Yesterday afternoon, after a fabulous morning of tasting wines, we made our way to Niagara Falls, 15 minutes from our Bed and Breakfast. We checked in to the Embassy Suites Niagara Falls and were immediately disappointed with the customer service both at the curbside valet station (valet parking is mandatory at many places in Canada, yet it isn't included in the room rates; in case you're planning a visit, you'll want to budget for $20-30 per day for parking fees) and at the check-in desk. After getting our keys, we made our way to the 32nd floor and were greeted by the maid who'd just finished preparing our room. She gave us both dirty looks before stalking off. We were a little disappointed, but when we saw the view from our room, we felt a little better! We had a suite overlooking the Falls and a window next to our jacuzzi tub so that we could enjoy a bubble bath while listening to the roar of the Niagara river below!
The view from our room!
First things first, though, as we'd promised our families that we'd email at each destination to let them know we were ok (we didn't want to deal with the higher rates our cell phones charge in Canada). The email confirmation I'd received months ago said internet was "available" in the rooms, so I was certain we could comply with our mothers' wishes, which was especially important as we'd changed our whole itinerary at this point, and they thought we were in Toronto! Well, I found a placard in the room saying that Wi-Fi wasn't available but that we could pay a $10 deposit to borrow an ethernet cord, so I called the front desk to inquire. The lady who answered told me that it wasn't a deposit (despite what the sign in my room said) and that we'd have to pay $13 to use the cord for 24 hours. When I asked for clarification based on the sign in the room, she became rude and hung up on me. Later, we learned that the "made to order breakfast" that had been advertised in the confirmation email we had was really a buffet and didn't even begin until 9:30 this morning!
Rather than let poor customer service ruin the entire rest of the day, we decided to keep in mind the reason for our visit: the see Niagara Falls. After all, we had less than 24 hours in the area, so we better make the most of what was becoming an unpleasant day... We meandered off the hotel property and made our way down to a beautiful nature walk along the river. We could hear the rushing water and feel the sea spray as millions of gallons of water crashed to the rocks below. It truly was breathtaking to see such power!
Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian Falls)
Self portrait on the Nature Trail
The bridge to New York
American Falls
Us at Horseshoe Falls
After viewing the Falls, we had drinks in the hotel, got changed, and had a yummy steak dinner to end the evening.
With an 11 hour drive ahead, we decided that we couldn't wait until 9:30 to get on the road, much less to just start breakfast, so we left about an hour ago and considered the breakfast a lost cause, along with any very many good impressions of Niagara Falls. Don't get me wrong, the waterfalls were gorgeous, and I'm glad I was able to see them, but I wish we could have stayed in Niagara-on-the-Lake two nights and just driven to The Falls for a couple of hours. If you ever visit Niagara Falls, learn from my mistakes and don't get a hotel right on the river; you'll be sorely disappointed and pay a very pretty penny for it (the customer service we didn't receive still makes me nauseous when I think about how much that hotel room cost us!)...
