Skyline Hotel & Waterpark — Hotel in Niagara Falls

Checked in Friday later afternoon. Family of four with two small kids. The lobby is small , was crowded as everyone was checking in. Parking was not available close by for unloading. Luckily we tracked someone down and asked to stop in a no stopping area just to get the kids safely out of the car and in the stroller.

Checked in to find the room was not clean. The floor was not vacuumed. The bathroom had hair among other things that showed it had not been clean. Wrappers , trash etc. I used Uber eats and ordered cleaning supplies from Walmart and cleaned the bathroom and surfaces. I asked a housekeeper I saw to please vacuum and bring us bedding. She was kind enough to do so. We then asked another person to bring blankets as that doesn’t so be a part of the regular bed, only sheet provided. I did not ask for another room because eww has been in the car for four hours , my kids were hungry, tired and the lobby was chaos. I just chose to solve the issue best I could and get my kids fed and ready for bed once I cleaned and unpacked. I was prepared to just let it and not allow it to ruin our trip.

Saturday - we had asked that our room please be cleaned within the 5-6 timeframe we would be out. This was more than enough time to have it done. We came back it was not cleaned by the staff. I put the don’t disturb sign on the door and locked the door. I began to nurse my baby before her nap. A few mins later banging on the door by the housekeepers. The knocking proceeded over and over, finally after about five mins they stopped. I thought ok good. Nope few mins later banging again and tapping intensely with the key card on the door. I finally had to yell please just stop. They didn’t care about the sign, they didn’t stop banging and they didn’t respect the fact we had asked please to clean the room for the many hours we were out. Even then I still was trying to let this go.

Sunday - wake up and see cleaning staff who none of which speak English. There was a man and one woman who the other ladies waved over I guess because they were supposed to be be able to understand which in the end really didn’t seem so. So I wake up see the staff she asked the lady to come talk to me. I said please please clean the room while we are out. We have no towels. We need the floor cleaned. Please do it while we are out. She said ok no problem no problem. I say thank you and we leave. Return in the afternoon to once again put my baby for a nap. I see cleaners near my room doing other rooms I again speak to them and of course they don’t speak English again so they ask another lady once again to come and talk to me. I explain to her I’m putting my baby to bed. The room is not clean but they can come once I remove the sign because my baby will be sleeping. She said she got it no problem. So to me that’s means she understands what I’m saying. I put the sign on the door. Put my baby to sleep and of course again!!! Banging on the door, tapping with the card yelling at my door “housekeeping “ three times this happened I finally screamed crying while holding my baby who was now freaking out. I said please just stop please I’m begging you to stop. I called the front desk several times. They said they spoke to the housekeeping manager and advised that it was not acceptable to bang on the door while the sign was up never mind that I had personally made the effort to ask them to please not come to my room. None of it mattered. To those without kids or whose kids aren’t nap dependent will not understand how detrimental this is. My baby missed naps both days because of them. Therefore it lead to me being unable ti take my other child to the arcade and for dinner which we planned both days. But there was no way I was taking out a crying baby who hadn’t napped. It would have just ruined the rest of the time trying to manage her in a restaurant it is like a domino effect. This is why I took the precautions I did and made the efforts I made. My older child was very upset and the fact he was just stuck inside both evenings was a complete...

I'll start with the Pros :

Location, Location, location . The location is amazing, especially considering the water park is in the hotel. We were almost right beside it on the third floor.

All of the main attractions were a 5 minute walk away.

The courtyard was amazing. It looks like you're outside,but you're inside with the daylight peeking through the window panels.

Another thing they had while we were visiting was movie night. It was on for a whole month in March, and you could take your pillows and blankets, snacks and go watch a movie on a huge projector screen. They host it in one of the courtyards. Everybody got to get together, hang out and watch a movie with the kiddos. This was awesome!

You could hear the pitter-patter of the little ones running around, especially being that it was Easter. We did our hunt in our room. I took the kids out to get a snack and the dad,I mean ...the "Easter bunny " dropped off treats lol . Some parents uses the court yard.

The staff were courteous and answered all my questions. Out of the three nights and four days we stayed, we had a room cleaned once when we were gone out.

I was able to let custodians know that we needed clean towels and they replaced everything for me.

I even have one staff member following me back to my room because my hands were full. He did not go past my door and waited for me to come grab everything from him. Very respectful!

Now for the Cons

So there's only one elevator that goes up and down from the 1st floor to the 3rd. It's quite a large hotel with a lot of guests. You find yourself waiting a long time for the elevator, and upon getting in the elevator, it rocks, shakes ,creeks and cracks. It honestly sounds like it's going to break down anytime...

