Just Returned from Niagara Falls
Sep 9th, 2008, 04:49 PM
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Just Returned from Niagara Falls
My DH and I just returned from a short 2 night trip to Niagara Falls. It was great. We flew into Buffalo on Monday, September 1, rented a car and headed straight for the Canadian side. Since it was our anniversary, I decided to splurge and stay at the Embassy Suites in a premium view room. It was worth every penny. We had a nice suite to crash when we got tired with a great view of both falls from the 32nd floor. Spectacular! Usually, my thinking is that you shouldn’t spend a fortune on the room because you won’t do anything but sleep there, but this was an exception. We spent a lot of time sitting in front of the window, sipping wine and just enjoying the view.
Once we checked in and got settled, we got back in the car and headed for NOTL. It is a cute little town with lots (and I mean lots) of flowers. We made a reservation for dinner at Escabeche, the restaurant in the Prince of Wales hotel as soon as we arrived and spent the next couple of hours walking up the street and back. We visited many of the cute shops, bought a Christmas ornament, tasted wine at one of the wine shops, (bought a bottle for later), got some great wine glasses at 70% off at Dansk and headed for the restaurant.
Escabeche was excellent and a perfect choice for our anniversary dinner (12 in case you are curious.) We both had appetizers, entrée and dessert and one glass of wine. The service was great, the food was better. We are usually not impressed with restaurant food and we were both ooh-ing and ahh-ing the entire time. It was both very good, and very expensive at $146cdn.
Next we headed back to the hotel. We grabbed a couple of glasses of wine to go at the manager’s evening cocktail party and sat in front of our window waiting for the lights on the falls to come on. Once they did, we took some photos and went to sleep.
Both days we woke early, headed down to the complimentary full breakfast which started a 7am. Unfortunately, we decided not to take advantage of the cooked breakfast and fabulous looking buffet choices because we are in the middle of the Nutrisystem (NS) diet. Having dinner was bad enough for the diet. We had fruit and yogurt and our NS breakfast bar. And both days, we headed straight for the golf course.
If you’re not a golfer, you might want to skip this paragraph. We played the Legends at Niagara, a different course each of the two days on their “play two” package. The courses are beautiful and very well kept. Both days we had the 8:04 tee time and got out ahead of everyone else. It was like being on the course by our-selves. No housing, no one in front or behind, only the occasional groundskeeper and cart service. It was very enjoyable. It was challenging for my single digit handicapper DH and beautiful for me, the 30 something duffer who enjoys the flora quite a bit (I usually get a close up view when I am looking for my ball in the woods!)
On the first day, we had lunch in Chipawa at B-Jays Family Restaurant. This was a real find and I also recommend it. I had the best Greek salad I have ever had. My DH had the perch with fries and a salad. I snagged one of his perch, and I have to say, it was fabulous. If you are looking to escape the expensive not so good food around the falls, I highly recommend the short drive north to this restaurant. It isn’t anything fancy, but the food is excellent. My salad was very large and only $6.99. The Perch was a dinner portion for $16.99.
We went back to the room for a short nap and then headed out on foot for the Maid of the Mist. We took the incline railway down to the brink of the falls and walked down to the launch site. There was no line, no wait and we got right on the boat at about 4pm. What a trip! You get so close to the falls. It is well worth the price of admission. Then we walked back and had a sub-standard salad at the restaurant right across from the Horseshoe Falls. I don’t remember the name, but you can’t miss it. Dining is on the second floor with a great view of the falls from every table. My recommendation is to pass. Two microscopic salads, two flat cokes, and (I have to admit) a pretty good garlic shrimp appetizer for $30cdn. Not worth it.
Back to the room, some wine, our micro waved NS entrées (they do travel well) watching the falls by night again and then bed.
The second day we decided to head straight for the American side after golf. We went to Goat Island and had our NS lunch bars and coke while we sat and watched the falls. After lunch we headed straight for Cave of the Winds. Again, it was a great experience not to be missed.
Afterward, we drove around the park a bit and headed back to Buffalo for a 7pm flight home. We got there pretty early so we first stopped for a real Buffalo treat: Beef on a Weck and Buffalo wings at Danny’s Restaurant on Genesee St. The restaurant is a real family affair and the food was great.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the entire trip. I had gotten the impression that the entire area is tacky and dirty. We didn’t see any of that. There were areas a few blocks away from the falls that seemed a bit seedy, but we just passed through. Two nights was plenty for us, we saw everything we wanted to and could have done more if we had the energy or inclination. There is a post on Fodors asking “What would make Niagara Falls better?” My answer: nothing. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
Once we checked in and got settled, we got back in the car and headed for NOTL. It is a cute little town with lots (and I mean lots) of flowers. We made a reservation for dinner at Escabeche, the restaurant in the Prince of Wales hotel as soon as we arrived and spent the next couple of hours walking up the street and back. We visited many of the cute shops, bought a Christmas ornament, tasted wine at one of the wine shops, (bought a bottle for later), got some great wine glasses at 70% off at Dansk and headed for the restaurant.
