Howard Johnson By The Falls 5905 Victoria Ave. Niagara Falls ON Tel: (905) 357-4040 Toll Free: 1-800-585-4656 Fax: (905) 357-6202 www.hojobythefalls.com
	Howard Johnson By The Falls	Room 109

Located in the heart of the tourist area, just one block to the falls and casino, this seven-storey hotel has 200 rooms of which two are accessible. The accessible rooms are 106 and 108 and both non-smoking and located close to the main lobby.

PARKING: Entrance to the parking lot is between the on-site Denny’s Restaurant and the hotel. There are two designated parking spots on your right, alongside the hotel, but the first one is not suitable for a side-loading van as there is a curb. You will find sufficient room to unload a side-loading van at the end spot. (Just look for the large B on a side door to the hotel.)

ENTRANCE & DOORS: The entrance to the hotel is flat and accessible from the public sidewalk. There are double automatic sliding doors opening into the lobby.

Lowered sections on front desk

LOBBY: The registration desk is to your left and has a lowered section at each registration station. A tour desk is opposite the registration desk and is loaded with information on Niagara and the area. It should be noted that the hotel offers wheelchair accessible shuttle service to the falls and casino. A small sitting room is located just off the lobby, providing a view of the bustling Victoria Avenue. There is also a handy food court off the lobby, featuring Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins and the Victoria Café. The food court is not open on weekdays during the winter months. Throughout the summer it is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

As well as accessible pay phones, the lobby also has an ATM machine and Internet access.

ELEVATORS, HOTEL HALLS & ROOM ENTRANCES: You will not need elevators as the two accessible rooms are located next to each other on the main level. The door to the hallway is to the right of the registration desk. The manual door is rather heavy and you would probably need help opening it. The carpeted hallways are 63” wide, providing ample room for manoeuvrability. Lighting is moderate. Pop, snack and ice machines are located at the farthest end of your hallway, along with two games in a small video arcade. There is also a handy guest laundry with washer and dryer but you would need help reaching the soap/fabric softener dispenser.

The accessible rooms are on your right. Entry is with a plastic key card. There is a very small lip into the room and the door handles are lever style. There is no lower peephole. A light switch near the door operates the hall ceiling light.

Space between outside wall and bed	Opposite the bed	Two doubles on platforms

Space between bed and dresser

BEDROOM: We audited room 108 but are told 106 is identical. The room is bright with an open closet area, luggage rack and shoeshine machine on the left as you enter. There is no lower clothes rack, iron or ironing board, however. The room has two double beds on solid platforms that are recessed 4 ½”. There is one bedside table between the beds with a clock radio on it and a square dining table with complimentary tea/coffee fixings and two chairs opposite the foot of the beds.

A pair of extension lamps between the beds is too high to reach from a wheelchair or the bed. There is also a lamp on the dresser opposite the beds and a floor lamp in the far corner of the room. All the lamps have twist knobs, which would prove difficult for someone with weak hands. Dresser drawers, however, are fitted with easy pull handles. An exposed plug for recharging scooters or electric wheelchairs is located in the far corner by the floor lamp.

The TV plus Game Boy is on the dresser opposite the bed and the clock radio is on the bedside table. There is no fridge or mini bar but there is a safe on the floor in the hallway, which can be reached from a wheelchair or scooter. It can be opened easily with push button control and easy latch.

The room telephone is on the dresser across from the beds, but it does have a very long cord that reaches to the beds. There is a mirror above the dining table that is at a reachable height and a full length one on the outside of the bathroom door.

The bedroom area is big enough to manoeuvre in a wheelchair or scooter. There is 30” between the beds, 42” from bed to dresser and a good turnaround space of 49” from bed to heating unit on the window wall. The window opens onto a view of a side street and restaurant/nightclub.

There is no room service in the hotel.

