-bedroom suite with a US falls view.
At check in, I informed the FD that we will be three adults and if it was possible to get an added free breakfast. They were pleased to extend the gesture to the third guest.
I used a Q3FN certificate for this stay and as a Diamond member I got:
- Free upgrade to one of their better suites.
- Full Buffet Breakfast for three adults
- Free internet
- A couple of hours of late check out.
One more thing: One of the very few moments when I really did feel a difference checking in using the HH members line. The regular line was too long.
A happy and satisfied Diamond VIP member.. Thank you hilton Niagara Falls/Falls view.
May 5, 2011, 6:51 am
#133
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
From the HHonors Diamond benefits page:
At hotels without Executive Floor lounges, HHonors Gold and Diamond Members will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for themselves and up to one additional registered hotel guest each day. If breakfast is included in the room rate, you’ll receive an alternate welcome amenity that varies by hotel.
http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/diamond.do
At hotels without Executive Floor lounges, HHonors Gold and Diamond Members will receive complimentary Continental breakfast for themselves and up to one additional registered hotel guest each day. If breakfast is included in the room rate, you’ll receive an alternate welcome amenity that varies by hotel.
http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/about/diamond.do