Flyjon Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hi All, I am looking to traier my boat down to fish the upper and lower Niagara this summer, any hotel/motel recomendations? Looking to be able to charge my batteries at night. Doesn't need to be fancy, just clean. Thanks, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snags Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 Fort Erie http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g154988-Fort_Erie_Ontario-Hotels.html Niagara Falls http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g154998-Niagara_Falls_Ontario-Hotels.html Niagara on the Lake http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g154999-Niagara_on_the_Lake_Ontario-Hotels.html St. Catharines http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g155013-St_Catharines_Ontario-Hotels.html I would find the dates you are looking and price compare between all four cities ... could save some coin. The bigger/major hotels in Niagara Falls may not have boat parking if you decide on them ... so I would definitely call the hotel directly and ask if they can accommodate. I know one hotel reservations team will always say YES, but the hotel front desk will tell the truth and say NO, reservation teams are misled to get the sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvizsla Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Here's my 2 cents. Avoid the downtown hotels! With a boat you are just screaming "there's valuable stuff in here come and take it". I cant think of too many parking areas down there that will have power to them either. In this region stick to a name brand hotel as well. It might look like you paid a little more in the beginning but it will be worth it in the end. Lots of flea bag motels in the Falls that change their name year to year because they are so bad. There is a hotel in Queenston which is only a minute from the ramp there, it would be a drive to fish the upper but the hotel has what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbow Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 The Ramada Plaza on Lundy's Lane has a whole bunch of charges that they add on to your bill when you leave... like a "pool charge", even though we did not use the pool and I could not even if I wanted to .I had just taken out my ankle and was on crutches. There is an added "entertainment tax" of 3% to all bills AND surcharges (see Pool charge and Parking charges). With all of the added surprises, we ended up paying almost 30% more than quoted and a booking fee on top. Sure left a bad taste in our mouths. Fool me once.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 If anyone gets that 3% tax tell them to remove it & they have to.If you need a place to overnight your boat in forterie while your down let me know.I have a secluded spot at my place with free power for ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snags Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 If anyone gets that 3% tax tell them to remove it & they have to.If you need a place to overnight your boat in forterie while your down let me know.I have a secluded spot at my place with free power for ya! This is often referred to as the DMF (Destination Marketing Fee), PF (Promotional Fees), and a few other names in different areas. In Ontario you can refuse to pay it, but be prepared for an argument as many establishments will do their best not to (I do not have permission to take that off, the manager is not here, etc). Unfortunately Niagara Falls is a very vague city when it comes to the spending of this money. Often staff will mention "The money goes to pay for fireworks" which was not true a few years ago, not sure if that has changed. As an FYI the 3% fee has HST charged on top of it as well. But please never take it out on the front line staff (servers, front desk, cashiers, etc), if they say they can not remove it they probably do not have the proper permissions in the computer system, or are doing what is demanded of them. If they can not assist ask for the manager and give them the attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snags Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 The Ramada Plaza on Lundy's Lane has a whole bunch of charges that they add on to your bill when you leave... like a "pool charge", even though we did not use the pool and I could not even if I wanted to .I had just taken out my ankle and was on crutches. There is an added "entertainment tax" of 3% to all bills AND surcharges (see Pool charge and Parking charges). With all of the added surprises, we ended up paying almost 30% more than quoted and a booking fee on top. Sure left a bad taste in our mouths. Fool me once.... Niagara Falls is a home for every charge possible. Historically the hospitality operations have 100 days to make their money (May 24 weekend to Labour Day), they will cover their expenses for the year in this time frame and then any extra money they earn in the off season is profit. The city will nickle and dime you to death since when one operation does it, the others join in. It also does not help that the majority of the rooms are owned by three different families ... they operate under various companies to create a faux level of competition. The hotels do not cooperate to set rates, but if one finds a way to make $0.01 more per guest, each other hotel will follow. To the Americans on the board Always ask for the price to be quoted in Canadian dollars when making reservations (this is especially true for Niagara Falls), most hotels will use a very liberal exchange rate when quoting prices, but the hotel will never give that exchange rate when you pay cash (as exchange rates fluctuate minute by minute) and your credit card company definitely will not give you a money losing exchange rate. To all It is a safe assumption that you will have to pay for parking if you book a room in Niagara Falls, if you are going with a branded operation expect to pay for WIFI. If you have a casino card that kicks you free parking in a casino garage, do not tell the hotel you plan on using that as they can not verify anything and will charge you for parking ... the casino does not comp any hotel related expenses unless they have opted to push you from the Casino Hotel to one of the properties they have agreements with (Hilton only I think). Also if your hotel claims to serve a buffet breakfast, expect to put out upwards of $25 for breakfast and dinner could be upwards of $50 per person. With tons of previous experience working in Niagara Falls on the management side as well as on the Corporate side for a few different hotel operations and brands, if you have questions please feel free to PM me ... chances are I know a work around or a way to get a better deal, etc, unfortunately my knowledge is Niagara Falls limited and not the rest of Canada or the USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbow Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Very nice offer Justasnag. Parking is one of the reasons I have avoided overnighters in the Niagara region. Thanks for the heads up Snags. That is really interesting information. I think it was the "pool Charge" that pissed me off the most. Now for the best side of NF.... the cabbies could see that I was really struggling and in pain, and they did their very best to help us out by parking and picking us up as close to the doorways as possible. They were the Falls very best Ambassadors that long weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyjon Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Hi All, Thank you for the replies, based on your comments and Tripadvisor's reviews I'm looking at the South Landing Inn in Queenston, and the Haven Motel in downtown Ft. Erie, both close to boat ramps and they both look like nice Mom and Pop places! Justasnag, thank you for your kind offer.. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Labber Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 If you want privacy and security, at a reasonable price, why not rent a vacation rental home? If you are coming as a group it can be very cheap. Checkout Niagara Smart Stays. I will send you a PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdog Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Depending on what you are targeting and what time of the summer you are visiting, you may just want to head to the Upper/Erie. Early summer and late summer are great. Better bass in the summer, easier to find and more of them. Maybe even get one of the local "river rats" to guide you and then take it form there. Grab a US licence, multi-day licences are available, it expands the fishable water. May is great for bass, pike and walleye in the river and lake - both Upper and Lower. Late September, the bass really turn on again and can be found really shallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_feelgood Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 if parking is an issue, you can park your boat at my place. I am 10 minutes form the Queenstom launch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyjon Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thanks all for the replies. I have some friends flying in from Calgary, fly rod guys, we will try our luck with Musky on the flyrod, and hopefully we'll be able to do some sight fishing for smallmouth as well. I sincerely appreciate all the advice and hospitality that has been offered to me on this board. Best, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchie Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Sundowner is a very nice spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cplummer Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Sundowner is a very nice spot. He's looking for a place to stay to fish. I doubt a strip joint will put you up fpr the night or supply fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchie Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 sorry I only read the part where he wanted a place to charge his battery at night my mistake . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smatone2k Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Lots of fish at the downer just dont like u spending the night trying to get some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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