Open under sink	High thin edge on tub	Tub edge at 20"

High towels	Tub is 18" deep, no grab bars, no hand-held shower head

BATHROOM: The bathroom could be a problem area as there is little room to manoeuvre. There is a negligible lip into the bathroom and a 30 ½” doorway. The problem is that you can get a scooter in but can’t close the door and can barely reverse out, making it unusable for a scooter. There is a space of only 69” from the door to the far wall and 31” from the counter to the open door; that’s all the room you have to manoeuvre in. There is a space of 36” in front of the toilet to park in if you want to close the bathroom door in order to get into the bathtub. It is probably OK for a wheelchair if you can turn on a dime, plus if you can stand up, step into a tub and turn around and sit down on a shower seat. You would have to lift your leg 20” from the floor to access the tub and you have to sit down 18” onto the tub floor or onto the acrylic seat that is part of the tub. There is no hand-held showerhead and one inset vertical Plexiglas bar on the back wall of shower. Towels are not within reach as they are on a shelf 5’ high.

The sink is open below with push/pull/twist faucets on the sink and shower. The toilet is 15” high and the vanity is 31” high and open underneath. The mirror is from the ceiling to top of the vanity. A hair dryer would be impossible to reach from a sitting position as it is mounted on the wall 55” high from the floor and 10” in from the edge of the vanity.

Open roll-in pool shower	Attractive pool area	In summer, you can swim indoors and out through this hatch

POOL AREA: Possibly the best feature of this hotel. Just continue down the hall from your room, past the snack machines and guest laundry and follow the signs to the pool area, which is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Again, a person in a wheelchair or scooter may need help accessing the pool area as the doors are quite heavy and opened with a knob. The pool is unsupervised and children under 12 must be accompanied. Anyone under 16 is not allowed in the whirlpool or sauna.

This is an extremely bright, clean and attractive area and is a nice place just to sit and view the action both inside the pool area and outside on the street through the window walls. The indoor pool actually continues through to the outdoor pool, which has a lovely sundeck. We visited in the winter so, naturally, the outdoor pool was closed. The pool features steps and a ladder. A person unable to stand would have to be helped into it.

There is an accessible shower area but no change rooms, so you would have to change in your room. The shower operates with a push button and timed water. There is also a washroom in the pool area but the doorway is very narrow at 26”. The large sauna has a 2 ½” lip. The indoor pool, which has both steps and a ladder, features a giant water slide. In order to use the whirlpool you would have to be able to lower yourself into it.

Lobby washroom stall	Open vanity in lobby washroom

LOBBY WASHROOM: There is a fully accessible washroom in the hotel lobby. However, the double doors, which open inwards, are heavy and you may need help if in a wheelchair. There are just two bathroom stalls and the accessible one is 58” by 54”. The door has a slide latch, opens out and the width of the stall door is 35”.

The toilet is 17 ¾” high with no back. There is a double roll toilet paper dispenser and a box of tissue. Grab bars are located on back and side of toilet. A reachable purse hook is on the wall to the left of the toilet.

The sink is 32” high, is open below and operates with a sensor system. The soap dispenser is reachable. The paper towel dispenser is nice and low at 41” and mirrors are easy to use. The room is well lighted and clean.

It was difficult to turn around on a scooter to exit the washroom but would be OK for a wheelchair. Again, the heavy doors posed a problem.

RESTAURANT: The on-site Denny’s restaurant (just aross the entrance roadway) is open 24 hours a day. With the hotel located right in the heart of the tourist area, there is no shortage of places to eat. There are several eating establishments right across the street including TGI Friday’s, Brandino’s (Italian fine dining), and The Keg.

If you’re looking for economical and affordable accommodations, then Howard Johnson By The Falls could be the answer. The location is ideal with some 300 shops and 75 restaurants surrounding the hotel. The main drawback is the bathroom. Hotel management was interested in our recommendations for improvements and we will update our information as changes are made.

Audited Feb. 26/04