The River Rapids Inn in Niagara Falls has a lot going for it – good value, a great location, clean well-maintained rooms, free parking, breakfast included, well-enforced COVID protocols and a helpful/agreeable staff at the reception. Karen who runs the breakfast eatery is also a star – she works hard to make the breakfast area more COVID-safe than any other dining establishment in the region. We did have ONE NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE and that came when we tried to make reservations directly with the hotel by phone. It entailed a couple telephone exchanges worthy of a Monty Python episode – though it was difficult to see any humour in them at the time. It is hard to understand why they were so prickly, even more so given the positive experience of our subsequent stay at the hotel. Maybe it had more to do with the cumulated stresses on the hotel business through the pandemic?

We elected to stay here during a very short mid-week getaway to the area. LOCATION: Due to covid, we didn't want to stay right in the middle of all the tourist attractions, so this worked out well. We were mainly visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake and other towns along the wine route, and this facility worked out really conveniently as a bit of a base. We did drive to the Falls themselves one evening - it was super close. There are no real grounds or anything at the hotel, and some of the surrounding area isn't the greatest, but it is a short drive to restaurants, parks, and otherwise. It was also nice to be situated along the river parkway and made for a convenient drive either to other towns in our plans or to tourist destinations or to restaurants. HOTEL: it was very quiet when we were there; not sure how many guests were checked-in (note: we went mid-week, not a weekend) but despite it being a quiet time, the staff at the front desk were very nice every time we passed by. As others have noted, there are no elevators which didn't bother us, but worth noting for others. We stayed on the 2nd floor so didn't have much of a view from the room, but that wasn't a priority for us. They did have breakfast - looked like a mixture of hot and cold items - and that breakfast room seemed clean with good covid protocols as well. I only grabbed a coffee so didn't eat any of it, felt kinda' bad for the staff member working there room as there was no one else there! Hope other guests took advantage of the breakfast so nothing went to waste. ROOM: really good size (2 queen beds, standard room) and exceptionally clean for a budget hotel. All in-room amenities - WiFi, TV, coffee maker, mini-fridge, hairdryer worked fine. I would have liked more accessible outlets to plug in various devices, but so few hotels have enough that it wasn't unusual to have to unplug a light in order to plug in devices. As others have mentioned, the bathroom was small but nothing too unusual - I've stayed in far worse for sure. The hallways were very hot in temperature (we were travelling during a humid, muggy heatwave) but the in-room air conditioner worked really well (yay!). All-in-all, it was very good value for the price and while I don't know what it is like during a "normal" summer, it was a good choice for us for a short stay during the 2nd covid summer! Oh, and they do have a pool but it was closed while we were there. They made that closure very clear in advance so it wasn't a surprise nor a disappointment.

The location is close to all the attractions and to the Niagara Gorge where we like to hike. The rooms are very clean, bathrooms are very clean and well kept. The staff are amazing, Donna goes above and beyond for her customers. Travis has been amazing too. Breakfast was well organized and very clean. Best place to stay because it has everything and a great staff. Will be visiting again and this was always our second stay this summer.