Review of Niagara Falls Marriott Fallsview Hotel & Spa - Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Choosing a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario can be a daunting task. With over 100 hotels in the area, it takes a lot of research to pick the one that's right for you. Hopefully this review will help make your choice easier! If your looking for a great unobstructed view of the Falls, then look no further than the Marriott Fallsview!

The View
Located only 100 yards from Niagara Falls, the Marriott Fallsview offers a fantastic view of both the American and the Horseshoe Falls as well as the Rainbow Bridge that connects Canada to the USA. I booked this hotel because it seemed to be one of the few hotels in the area that did not have anything in front of it. There is nothing to block your view of the falls! Some of the hotels say Fallsview, but if you look closer at them on a map you will see they are actually behind the Marriott or the nearby Casino. If view is as important to you as it was to me, the Marriott seems to be the best choice.

The Location
The hotel is right above the Horseshoe falls with the American falls to the left. The incline railroad, which takes you down to the falls, is only a minute away and very convenient. Just a short walk away is the Fallsview Casino which offers a variety of dining and shopping options. However the hotel is a bit of a distance from many of the other attractions. Luckily the hotel offers a shuttle service that takes you to both Casinos and Clifton Hill for only around $8 a person, with tickets being good for the length of your stay. We bought the tickets for this on the second day and used the shuttles pretty much every day to get around. We found that most everything we wanted to do was close enough to one of the shuttle stops so we never needed to drive.

The Room
Almost all rooms offer a Fallsview and the Marriott website actually tells you which floors you may be on. I decided to book the Fallsview, Guest room, 1 King, Fireplace, Whirlpool because these rooms were on floors 12-18 as opposed to the Fallsview, Guest room, 1 King, Whirlpool which is on floors 5-9. We didn't need a fireplace, but the cost was only a little bit more and guaranteed us a higher floor - hence a slightly better view.

I also choose this room because it said it had a mini-refrigerator. Well, as it turns out the mini-refrigerator is 1/2 a mini-bar and it's locked. Apparently you can only get into it by asking someone to come up so they know you've been in there. I had planned to bring some sodas and snacks to keep cold but ended up having to toss my snacks because it wasn't really a mini-refrigerator and I didn't want to risk getting charged for an $8 soda that I didn't drink.

The bed was comfy and came with 6 pillows so plenty for both of us. The only trouble with the bed was that the comforter was very thick and heavy. Since there was only a sheet and a comforter, I had to choose between sleeping with both and being extra warm, or sleeping with only the sheet and being chilly. Eventually we just turned the AC down and stopped using the comforter. This comforter is probably really nice in the winter though!

Two chairs and a footstool were arranged next to the fireplace so we could sit and look out at the falls anytime of day or night. It's such a lovely view that I often ended up sitting there while we were having a snack or just taking a break from being out on the town.

The Bathroom
Of course, the bathroom can be as important as the rest of the room when it comes to comfort. I was surprised during my research to see many nice hotels had what looked like small bathrooms with tiny sinks. The Marriott Fallsview has a nice sized bathroom, with a nice sink area, and this particular room even had a Jacuzzi tub. One or two people can soak in the tub with the jets on or off. It's designed to lay in and is one of the more comfortable Jacuzzi tubs I've been in.

The shower seemed small at first, just because you can't see much of it. However once I was in it I found it to be a good size and really liked the large shower head. Many hotels I've been in had tiny shower heads so it's nice to have a big one to really keep me warm in the shower. The hotel provides Bath and Body Works aromatheraphy shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and soaps which I really loved and I made sure to save some to take home!

The Pool

We only made time for the pool one day but it was very relaxing. The large pool is open until 10 or 11 and is heated so it's not freezing. Attached to the pool is one smaller hot tub, and then there is a larger hot tub in a separate room. In addition, there is an outdoor lounging area which I saw many ladies making use of to sun tan on the hotter days. At the time we were in the pool, there were mostly adults so it was nice not to be bombarded by kids.

The Tour and Information Desk
I was unimpressed by the tour desk as one day we waited in line to ask where we could find a convenience store and also to ask how we could get to one of the attractions that was too far away from a shuttle stop. The lady we spoke to was in the middle of trying to sell the overpriced "tour" to two people in front of us and seemed irritated with us once she found out we weren't looking to buy anything. You will want to visit the left side of the tour desk where they have a lot of pamphlets which contain coupons for some attractions.

I heard the sales pitch and their $130 tour seemed like a major rip off considering it wasn't too hard to get to the 4 attractions the tour took you to, and the attractions themselves were not all that expensive. I recommend visitors do more research before their trip so they can find the attractions without an expensive tour.

The Restaurant
The Marriott Fallsview boast a restaurant that is supposed to have wonderful food as well as a great view of the falls. We passed on eating lunch or dinner there because we were pretty sure it would be expensive. However we did go down for the breakfast buffet on the last day - just to see a line out the door of people waiting to be seated. It wasn't worth the wait so we took a short walk down to Perkin's Family Restaurant for breakfast.

The Price
With a hotel this nice, you have to expect a higher price. We decided to spend more on the hotel for a better view and location, and then save money throughout the trip by eating cheaper meals and only doing attractions that we really wanted to do. The price changes based on season so it's worth a look because you might find a good deal.

Overall
I had a great stay at the Marriott Fallsview but I don't know if I'd stay there again only because - once you saw the view, you saw the view! We plan to return to Niagara Falls once we have children that we can take around so view won't be the most important to us in the future. Although many children did stay at this hotel, I would think families would have an easier time if they were near the Clifton Hill area where there are many activities for kids and teens. Marriott Fallsview is recommended to: First-Time Visitors, Couples, and to those that really want a good view! Enjoy!!