Hi everyone! I just got back from a quick 2 night stay at Niagara Falls, Canada, so I thought I would post a quick trip report. We had a drive of about 12 hours each way, so we really only had one full day at the falls.

PART 1: HOTEL
We stayed at the Oakes Hotel Overlooking The Falls, in a standard fallsview room. We had a lovely view of the falls from our room on the 14th floor (room # 1420). Our bathroom had a glass shower, and a separate shower with whirlpool tub. The hotel was very clean, and housekeeping even made decorations out of our towels and washcloths. The hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub. Check-in and check-out was simple and quick. There is an Applebee's on site. Now for complaints: we did not see one single ice machine in this hotel during our stay; my husband looked for a vending machine and was directed by the front desk to the other elevators to access the other towers to floors 2, 6, 8, or 10. He stopped at floor 2 where they had a pop machine, then had to ride the elevator back down to the lobby to access the other elevator to get back to our room. We thought that was a bit annoying.

Our first night there the fire alarms went off. We had to walk down 14 flights of stairs, then they called it a false alarm, so it was back up the stairs we went. The alarm was very loud, there would be no sleeping through it. Also, the fire trucks were quick to respond...they were there in about 3 minutes.

PART 2: EVERYTHING ELSE
A minor annoyance (besides the nasty weather) was the construction going on all over the place. We had to drive to the falls, even though we were only a block away, because the construction effectively cut us off, making walking impossible. Hopefully some of that construction gets done in the near future.

We tried to have breakfast at the Skylon tower, but we were told that they don't have breakfast there in the winter.

Our last morning there, right before check-out, we had breakfast at Applebee's, and a very nice stranger bought our breakfast for us. She was checking-out, and instead of just throwing away the vouchers she used them to buy us breakfast. Very nice! Whoever you are, if you are reading this, thanks again!

We ate dinner one night at My Cousin Vinny's, across the street from our hotel. They had good food at reasonable prices. I would recommend them.

Niagara Falls are lovely in the winter, with all the snow and ice everywhere. We had a very enjoyable getaway. Even so, next time we go to the falls, we'll make it spring, summer, or fall.

Pictures from this trip can be viewed at: http://community.webshots.com/user/loverly7100

If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to help!

Nice photos!! Looks very cold though!!

(um - hope you don't mind a hint for photography - for night shots, to get a sharp photo, rest your camera on a steady surface and gently press the shutter release, or use a tripod - you can even purchase little teeny ones - and a cable release. That way the action of taking a photo won't jar the camera and you won't have those squiggley lights in your photos).

Our camera has a night setting, but I can't seem to hold still enough to take a good night picture. I even tried resting my arms on the railing when I was taking the picture, but it didn't help too much. A tripod is a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

Do you have contact information for the Oakes Hotel?

The Oakes Hotel Overlooking The Falls contact information is 1-877-The-Oakes. The website for more information is http://www.niagarahospitalityhotels....alls/index.htm.

Hope this helps!