The Four Points will never be mistaken for the Ritz, but it's a solid choice for what it is: an affordable, clean, well-appointed hotel right across from the Fallsview Casino.
We found an impressive deal on a "river view" room this past week -- an average of $100 a night for three week nights. Having read the mostly positive reviews, we figured we'd give this place a shot over the much more spottily reviewed Oakes. I'm glad we did.
Our 12th-floor room (two queens) did indeed have a river view; though it was possible to see the very edge of the Horseshoe Falls, the upper river definitely dominated the view. The room seemed fairly recently decorated in spite of us being told it was in the "older" tower. Certainly new enough for our tastes. The room came with a single armchair and a spacious desk, plus a nice selection of open outlets -- a pleasant surprise given how many electronics we travel with these days.
The beds were as comfortable as advertised, cushy and yet firm, which is exactly how I like it. But other reviewers were not joking about the annoyance of the non-fitted sheet. I'm not sure why they do it this way, but clearly someone's doing something wrong; either the sheets ought to be fitted, or they ought to be big enough that they don't pop out from being tucked under at the slightest movement. Either way, the Four Points needs new sheets. Might as well make them fitted.
The bathroom was the typical mid-level-hotel layout, with a tub/shower and single sink. Towels were surprisingly scratchy, but also properly sized. I can live with that. The only complaint about the bathroom was that the shower head was either breaking or incorrectly attached: It sprayed water onto the ceiling, which caused peeling and bubbling of the paint, and seemed to be the source of the faint mildewy odor of the room. This was nothing overwhelming, but it was noticeable if you were sniffing for it. Aside from this the room was positively spotless. No issues with water pressure or temperature.
The room location did leave a bit to be desired: One morning we were woken by workers repeatedly entering and exiting the maintenance door right across from our room, which closed with a shocking slam each time. Seems like something the hotel should have been aware of and compensated for, such as with a hydraulic arm to close the door more gently. The room was right next to the vending machine (soda and water only) but no ice machine -- those are only on odd-numbered floors. Which is, well, odd.
And clearly we were far away from their Wi-Fi router, as our service varied from barely-tolerable to nonexistent. But hey, it's free, and you could usually find a place in the room to get a strong enough signal for important activities.
As for the rest of the hotel's amenities: We swam in the pool twice, and discovered on the first night that other reviewers were not overreacting to the excessive pool chlorination. I actually love the smell of chlorine -- it's always associated with vacations for me -- but this was too much for even me. I wear contacts and never opened my eyes underwater, and still my eyes were burning after maybe ten minutes, and I needed to remove my contacts immediately. Perhaps better ventilation could help this situation. Aside from that, the pool area was nice: well sized, with two generously sized hot tubs that were very, very hot. A second night's visit found the chlorine levels slightly reduced, so maybe this is a once-a-week treatment.
We heeded others' suggestions about avoiding IHOP's outrageous prices, and picked the outdoor patio of Vinny's over East Side Mario's for lunch one day, so I can't testify to any of the food available in the hotel. But I will say this: Another reviewer mentioned going next door for a $6.99 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. (I believe the restaurant is called Country Chalet.) Please, if you value your gastrointestinal system, do not do this. While the eggs, pancakes, and potatoes were adequate, the bacon and sausage were some of the most repellent things I've ever had on my plate. (And I've eaten duck's blood soup.) My wife, who is an ardent sausage lover -- oh yes, I went there -- found herself physically sickened by the indescribably fatty sausage. To make matters worse, it really wasn't that much less expensive than other joints, since they charge $3 for a cup of coffee and $4 -- yes, four dollars -- for a bottle of water. Which is the only water you can get because they won't serve you tap water. Seriously.
The following morning we walked over to The Famous, in the Galleria adjoining the casino, and had a vastly superior breakfast for essentially two dollars more. So, I'd recommend that. Or the casino buffet. Or really, anywhere but the Country Chalet.
But that's one of the good things about the Four Points: There are a really generous number of dining and drinking options in the area, from fast food in the Galleria Food Court to fine dining. And of course, it's adjacent to the casino, at a fraction of the cost of the casino hotel itself or even the Hilton right next door.
Now, it is definitely a lengthy walk over to Clifton Hill, so if you're going for the kids-and-family-amusements experience you'll probably want to pick a place closer to the Rainbow Bridge. But we did manage to walk from the hotel all the way down Clifton Hill (after that sausage, even), back up through the older casino, and back down and to the hotel along the river. The round trip would probably take most people between 45 minutes and an hour, and really isn't terribly strenuous. I would recommend taking the Incline Railway (just south of the hotel, between the casino and the Embassy Suites) down to the falls walkway and moseying along the river. It's busy, but much more beautiful than tramping through the back-streets at the top of the hill.
There are other hotels I'd like to try in the area, so I can't guarantee we'll return to the Four Points. But if we found a deal like this one again, I wouldn't give it a second thought.