Review: Four Points Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls
Nice hotels in Niagara Falls can be pricey, so when deciding where to stay I zeroed in on Starwood award redemptions. There were two Starwood properties on the American side and two on the Canadian side. All the reviews suggested the better view was definitely on the Canadian side. They weren’t wrong – I passed both enroute. The Four Points Niagara Falls in New York overlooks the river several miles from the Falls, the Sheraton at the Falls didn’t really have a view and also looked rather depressing.
So then it was just a matter of narrowing it down between the Four Points Fallsview hotel and the Sheraton on the Falls hotel and I decided to try them both, spending a night at each.
At only 3,000 points for a weekend night, the Four Points Fallsview Hotel was a crazy good redemption value when rooms were running $250+ CAD. Supposedly it did have views of the Falls from some of the rooms and as a Platinum I was hoping I’d get upgraded to a Fallsview Suite. That didn’t happen but I did at least get switched from a City View to a Fallsview on the 14th floor. Which at least helped offset the less-than-ideal check in experience.
It’s a busy hotel and I was there at a busy time. The parking lot was a zoo and the parking attendants told me to pull over to the side while I checked in. No one asked what kind of parking I wanted and no mention was made of helping with luggage.
The SPG desk was closed, but fortunately the line was short and within a few minutes I was being checked in. The upgrade and my platinum status was mentioned. I was asked about choosing points or the local gift as my amenity. Turns out the local gift was breakfast in the restaurant. Trying to decide my best option I asked how late breakfast was served and was informed (as if I should have known) that breakfast was at the IHOP, therefore served 24 hours a day. I also learned that breakfast was only the Continental option, but I decided to go for it any way.
I was given instructions for the elevators but nothing was asked about my luggage (which wasn’t with me) or my parking preferences. Outside, I pulled into an open spot and was immediately honked at and scolded by a valet attendant. Apparently self parking was “across the street†and required a blue tag which was only available from the front desk.
Back inside the line was now about 10 minutes long but eventually I got the parking pass and found the lot which is technically across the street, but still a hike when you have all your luggage. And even more frustrating when after the end of the long walk, you have to squeeze by the valets who are too busy talking to each other to move away from the front door.
It turns out the hotel has two sets of elevators and the directions I’d been given were for the wrong ones. Eventually I made my way to the right floor, down the un airconditioned hallway to the room on the southern end of the building.
Clean, spacious, but interesting décor.
And actually there wasn’t nothing wrong with the décor. The room had a lot of seating – a sofa bed, a chair, desk, etc. The little walk-in foyer was nice too. The bathroom basic but modern.
It was the weird, oversized, carpeted “window†seat that just threw me off. There was a view, kind of. You could see the river, some of the falls, and much of the mist in addition to the casino and parking lot next door. The tannish carpet color also cast a golden, aged glow over much of the room.
Not complaining, since at 3,000 points for even some glimpse of the falls it was an amazing deal, but just wasn’t what I was expecting from the website photos.
After the disappointing check-in experience, the stay did get better. The hotel is very close to the actual falls, making it an easy walk. And returning later that evening, the front desk crew were friendly and helpful in getting my key reprogrammed and suggesting options for desserts (there weren’t that many places open that late). And that Continental breakfast (which was two eggs, hashbrowns, toast, and choice of meat) wound up being perfect at 1AM. 🙂
Like the Pittsburgh stay the night before, the water pressure was dismal, but everything else about the room was perfectly fine. Because it was such a great award redemption value I would definitely stay there again, but with revised expectations. If I were paying directly for the room I’d go to the Sheraton On the Falls instead if the price was $50 difference or less.
Nice review although it seems weird that you are doing breakfast at 1AM. If there is not that much to do late in the evening why would a person stay up that late? Casino? Nude swim in the river? It took a LONG time to get desert? Reading blogs on Boarding Area? On hold with an airline help desk?
That’s coming up in my next post 🙂 Wound up having a light dinner early in the evening and the last place I ended up — Spice at the Hilton — for live music didn’t really have anything on the menu that appealed and I wanted something to soak up all the craft beer tastings.