Hampton Inn North of the Falls 4357 River Rd. Niagara Falls ON Tel: 905-358-5555 Web site: www.hamptoninn.com
	Mirrored lobby

Just as its name implies, this hotel is situated 1½ miles north of the actual falls along a lovely scenic drive on River Road, and overlooking the Niagara River Gorge. The popular tourist attraction White Water Walk is directly opposite the hotel, and the largest Buddhist Temple in North America, encompassing four acres, is located next door. The hotel is also within a fair walking/rolling distance of the downtown area.

The accessible room is number 123.

PARKING: There are two designated parking spots to the left of the main entrance, but they are not particularly wide when considering side-loading vehicles. However, we were able to back into the parking spot and unload the ramp down onto a ‘no parking’ area. We were also told that you would be allowed to park in an area at the front entrance if the designated spots were taken.

ENTRANCE & DOORS: The covered entrance to the hotel is flat with a double manual door. The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day so there would always be someone available if you were alone and needed help with the doors.

LOBBY: The front desk does not have a lowered section but staff is extremely accommodating and friendly. There is no TTY available. The use of mirrors in the intimate lobby is very effective and attractive. The flooring is ceramic tile and furniture includes a comfy-looking sofa and chair. There is also a tour desk just inside the front entrance. A tiled ramp from the lobby leads down to the dining area where a continental breakfast is available daily from 6-10 a.m. Coffee and tea is offered free of charge 24 hours a day. We are told that more breakfast items, such as scrambled eggs, will be added in August.

Pay telephones are nice and low but you would not be able to reach the house phone or taxi phone. The front desk personnel would phone for you if necessary. There is an accessible washroom in the lobby.

Lobby washroom: This is a nice, bright and clean washroom. The push door opens inwards. The door to the accessible stall opens out and has a nice low purse hook but no handle on the inside of the door to pull it closed. The stall is roomy enough for a wheelchair and tight but usable for a scooter. There is a space of 49” from the vanity to the stall door making turnaround difficult. There are grab bars on back and sides of the 17” high toilet. The vanity has two oval sinks, one of which is open below. The taps have twist knobs. The paper towel and soap dispensers are within reach. Exiting the bathroom is a bit of a problem as there is very little space for approaching the bathroom door to exit.

ELEVATORS, HALLWAYS & ROOM ENTRANCES: The elevator is through the lobby on the left. You would only need to use the elevator if you wished to visit the pool area on the second floor. The elevator buttons are nice and low. Just past the elevator are the ice and vending machines.

The hallway to the accessible room is to the left past the front desk. The hall is 64” wide, slightly ramped, with railings on the ramped areas. Room 123 is at the end of the hall on the right and is in a four-room area almost like a small foyer. This is also a no-smoking floor.

The door has a plated and raised room number with Braille below. There are both high and low peepholes. Entry is with a plastic key card. The door has a lever handle. A ¼” high and 6 ½” wide marble fire lip is at the entrance to the room.

Two queen beds on platforms	36 and 38" between bed and furniture	No turning space - furniture can be removed if request made in advance

Bath chair comes with room	A lot of furniture = little space to move around	Wooden hook to hang purse, bags, etc. = good idea

BEDROOM: A low light switch on your right activates a pot light in the hall ceiling. The hallway is 43” wide. A closet is on your left with a bifold door and lever handle. There is no lowered rack and the iron is too high to reach from a seated position. There is also an ironing board and a luggage rack. The bathroom door is next to the closet and has a full-length mirror on the outside of the door.

When you enter the bedroom you immediately realize that there is literally no turnaround room with the positioning of all the furniture. The room has two queen beds on platforms; a long, low dresser at the foot of the bed with a mirror above; an ottoman/stool beside the dresser; a two-drawer armoire next to the dresser with a TV on it; a bedside table between the beds with a clock radio; and a square table with two tub chairs in a corner of the room. A phone, lamp with a twist knob and coffee fixings are on the dresser. The phone, which has high sped Internet access, has a long cord that would reach the bed. During our visit the TV remote control was placed on top of the TV and would be unreachable from a seated position. We advised staff that in an accessible room the remote should be placed beside the TV.

