Econo Lodge By the Falls — Hotel in Niagara Falls

I'm struggling between giving this place a 2 or 3, so since I kind of knew what to expect, I'll give it a 3. If you do your research, you'll know what to expect. I knew before coming that this place was a motel that needed updating so I wasn't super surprised when we got to our room. ||We arrived on a Thursday and our parking and check-in experience was good. We were able to find a parking spot easily out front of the building we were staying in. (more on this later)||Location is directly across from Clifton Hill where all of the attractions are, so it can't get much better than this as far as location.||We had 2 rooms with 2 very different experiences. ||Room 110 with a king bed and balcony was a weird layout. When you open the door to the room, the shower is on the right...like...out in the open. So if you step out of the shower if someone is on the bed, they can see you through mirror thats on the wall in front of the bed. It was really weird that the shower area is just exposed to the room. The toilet and sink are behind a door on the left hand side of the room when you walk in. ||The worst thing about this room though was the mattress. It was hard as a rock. And I don't mean firm, I mean HARD, similar to sleeping on the floor. We requested a mattress topper/pad, as some hotels have these available. The woman at the front desk though kept asking housekeeping for a mattress cover, which isn't what I was asking for. I explained to her that the mattress was really hard and that if they had a mattress topper I'd apprecaiate one. We came back after housekeeping had been there, and we got a mattress cover. So it made no difference to the comfort of the mattress. The mattress was so bad that we almost checked-out the second night. We didn't get more than 3 hours of sleep each of the 3 nights we were there. I asked the front desk if they were fully booked and they said they were, so there was no chance of getting another room. ||Our A/C also wasn't getting cold enough. One day we came back to find that housekeeping had turned it off when it was 35 degrees outside which made for a sweaty sleep that night since we came back at midnight. Shower water pressure was great, but the temperature would fluctuate from hot to cold. The balcony was a nice touch. Furniture needs updating. It was early 90s and kind of mix-matched. The comfortors were also those old 90s style quilted ones. Updating just those alone would completely change the look of the rooms. ||I knew this before going, but just an fyi, there are no fridges in the rooms, so bring a cooler with you. The front desk will give you bags of ice. There was a small coffee maker in the room. ||Room 106 - 2 queen beds||In this room we had a much better experience (this is the room our adult children stayed in). Mattresses were very comfortable and plush. Bathroom was all in 1 room, so we didn't have that weird exposed shower layout like we had in room 110. A/C worked amazingly and their room was kept very cool. They also had a balcony but it had weird wooden pillars on it, kind of like jail bars that went from the very bottom to the top, so that obstructed any view they would have had. Same comments to this room as I have about the furniture and bedding. But overall the room was as expected. ||Parking - try to park in the parking lot onsite instead of the parking lot across the street. We moved the car and had to park across the street on our last night. Someone must have been backing into the parking spot beside me and scratched up all the side of my (new) car and door handle which is going to be a pricy repair. The parking spots onsite seem to be bigger than the ones across the street. ||If you've been there before or done your research, you know that Niagara Falls in crazy expensive. If you find restaurants away from Clifton Hill, they get cheaper. Breakfast at a diner called Cippy's is $5.99 and $6.99 and 800 meters from the motel. Just google map how to get there. It was a great breakfast for a great deal with great sized portions and some of the best french toast you'll ever eat. ||Be prepared to walk a lot. And if you're out of shape AT ALL, walking up and down Clifton Hill is a real ba&tard, so be ready for it and pack comfortable shoes. I'm about 30lbs over weight (thanks COVID), and thought I might actually die on the walk back up the hill on the first night when it 'felt like' 40 degrees outside. ||Fallsview Casino was nice but you'll lose all of your money. Go to Casino Niagara - it was way better and the employees were incredibly nice. ||Journey Behind the Falls was a cool experience, it really was, BUT it's $28pp and when you get there you have to wait in line for over an hour like you're waiting to get on a ride at Magic Kingdom sandwiched in a small space with a couple hundred people who, in the dead of summer, don't all smell like a shower was their first priority. Then you take the elevator down to the tunnels. You're down there for 10 minutes while the employees herd you like cattle through a wet tunnel and then it's all over. I'm glad I did it once, but I definitely don't need to do it again.||Anyway, back to the motel. If you're ok with no frills and you know what you're getting yourself into then this place won't disappoint you. We also booked direct with the hotel and got a great price. We paid (I think) $158 for the king room and $129 for the 2 queens, which was an excellent price for the middle of summer in Niagara Falls. ||Overall, it was a good stay, it was just ruined by not being able to get a good sleep because of the poor mattress quality in the room. Econo...do your future guests a favour and upgrade that mattress to one like you've got in room 106 and then you'll...

