The November 2005 issue of Lodging Hospitality Magazine has advertisements on pages 15 and 16 (in the “Branding Briefs” section) for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The ad on page 15 is for the Westin Fallsview, Niagara Falls:
Click on the image to view a larger versionNiagara Falls, Ontario
Westin Fallsview, Niagara Falls
The mesmerizing power of nature creates an unforgettable backdrop for the Westin Fallsview, Niagara Falls, scheduled to welcome travelers in January 2008. Of all the major branded hotels in the area, Westin’s towering structure is the closest to the falls with an unobstructed view. Many of the 356 guestrooms offer private balconies. And all are distinguished by environments of renewing comfort, showcasing the Heavenly Bed, Heavenly Bath and new signature amenities. Westin Fallsview features two food and beverage outlets, 12,000 square feet of meeting space and a full-services spa and fitness center.
A Priceless Falls View
If you visit our previous post on the proposed Skylon Tower property hotels, you’ll see on the left-hand side a square cut out of the building. The hotel has to be like that as that is the property line. I presume that the Jolley Cut hotel basically fits right in there and extends to the edge of the escarpment.
The City of Niagara Falls New Developments page has a link to a map where the Jolley Cut hotel will be. The property is owned by Canadian Niagara Hotels, the Falls Avenue people.
You can see basic details at Emporis or at Skyscraper City
The family edition of the Amazing Race concluded last night with the following events:
..the teams drove 81 miles south to Queenston, where they jumped into jet boats and motored out to the Niagara River whirlpool that contained a buoy holding their next clue. After retrieving it, the excited teams learned they were headed across the river to their final destination: Lewiston, NY.
After jetting their boats ashore — alleluia — the teams were given one final Roadblock, a task in which one member of each team had to puzzle their way through a large 71-piece jigsaw map of North and Central America. Nick Linz was able to overcome his initial inability to remember the true location of Oklahoma to beat Wally Bransen in their quest to pick up the pieces, and the jubilant Linz siblings met The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan at the finish mat, where they were greeted with the following watered-down finish line words:
“25 days… 50 cities… and more than 600 consecutive hours together as a family… Linz family, you are the official winners of The Amazing Race”
I’ve never been on the boats that go up the rapids, but I’ve seen them many times. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to go on them. But if a million dollars was riding on it, I’d probably find the nerve to do it 
The other day I posted about the Incredible Hulk Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf. Here’s a nice shot of the sign near the booth:
I don’t know how new the attraction is, but the Falls Avenue web site still talks up the Incredible Hulk Encounter, which this replaced.
There are billboards all over for a free shark exhibit at the Rainforest Cafe. Don’t go out of your way to see it, as it is just a single small shark in a large tank. I went into the lobby the other day and took a few pictures:
The lobby and restaurant are setup like a rainforest. This is a snake hanging down from a tree in the lobby/gift shop. He moves a bit
This is a picture of the shark tank. The shark is at the bottom of the tank on the right-hand side
This is a close-up of the shark
It looks like Mama Mia’s is getting a new facade:
I don’t know if the bar formerly known as Route 66 ever really opened. It always looked empty. Well, it has reopened with a new name, Wacky Wings. It’s located on Ferry Street, right beside Tony Roma’s.
Out of all the places I’ve visited in the last 6 months, one of the most enjoyable experiences was visiting the Greg Frewin Theatre for one of Greg’s performances. The people I’ve dealt with are wonderful, and I really hope they are successful. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, they have made a deal with Disney and will be hosting Aladdin Jr. during the summer of 2006. Below is a rather lengthy update on the theatre, the Disney show, and a couple of other things:
When the theatre first opened last spring, they were expecting large crowds. Greg Frewin had traveled the world and performed to sold out crowds. They just assumed that selling tickets in Niagara would not be a problem. However, this didn’t happen. There had been so many bad magic shows in Niagara in the past that many people would not give it a chance. Add that to the fact that most people had never heard of Greg Frewin (I hadn’t!) and it just wasn’t going well. Even though Greg is local to the Niagara Region, he had rarely performed locally. Crowds were very small in the beginning but Art Frewin had considered this and was prepared for it. They had always planned on giving it a year, and as I mentioned in a previous write-up, they planned on being here for the long haul (a 20 year lease).
The good news is that ticket sales continue to rise and sales records have been set and broken 4 times in the last month. Word of mouth has finally taken hold and people are starting to know who Greg Frewin is. The theatre is selling more seats now than they did during the summer tourist season, which of course bodes well for summer 2006.
Greg’s appearance with Santa Claus drew a record crowd at the Pen Centre shopping mall.
The show itself always received rave reviews but there was a bit of an issue with the food and service during the dinner portion. The cook was preparing the meals in groups; all the chicken, then all the steak. This angered patrons who had chicken served to their table and others at the table had to wait for their steak. The entire kitchen staff had to be replaced to do it but the problem has recently been solved. The new cook totally restructured the kitchen and how it is run.
Greg’s magic show will remain the drawing card but the theatre always planned on presenting other acts as well during matinees or even having special attractions one night of the week. Art’s plan is a long term one. Aladdin Jr. is only the first of several Disney plays. Each spring for the next several years there will be a new Disney musical for a 4 month run. Nothing has been decided yet on what they will be beyond 2006. Aladdin Jr. should be fantastic. Greg has been consulting with the shows producers to make the “magic” of the Genie more magical. The backstage is huge, and both shows will be able to use the same stage area.
The last time I was in Marvel Super Heroes Adventure City, there was an attraction called the Incredible Hulk Encounter. I have no idea what it was, but it is no longer there. There is still an Incredible Hulk themed attraction, but it is now Incredible Hulk Mini Golf. It is glow-in-the-dark, similar to Cosmic Golf. The course was made by Halloween Productions, and they have a lot of pictures of the course on their web site (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
Here are a few pictures that I took recently:
The booth
The first hole
A new sign
I know someone who received a newsletter from the Skylon Tower:
Unfortunately, I can’t see anywhere on the Skylon Tower web site where you can sign up for a newsletter.
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