We’ve been to Las Vegas and have driven down to Florida. We’ve even flown to Mexico. We love to vacation as a family but sometimes a quick weekend away can be just as much fun as the big week long vacation. Just ask my kids. With TV, room service and bouncy beds, their favourite getaway is to hang out in the hotel room.
So for a family weekend we stayed in a two-bedroom suite in the Hilton Hotel and Suites, Niagara Falls (Canada).
The Room
We choose the Hilton Hotel and Suites because they offered views of the falls and rooms large enough to fit a family of five. The two-room deluxe suite offered just what we were looking for: two King sized beds in separate rooms, two televisions, a view of the falls, and a big tub. The layout was great, with the two rooms separated by the bathroom and bar sink area. We were ready to settle in and enjoy our weekend.
The view I booked of the American Falls was great. The window was almost floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall. After marveling at the falls the kids wanted to checkout their own TV. One of their favourite things is to watch the specialty channels, like Disney or the Cartoon Network, channels they don’t get at home. Although the specialty channel selection was pretty limited and the regular cable channels were a little fuzzy, the kids still enjoyed themselves hanging out on the large king sized bed watching episodes on Discovery and A&E
The kids next favourite thing in the room was the oversized Jacuzzi tub; all three of them could fit in it and they loved the water jets. I must admit I even enjoyed a nice soak in the middle of the afternoon. And there’s a window by the tub so I could catch a view of the television or the falls across the room. There is a shade you can lower too if you want complete privacy, which is what I opted for.
The Facilities
The hotel has a nice indoor swimming pool with a three-story corkscrew water slide. We didn’t bring our suites so we didn’t have a chance to try it out, but it didn’t look that busy.
And if you’re feeling lucky (and don’t have the kids with you) the hotel also has an interior walkway connecting you to the Fallsview Casino, which is right across the street. I’ll save that for another trip.
The Hilton Hotel and Suites also has four great restaurants on site (The Watermark, Macaroni Grill, Braza Brazilian Steakhouse, and The Grand Cafe Breakfast Buffet), so you never have to venture out, if you don’t want to
The Restaurants
Our first night we enjoyed dinner at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, a casual Italian. Our waiter was great, finding the kids extra crayons and sharing a joke. The food was delicious also. They did offer a children’s menu though $13Cdn for a plate of spaghetti noodles with sauce seemed a little pricey.
However, we were quick to discover that dining in the Niagara Falls area tends to be pricey overall. We opted out of going to the Grand Cafe Breakfast Buffet in the hotel ($14.95/person) since our kids don’t eat much for breakfast. But visiting the local IHOP next door cost much more. The buffet would have been a better option, both food quality and cost.
One of my favourite experiences of the whole weekend was dinner at the Braza Brazillian Steakhouse. This was an all-you-can-eat steakhouse based on the tradition of cooking meat over an open fire. Guachos would roam the room with meat cuts, bringing them to your table when you were ready. Plus there was a buffet of all sorts of sides and salads. The cost is fixed at $50/adults and $20/kids (kids 5 and under are free). The food was delicious and the staff amazing. I would go back to the Hilton Hotel and Suites just to eat here again.
The other restaurant, The Watermark, is located on the 18th floor and is noted for it’s spectacular views while you dine. We were only there for two nights so we didn’t get a chance to try it out.
Overall we had a great weekend. In my mind the Hilton Hotel and Suites has a reputation for being an above average hotel therefore my expectations were high and the Niagara Falls Hilton came pretty close to meeting them. Issues aside, dinner at Braza, a big Jacuzzi tub and comfortable king sized bed made it a great weekend.