Day Tripping Ontario: Niagara Falls Reviews - Winter Get-away 2012

Every February for the past 12 years we make the 1-3/4 hour drive to Niagara Falls, Ontario for our anniversary. We have stayed at many different hotels over the years, but for the last five we have always returned to the Embassy Suites Niagara Falls.

All Embassy Suites by Hilton are spacious 2-room suites and you receive two free drinks and light snacks at a managers reception every evening of your stay along with a cooked to order breakfast. As you can see from the above photo, I am standing in the second room which has a couch, another TV & phone, and a table that seats four. We love this as if one of us wakes up early we can just go watch TV in the other room, and it acts as a buffer for hallway noise, but we still hear the other guests doors slamming shut. Why can't hotels make doors that close quietly?

Oh and then there is the King of all King size beds!. Its actually two queen box springs put together, as I even checked out the custom made sheets and spreads to fit this enormous bed. Count the pillows! Yes eight of them.

As you can see from a 2009 photo, my husband is 6'1" and even stretched out sideways he can not reach each end of the bed.

The jacuzzi is a nice size, biggest one of all the hotels we have stayed at, and always clean!

View of the The Tower Hotel from our room in 2010, every year we keep ending up in a higher floor, much to my husbands dislike with his fear of heights. This year we were about even with the top floor of the tower. You might remember this tower as being the Seagrams Tower, or the Minolta tower, and in 2002 it became a hotel, previously operated as a Ramada.

The view from our room on the 31st floor

We have been watching the prices rise over the years, so now more than ever its important to shop for a good deal. The Saturday night at the Embassy cost us $195. and we got a package deal for Sunday for $165. which included $40 to use at the Keg Steakhouse or T.G.I.Friday's located in the hotel, $20 game play at Dave & Busters plus lazar tag, and a $45 manicure at Petti Salon & Spa across the street at the Fallsview Casino. We also received a $25 voucher for IHOP. We read on Tripadvisor that a breakfast for two can cost up to $48 so we didn't use the voucher as we already had a free breakfast included at the Hotel.

T.G.I.Friday's is located in the lobby level of the Embassy Suites, and The Keg Steakhouse Lounge is also on the lobby level with the main Restaurant on the 9th floor overlooking the falls. (the row of windows just above Friday's is the view from the Keg facing the falls)

The Keg Steakhouse & Bar Fallsview is huge and a very busy place, even for weekends in the winter months. I love their prime rib and onion straws, and also their warm bread, but the crowds and noise we don't care for. We enjoy it when its an off night, but even on Sunday night it was packed, and the hostess did not listen to me when I asked for a quiet area. We didn't request a falls view, as we have that all weekend from our room.

The breakfast buffet is also served in the Keg, with cooked to order omlette and egg stations. Again breakfast time is very crowded with long lines. We fill up a tray and take it to our room and have our own falls view in peace and quiet:-)

Oh and did I mention the $30 valet parking fees per night at the Hotel? We don't park here, we park across the street at the Casino as we get free parking there with our casino cards. We are seriously re-thinking our 5 years in a row staying at the Embassy. There is nothing wrong with the hotel, its clean, but just very busy, congested, the elevators are slow and you can not check in until 4pm. Last year it was 5 p.m until our room was ready.