A bath chair is located in a corner of the bedroom on the wall connecting the bathroom. There is a wooden hook on the wall 56” high.

There are double, wall mounted extension lamps with twist knobs above the bedside table and a floor lamp in the corner of the room behind the table and chairs. The heat/air conditioning unit is on the window wall but you cannot reach it because of the furniture. The window opens to a view of the parking lot and the beautiful Buddhist temple next door. There were no visible plug outlets.

As the rooms now stands there is absolutely no turnaround space. We suggested removing the table and two tub chairs. There is a space of 38” between the foot of the bed and the dresser; 36” from the foot of the other bed to the armoire; 31” between the beds; 14” from the side of the bed to the bathroom wall; 31” from the side of the other bed to the heating unit and 42” to the window wall. The main problem is there is only 13” from the bed to the corner of the table.

Open vanity, good bar beside toilet, low towels	Tub has wide edge, good bars	hand-held shower/tub chair makes bathing possible

BATHROOM: The hallway is not wide enough for sufficient approach space to easily access the bathroom on a scooter; it was manageable but extremely tight manoeuvring. It would be OK for a wheelchair. A scooter cannot turn around in the bathroom.

The bathroom door is 31 ½” wide, opens inwards with a knob handle and stays open. High and low robe hooks are on the back of the door. A 41” high switch on the left operates a light over the vanity. Next to the switch is a timer dial that controls two heat lamps in the ceiling along with a fan.

A deep sink is set in a marble vanity 34” high, which is open 30” below. The faucet has lever handles. A wall-to-wall low mirror is above the vanity. Unlike many hotels we’ve audited, the hair dryer is reachable as it is 44” high and set at the edge of the vanity. Two low plugs are set 15” from the edge of the vanity. A handy tissue holder is beside the hair dryer. Towels are reachable on racks ranging from 37” to 40” high.

The toilet is 17” high with a 2’ grab bar on the back and a J-shaped bar on the wall. The bathtub is of moulded fibreglass, 19” high, 17” deep with a 5” outer lip and a ridge at the far side that would help you push up. The width of the open tub area is 20". There is an 18” grab bar on the faucet wall, a 30” bar on the back wall above the ridge, and an 18” bar on the wall opposite the faucet. The handheld showerhead has a push/pull/twist control. There is also a non-slip bathmat.

There is a space of 36” from the front of the toilet to the bathtub; 41” from the vanity to the tub and 70” from the wall beside the vanity to the far wall – insufficient turnaround room for a scooter.

Elevator to pool level	Bright pool area	Narrow door to pool washroom	Steps into whirlpool

POOL: The pool is located on the second floor with entrance almost immediately as you step off the elevator. There are double doors with knob handles that open out. These doors would be difficult to manage for someone alone in a wheelchair or on a scooter. Once inside you will notice there are steps up into the pool area and a small elevator/lift for guests with disabilities, but a sign indicates that you must contact the registration desk for assistance in operating the lift device.

Being on the second floor there is a nice view of River Road and the Niagara Gorge from the pool area. The pool has nice wide steps down into the water. There is also a sauna as well as a washroom but neither is truly accessible. Although the entrance to the sauna is nice and flat, the door is only 25” wide. Similarly, the door to the washroom is only 24” wide and the interior is extremely small. There is a snack/vending machine in the pool area.

A complimentary continental breakfast is served daily

RESTAURANT: As mentioned previously, the dining area off the lobby only caters to the complimentary continental breakfast. Guests can travel a little further down River Road to the Days Inn and enjoy dining at the Frontier Restaurant. There are no accessible accommodations at the Days Inn but you can access the dining room from inside the hotel.

There certainly is no shortage of dining establishments in Niagara Falls, whatever your budget or taste. The Hampton Inn offers a special two-day package with a dinner voucher for a restaurant. You can check their Web site listed above for all of their special packages.

Audited April 2004.