This hotel used to be the Renaissance Fallsview hotel that was part of the Marriott family of hotels. Back then, it was the best kept secret in Niagara Falls! The staff was by far the friendliest as they made me feel like it was a home away from home (I stayed over 100 nights at the Renaissance and made Platinum in Marriott Rewards staying there). Needless to say, the management and staff there knew how to run a hotel and keep people coming back.

However, last year (August 2007), I returned for business (again) only to find out that several things were amiss -- Valet parking for triple what the self-parking rate used to be (with no self-parking option, I parked at the Casino instead); the rate I was offered was no longer honoured by "the new owners", even though I was a loyal Platinum customer and recommended other friends/co-workers to stay there. Reluctantly, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to stay there for the rest of the week.

Upon arrival, I saw one employee at the Front Desk that I recognized and asked her "what happened?" The employee went on to say that the owners of the Renaissance sold the hotel and it was now owned by the same people that run the Embassy Suites Niagara (I stayed at the Embassy for 3 months back when it first opened in 2004 and left after management wanted to increase the rate 2.5x during peak season for the 8 of us staying there - no thanks).

I asked about the other staff that used to be there and was told that most quit and went to different hotels. The atmosphere was different under the new owners and the employee I was talking to was ready to quit as well. I was also told that the hotel was no longer going to be a Renaissance Marriott at the end of August 2007 -- further cementing reasons not to stay there.

Bottom line is that the new owners run the hotel as a business - nothing more, always less - anything to make a profit. Customer service is not in the equation, not even for someone who stayed at the hotel over 200 nights in 2 years under the old owners and, from the looks of the current reviews, not even for the first time customer.

Shame on me for not reading the reviews before our trip.

We had similar experiences to others listed here.

Our room had a view of the casino, that blocked the view of the falls. Valet parking was expensive and it took them quite a bit longer than 15 minutes to get our car to the front of the hotel. Breakfast was so-so. Would not really recommend this hotel.

First of all, thanks to all the previous reviewers in regards to staying at this hotel. We booked a 3 night stay (April 21-24) through the Travelzoo website. We prepaid at the rate of $59/night. We opted to park at the adjoining Fallsview Casino parkade which was supposed to be $5/day ,but because we signed up for a free Players Advantage card and played a bit at the slots, the parking ended up being free. Hint: if you do self park at the casino, aim for sections 5A, 5B, or 5C--the exit door leads right to the skywalk access to the Fallsview Plaza.

When you check in, be sure to verify that you do not have a car because their (valet) parking is $23/day!!! (BTW the valet guys seemed to be really slow). Check in was slow due the clerk's inexperience and poor communication with housekeeping. We ended up getting a king bed room on the 14th floor, but no view of the falls, which we kind of expected due to the cheap rate that we got. They tried to hint that this was somewhat of an upgrade because the construction noise from nearby would be less noticeable. It wasn't.

The room was a little small. The bathroom was really small. We had a coffee maker, hair dryer and iron. A mini fridge would have been nice.

We did not go for the dinner packages which, judging from previous reviewers would have been a waste. Since we had a car, we were able to try other restaurants. We were given free shuttle tickets. The shuttle bus goes around in a big loop with stops at the Falls, the other Casino and 2 other hotels; that was useful. We enjoyed the use of the pool and hot tub. The hot tub was really hot the first day, but someone must have filed a complaint, because the next day, it was much more comfortable. The one thing we didn't like was having to walk through the hotel lobby to get to the pool and back.

The only unpleasant experience was a fire alarm on the 10th floor that was set off at approx 4:20AM on our first night. There was a PA announcement that told us to STAY in our room until further notification. The fire department was on their way. The unofficial word was that someone on the 10th floor may have set off the alarm by smoking. We called down to the front desk later that morning to see if they might possibly provide a complimentary buffet breakfast ($8.99 + beverages + txs) for our inconvenience. They flat out said "NO". One would think that for a hospitality business, if the client asked, they would have said ok. The hotel wasn't full and I'm sure not everyone thought to ask for a complimentary breakfast.

One other beef--when the hotel worker was slipping the bill under our door, he or she must of had a companion and felt it was okay to have a conversation in the hallway at 6AM while doing his/her job. I'm a light sleeper and did not appreciate the noise.

Because of the last 2 points, I gave this a rating of 3 instead of 4 out of 5. Overall, I would recommend it due to price and location.

The hotel was nice overall BUT there was a huge problem upon arrival. My boyfriend and I had booked a weekend away through TravelZoo. We booked a room for one night with a king sized bed. We got a confirmation number and everything was set. HOWEVER, when we checked in, we were not told that we were given a room with 2 double beds instead. After going to our room and coming back down to the lobby to clear things up, we were told that in fact there was NEVER a guarantee of a room with a single king sized bed. I showed her my confirmation letter which did not indicate this. We were told there was nothing they could do (they tried to smooth things over with a coupon to The Keg, which they also gave to the couple ahead of us with the exact same problem). So much for our romantic weekend. Just beware that if you book a room, you may not be getting what you booked!