I'm struggling between giving this place a 2 or 3, so since I kind of knew what to expect, I'll give it a 3. If you do your research, you'll know what to expect. I knew before coming that this place was a motel that needed updating so I wasn't super surprised when we got to our room. ||We arrived on a Thursday and our parking and check-in experience was good. We were able to find a parking spot easily out front of the building we were staying in. (more on this later)||Location is directly across from Clifton Hill where all of the attractions are, so it can't get much better than this as far as location.||We had 2 rooms with 2 very different experiences. ||Room 110 with a king bed and balcony was a weird layout. When you open the door to the room, the shower is on the right...like...out in the open. So if you step out of the shower if someone is on the bed, they can see you through mirror thats on the wall in front of the bed. It was really weird that the shower area is just exposed to the room. The toilet and sink are behind a door on the left hand side of the room when you walk in. ||The worst thing about this room though was the mattress. It was hard as a rock. And I don't mean firm, I mean HARD, similar to sleeping on the floor. We requested a mattress topper/pad, as some hotels have these available. The woman at the front desk though kept asking housekeeping for a mattress cover, which isn't what I was asking for. I explained to her that the mattress was really hard and that if they had a mattress topper I'd apprecaiate one. We came back after housekeeping had been there, and we got a mattress cover. So it made no difference to the comfort of the mattress. The mattress was so bad that we almost checked-out the second night. We didn't get more than 3 hours of sleep each of the 3 nights we were there. I asked the front desk if they were fully booked and they said they were, so there was no chance of getting another room. ||Our A/C also wasn't getting cold enough. One day we came back to find that housekeeping had turned it off when it was 35 degrees outside which made for a sweaty sleep that night since we came back at midnight. Shower water pressure was great, but the temperature would fluctuate from hot to cold. The balcony was a nice touch. Furniture needs updating. It was early 90s and kind of mix-matched. The comfortors were also those old 90s style quilted ones. Updating just those alone would completely change the look of the rooms. ||I knew this before going, but just an fyi, there are no fridges in the rooms, so bring a cooler with you. The front desk will give you bags of ice. There was a small coffee maker in the room. ||Room 106 - 2 queen beds||In this room we had a much better experience (this is the room our adult children stayed in). Mattresses were very comfortable and plush. Bathroom was all in 1 room, so we didn't have that weird exposed shower layout like we had in room 110. A/C worked amazingly and their room was kept very cool. They also had a balcony but it had weird wooden pillars on it, kind of like jail bars that went from the very bottom to the top, so that obstructed any view they would have had. Same comments to this room as I have about the furniture and bedding. But overall the room was as expected. ||Parking - try to park in the parking lot onsite instead of the parking lot across the street. We moved the car and had to park across the street on our last night. Someone must have been backing into the parking spot beside me and scratched up all the side of my (new) car and door handle which is going to be a pricy repair. The parking spots onsite seem to be bigger than the ones across the street. ||If you've been there before or done your research, you know that Niagara Falls in crazy expensive. If you find restaurants away from Clifton Hill, they get cheaper. Breakfast at a diner called Cippy's is $5.99 and $6.99 and 800 meters from the motel. Just google map how to get there. It was a great breakfast for a great deal with great sized portions and some of the best french toast you'll ever eat. ||Be prepared to walk a lot. And if you're out of shape AT ALL, walking up and down Clifton Hill is a real ba&tard, so be ready for it and pack comfortable shoes. I'm about 30lbs over weight (thanks COVID), and thought I might actually die on the walk back up the hill on the first night when it 'felt like' 40 degrees outside. ||Fallsview Casino was nice but you'll lose all of your money. Go to Casino Niagara - it was way better and the employees were incredibly nice. ||Journey Behind the Falls was a cool experience, it really was, BUT it's $28pp and when you get there you have to wait in line for over an hour like you're waiting to get on a ride at Magic Kingdom sandwiched in a small space with a couple hundred people who, in the dead of summer, don't all smell like a shower was their first priority. Then you take the elevator down to the tunnels. You're down there for 10 minutes while the employees herd you like cattle through a wet tunnel and then it's all over. I'm glad I did it once, but I definitely don't need to do it again.||Anyway, back to the motel. If you're ok with no frills and you know what you're getting yourself into then this place won't disappoint you. We also booked direct with the hotel and got a great price. We paid (I think) $158 for the king room and $129 for the 2 queens, which was an excellent price for the middle of summer in Niagara Falls. ||Overall, it was a good stay, it was just ruined by not being able to get a good sleep because of the poor mattress quality in the room. Econo...do your future guests a favour and upgrade that mattress to one like you've got in room 106 and then you'll...

If you are looking for a spot close to Clifton Hill, then this a good location but it comes with many issues.

This weekend in particular the $250 security deposit was more than the room itself. The rooms are not the nicest and doesn’t come with a fridge or microwave.

We were given a room with a balcony, there is a strip of lights along that wall, 2/3 lights were burnt out. When this was brought up with front desk, we were told it was a “maintenance issue” and they’ve been like that for quite some time now and it’s not the problem of front desk.

There is only 4 lights to aluminate the main room, a random sink when you first walk in, 2 lamps and the lights at the back balcony doors. If you don’t flick the switch closes to the door, the lamp at the bedside table does not work.

Shower curtain is not fully plastic, kinda like that plastic fabric material. Along the bottom of it has the starting of mold. Another issue is the bathtub did not look like it was cleaned properly, the anti-slip strips on the bottom of the tub were black and not the greatest looking.

The air control in the room is basic but takes a bit to kick on and is a bit outdated.

Housekeeping starts their shift at 7 am. Meaning at 7am slamming doors and vacuums are going. They have no care in the world about this. So if you have a late night, expect an unwanted wake up call.

If you don’t close the door properly with an extra push they do not automatically close, they stay slightly open. Not a safe feeling for 3 young women on a night out for a girls trip.

Pool is nice and refreshing. It is not monitored though ( which most hotel pools are not). It’s not heated but it’s 10 feet deep so easy for a nice jump in. But there is broken pieces of red rocks that fall into the pool.

The one building is not wheelchair accessible. There is no elevators or handicap push buttons.

Some positive out of this negative review is:

They let us check in 45 minutes before check in.

If you wanted parking for the next day after checkout it’s $10 till 4pm. Just have to ask. When it’s $25-$30 on the strip itself.

Overall, not a good experience for someone that travels frequently to Niagara Falls. A lot of attitude and unhelpful...