I actually tried to avoid the elevator and take the stairs, but I just had knee surgery not long ago, so it wasn't always feasible to climb up the three flights of stairs.

They really need to do some upgrading on the elevator. It doesn't feel very safe. Adding a second elevator would be much more efficient.

The rooms are very dated. Because it is in the main part of Niagara, and you're right beside the falls and the water park, I really feel like they should be doing some upgrading.

There is no option for AC. I put on the coldest setting on the thermometer and there was nothing blowing out. The hot water took a good 15 minutes of straight running to get any hot water, even at multiple times of the day.

I do know with Easter weekend it was quite busy, but we should still not have to wait that long to get hot water.

The toilet looked like it was having a hard time flushing, and it was taking a long time for it to go down.The bathroom fan also doesn't work... The beds are not very comfortable and springy. The smell of the chlorine from the pool also is extremely strong in the bedrooms. They really need to put more ventilation in the water park area.. I only saw two vents there...

Another interesting thing is you get these passes when you register with the hotel and water park package. And it will give you a discount on meals, or kids eat free etc.

What they don't tell you is to access any of those things, you have to walk across the street; through the parking garage, all the way at the end of the parking garage to access the elevator ,to then go down to UL ,to access the mall to get to the restaurants.

And that's not the end of your trip. You then have to walk through the entire mall to get to a second set of elevators near the arcade. From there, you take another elevator to the restaurant that has the buffet, so you can use your coupon. They tell you it's on the 13th floor, but there is no 13 button. It's actually PA or PU .It was very confusing and it took a really long time for the elevator... It's a little bit inconvenient. Especially with small children. It would almost make more sense to be staying at the hotel across the street to have access to the restaurant

Would I return to the Skyline Hotel? Maybe. Was it a good experience...

This going to be a long one.

My family and I recently stayed at the Skyline Hotel and Water Park in Niagara Falls, and let me tell you, it was a rollercoaster of an experience—pun intended! As first-time visitors from out of the country, we were excited but hit a snag right at check-in. When we arrived, I noticed a few guests leaving, looking a bit frustrated. At the front desk, the staff broke the news: the air conditioner was down, and they were offering free cancellations. Not exactly the warm (or cool, rather) welcome we were hoping for! With every other hotel in the area booked solid, we were stuck.

The front desk offered us a discount and a small fan to make do, which wasn’t ideal, but we decided to roll with it, hoping the HVAC would get fixed soon. The manager explained they’d been without AC since the night before and were waiting on a service company. Honestly, I was skeptical, but my family was all about staying positive, (and we definitely could not get another reservation else at this time 😓😞) so we took the deal, grabbed the fan, and kept our fingers crossed. I even ended up chatting with a few other guests who were on the fence about staying. We had a good laugh about spending the day at the water park and taking “extra showers” to cool off, and I convinced a couple of them to stick it out with us. Which they did, I have to put my management skills to work 🥰

Big shoutout to Margo at the front desk—she was a rockstar, handling the chaos with a smile. Ian, the supervisor, was also great, keeping things calm and professional despite the situation.

Now the rooms could use some love. They’re functional but feel dated with smell (you would want to open the to air out the smell) and the exterior could use a facelift too. You can see what they’re going for a scenic, family-friendly vibe but a little modernizing would go a long way. (If they’re open to hiring a consultant, I’ve got ideas!)

The water park, though? That’s the star of the show. It’s got everything—slides, pools, splash zones—and it’s a blast for both kids and adults. My family had an absolute ball, and it’s clear the water park is the hotel’s money-maker.

One Free Consultation to the management, one thing I’d love to see is a complimentary breakfast. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’d add so much to the experience. Everyone would love that! (I’ve got plenty of suggestions for how they could step up their game and become the go-to spot in Niagara Falls!)

That said, free parking was a nice touch and saved us some hassle.

We spent most of our day at the water park, planning to stay until it closed to avoid our stuffy room. But when we got back, surprise! 😂 The AC was fixed! I don’t know who the repair team was, but they deserve a round of applause. That cool air felt like a miracle after a long day.

Overall, Skyline Hotel has a ton of potential. With some updates to the rooms and exterior, better branding, and a focus on staff engagement, this place could be a real gem. The water park is already a huge draw, and the staff’s effort to make things right during a tough situation didn’t go unnoticed. It’s not perfect, but with a little TLC, it could be a top pick for families visiting Niagara Falls. We’d probably come back, especially if they keep...