Clarion President Hotel & Suites By the Falls

Reviews

6045 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2G 3Y3 Canada

192 rooms, 8 floors

3 stars

Rates: from $169 (hot season)

Understanding that the Choice Hotels Group addresses the mid-market range, this Clarion property, as the flagship of that group, did not meet expectations. Firstly, the lobby seems past its expiration date. Secondly, our room, while spacious enough, was not clean (remnants of the previous guests' cheesies on the floor). The remote control for the television didn't work and it seemed as though the front desk was bothered to have to bring another one that too, did not work. But technical difficulties do happen. The washroom, although dimly lit, was acceptable; decorated in 1980s funk and adorned with "standard" at best fixtures. But the rate was good so there's something to be said about that. This hotels charges a parking fee of $13 which, to me, seems ridiculous given the spaciousness of the property upon which it sits. They seem to make-up for what they don't charge in the room rate with exorbitantly expensive vending machine items to parking to local phone calls. The pool seemed nice but we didn't have a chance to use it. Also, kind of far from the attractions - we drove to them.

The hotel needs remodeled. The wall and floor coverings were in poor condition. Our bed was in worse condition--way past its useful life. The bed was concave and lumpy. The restaurant offered a good breakfast buffet. The jacuzzi in our room was very roomy and clean. The pool was open, but the water was so cloudy I refused to swim in it. The pool is open 24 hrs., which partly why we chose this hotel. Unfortunately, we didn't feel comfortable getting in. When the hotel is full there is not enough parking for all of the guests. We had to park in an adjacent lot (at the risk of being towed, I think). I won't stay here again.

I was a little skeptical about booking this hotel after reading all the bad reviews, but I had an amazing experience, and can't wait to return!
I decided to plan a quiet getaway for myself, after working 7 days straight. I had heard of this hotel through friends, and of the amazing discount they offer for SPC card holders, and the fact that you only have to be 18 to stay here alone. When I walked into the hotel, I was immediately greeted by a friendly gentleman, who checked me in very quickly, and gave me room 617. The room was sparkling clean, and the jacuzzi was great. The bed was also very comfortable.
I loved the fact that the pool was open 24 hours, though you should change in your room, as the changerooms are a joke, though you don't need to walk by the front desk to get to the pool, as you can reach it via the lower level.
I also heard that this hotel also offers jacuzzi rooms with 2 beds.
As I said, I can't wait to return.

When we first arrived, I needed to get my hair done for my wedding for the following day, and a florist because I still needed my bouquet. When I got there they had no idea who was open(Stat holiday) so they gave me list of phone numbers to call, local calls are 80 cents each! I called one place that told me that the hotel should have done this for me because I was from out of town! The Florist shop got me a hair appointment! When I brought my flowers back, I was told to keep them in the fridge, so I ordered a fridge for my room, the next day my flowers were frozen! I went down to the desk and the manager told me if I can find a flower shop open he would pay half, I was devistated in 5 hours I was getting Married! So me and my furture husband got in the car to start looking around, we were gone about an hour, I went back to the desk to get the managers name. After that the manager called to tell me that he managed to get the florist to open and replace my flowers. Why didn't he do that in the first place? I was very disappointed with the lack of customer care never mind service. As my husband was preparing for his shower, there was a little towel left, the cleaning lady didn't bring fresh towels until after he was dressed.
The room it's self was wonderful, but the service was very poor. And for the kind of money I paid, I felt ripped off.
Don't stay there unless you have to.

First, we were told at checkin that our room had Ethernet for the Internet. We went to hook up later that day and found .... not in our room. Others rooms, yes. The clerks at the desk seemed confused about why our room didn't have a hookup. And, since they were full up, no others rooms were available. I had called the hotel prior to using my booking service for this reservation and was told that it would be available. At the price we paid we were expecting more than this. I believe they were advertising on a sign in front that rooms were $99.00? We paid much more!
Second, our car parking had jumped from $11.00 to $13.00! This was falsely advertised as $11.00 on the internet. And....the second night we had to park outside the parking area. The parking lot was full and we had to park in a public area of the hotel property, in an unsecured area. (As we said before they were full up.) This ultimate cost us $33.00 is costs for which services were never render. 
Thirdly, when we went to use the Cold Drink Machine a sign stated that we had to buy a "Token" to use it. We proceeded to the front desk and found that the "Token's" were $3.00 and the drink's were $2.50! And, NO CHANGE!
So far can you spell "RIP OFF"!
Fourth, checkin took nearly 1/2 hour. Many, many people were at the front desk complaining about their rooms. Some, they said, were dirty, not made up, and smelled badly. In our room we were a party of 3 and paid for three. The room towels, wash cloths were set for two people. We had to get housekeeping to get us at least extra towels for showering after our trip. (Also there was no express checkout.)
Fifth, After checkin in and a short rest we went (at 8:30 PM) to the restaurant. We were the last three customers, for the evening, in the door. We ordered our food and I specifically told the waitress that I could not ingest the "bleu cheese and mushroom" sauce on the steak. I further explain that I have a violent medical reaction to it. I also requested that it be cooked medium rare. After about 25 minutes the food for the three of us came. Yes, you guessed it, the steak was covered with bleu cheese and mushroom sauce. We reminded the waitress that we could not eat it, she apologized and took it back. She returned to let us know it would be 10 minutes to cook another one up. Then she came back (in about 2 minutes) and said we were in luck. Another party had ordered the same steak and mine was on it's way out. The other party was going to get my old steak. But, when it arrived about 2 minutes later, it was charred and well done! Since we were meeting friends, I took the steak and ate it. It tasted odd because I am used to rarer steaks. Later that evening, I developed severe pains in my esophogus and stomach. An hour later I was throwing up and had to cancel our evening plans. Since we were in Canada, I elected to "tough it out" until about 5:00 AM the next morning. It is apparent that they took my steak, scraped off the bleu cheese and mushroom sauce, and warmed the steak by cooking it some more. My wife and grand daughter who were traveling with me said they did not see anyone else in to resturant nor did they see any food going to room service.
Needless to say, this was the hotel and the worst we've been to. We would not recommend this Hotel or resturant to anyone, at any price, any time.