Escabeche was excellent and a perfect choice for our anniversary dinner (12 in case you are curious.) We both had appetizers, entrée and dessert and one glass of wine. The service was great, the food was better. We are usually not impressed with restaurant food and we were both ooh-ing and ahh-ing the entire time. It was both very good, and very expensive at $146cdn.
Next we headed back to the hotel. We grabbed a couple of glasses of wine to go at the manager’s evening cocktail party and sat in front of our window waiting for the lights on the falls to come on. Once they did, we took some photos and went to sleep.
Both days we woke early, headed down to the complimentary full breakfast which started a 7am. Unfortunately, we decided not to take advantage of the cooked breakfast and fabulous looking buffet choices because we are in the middle of the Nutrisystem (NS) diet. Having dinner was bad enough for the diet. We had fruit and yogurt and our NS breakfast bar. And both days, we headed straight for the golf course.
If you’re not a golfer, you might want to skip this paragraph. We played the Legends at Niagara, a different course each of the two days on their “play two” package. The courses are beautiful and very well kept. Both days we had the 8:04 tee time and got out ahead of everyone else. It was like being on the course by our-selves. No housing, no one in front or behind, only the occasional groundskeeper and cart service. It was very enjoyable. It was challenging for my single digit handicapper DH and beautiful for me, the 30 something duffer who enjoys the flora quite a bit (I usually get a close up view when I am looking for my ball in the woods!)
On the first day, we had lunch in Chipawa at B-Jays Family Restaurant. This was a real find and I also recommend it. I had the best Greek salad I have ever had. My DH had the perch with fries and a salad. I snagged one of his perch, and I have to say, it was fabulous. If you are looking to escape the expensive not so good food around the falls, I highly recommend the short drive north to this restaurant. It isn’t anything fancy, but the food is excellent. My salad was very large and only $6.99. The Perch was a dinner portion for $16.99.
We went back to the room for a short nap and then headed out on foot for the Maid of the Mist. We took the incline railway down to the brink of the falls and walked down to the launch site. There was no line, no wait and we got right on the boat at about 4pm. What a trip! You get so close to the falls. It is well worth the price of admission. Then we walked back and had a sub-standard salad at the restaurant right across from the Horseshoe Falls. I don’t remember the name, but you can’t miss it. Dining is on the second floor with a great view of the falls from every table. My recommendation is to pass. Two microscopic salads, two flat cokes, and (I have to admit) a pretty good garlic shrimp appetizer for $30cdn. Not worth it.
Back to the room, some wine, our micro waved NS entrées (they do travel well) watching the falls by night again and then bed.
The second day we decided to head straight for the American side after golf. We went to Goat Island and had our NS lunch bars and coke while we sat and watched the falls. After lunch we headed straight for Cave of the Winds. Again, it was a great experience not to be missed.
Afterward, we drove around the park a bit and headed back to Buffalo for a 7pm flight home. We got there pretty early so we first stopped for a real Buffalo treat: Beef on a Weck and Buffalo wings at Danny’s Restaurant on Genesee St. The restaurant is a real family affair and the food was great.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the entire trip. I had gotten the impression that the entire area is tacky and dirty. We didn’t see any of that. There were areas a few blocks away from the falls that seemed a bit seedy, but we just passed through. Two nights was plenty for us, we saw everything we wanted to and could have done more if we had the energy or inclination. There is a post on Fodors asking “What would make Niagara Falls better?” My answer: nothing. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
Sep 9th, 2008, 04:52 PM
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One more thing: Please take a look at my photos at www.garyandsusan.shutterfly.com
Click on the Niagara tab. Clicking on the moving film strip will enlarge and allow you to view via slideshow. The same can be done for any of the albums under the filmstrip.
Click on the Niagara tab. Clicking on the moving film strip will enlarge and allow you to view via slideshow. The same can be done for any of the albums under the filmstrip.
Sep 10th, 2008, 04:47 AM
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sdtravels
Thanks for the report and pictures. We love to visit the Falls and we usually stay at the Embassy, it is, I agree, a good deal, except we don't have the will power you have to skip the full breakfast!
Thanks for the report and pictures. We love to visit the Falls and we usually stay at the Embassy, it is, I agree, a good deal, except we don't have the will power you have to skip the full breakfast!
Sep 11th, 2008, 05:55 AM
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The "tacky & dirty" perspective is many years out-of-date - from people who have not been there in many years. The City has spent a huge amount of money making the place attractive and has done well. Tacky does depend on one's view, but it is not nearly as bad as it was a decade ago.