What a great hotel for the price! The hotel is close to everything, we walked everywhere. The staff were great, very warm and friendly and treated us like family.
The rooms were very comfortable and had everything we needed, great price for this hotel.
I really can't understand some of the comments from other people who have stayed here. You pay the big bucks to stay at the bigger hotels to get more. Don't stay at this hotel if you are used to or are expecting a Hilton or Marriott!
I would recommend this hotel to anyone!!

This hotel was not good. We originally booked a 2 night stay, but ended up checking out a day early because it was such a disappointment. The website stated that there was high speed internet. I assumed this meant in the room, but our room did not have this. I had to use a computer in the lobby for $2.00 for 10 minutes.
When I asked about the wireless internet service, the front desk advised me that my room did not have it. Why???
The room was not very clean, and the lighting in the bathroom was awful. It was like showering with a blindfold.
Also, it was not a 5 minute walk to the falls. We drove to the falls-and the $13 parking fee stunk too.

My wife and I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. We booked a jacuzzi king suite. We booked through discover niagara which offered free cont. breakfast and $10 casino tokens per day. When we registered we were given coupons for breakfast for two for three days. When we checked out we had a charge of $9.95 plus tax and service fees each per day for breakfast. they told us we got bed and breakfast package ( which is free breakfast but you pay for it???) we did not get any package. I explained that we were told breakfast was free. They offered nothing to rectify situation and kept telling me free breakfast is not free. We will see what corporate has to say. Have stayed at Marriot fallsview, Courtyard, Holiday Inn Fallsview. Never had a problem we go every year. This place has no shuttle, food was stale and cold, back door remain unlocked 24hrs a day, it had no key card access. Do not go here with kids, anyone could walk in through back doors. Soda machines on floors only take $3 tokens available at front desk. Hotel too far from attractions it looks closer on maps but if you do not want to use car its too far esp. if you buy stuff or go back to hotel several times. Never Again , It is Courtyard Marriot from now on. We are not looking For so called "DEALS" anymore. Rooms OK But no comparision to Courtyard.

Check-in was efficient; was given a room on the 6th floor. There are three elevators at the hotel. I got a room with 2 double beds. The room was clean and was what I expected since it wasn't a three star hotel. They do not change the bedsheets; they only make the beds for you. There is a small casual restaurant at the hotel, but I did not try it because there are many other better dining options in the area. The outdoor parking lot has gates for entering and exiting; cost $9.00 per night. You have to pay to park almost anywhere in the Niagara Falls area. The hotel is close enough within walking distance to Clifton Hill and the falls, but you should expect to walk at least 10 minutes to get there. I felt safe walking around even at night because many tourists walked.  I would recommend getting a hotel closer to the attractions; there are many hotels to choose from. It is a good idea to go to the front desk to check-out in the morning so that you can confirm any charges to your account.

Our room was extremely dirty and outdated. Carpet and couch were heavily stained. The carpet had crumbs all over indicating that the room had not even been vacummed. The bed looked very worn. Not even a bedskirt or mattress pad on the bed. Had a few bugs buzzing around to welcome us. We could not stay the night in this hotel!!! Checked out just a couple hours after arriving.

When we pull up and see the rate on the sign and know that we paid more per night, but every day there after that rate was less & less. We got riped off for what we paid and the accomodations we got. Yes its 4 blocks from the falls but not a sidewalk on that side of the street or any good restaurants. But the real kicker was they wanted to charge us an additonal $15.00 per day to park our car in the lot. They said we were told that when we checked in and we signed an agreement, but we were NOT told that when we checked in, and who really reads those aggreements anyway. Plus when we were at the falls 1 block away was a sign for all day parking $10.00. We balked at the parking fee and they droped it.
This is a budget hotel and the rates and star rating are not an accurate reflection of this hotel.
Never stay at the Clarion EVER.

I reserved a jacuzzi suite with a fireplace, but upon checking in, was told the room with the fireplace was unavailable. I was disappointed, but was compensated with free parking and a 10% discount off our stay. I was pleased to see the room was very neat and clean. We then called the front desk for the schedule of the advertised "free casino shuttle" and was told that they did not have a shuttle at all. Very inconvenient as that was part of the reason I booked this hotel. Also, the advertised pasta buffet was no longer offered.
This could be a nice hotel if they would take the time to update their advertised services. It seems the "bait and switch" approach has soured most of the reviewers here and that is something the hotel should address immediately.

This hotel was just ok. Room smelled a little musty, and it was a little farther from the night life then it was advertised to be. The pool was pretty much in the lobby which I found strange. Parking was very expensive. The breakfast buffet was expensive, and to me it didn't even look good so I did not eat there. The hotel across the street looked beautiful I think I will stay there next time. The staff also was not the friendliest. Pay a little more and stay closer to the falls.