Park Plaza Hotel 5807 Ferry St. Niagara Falls ON Tel: 905-353-1010 Toll Free: 1-800-215-5691 Fax: 905-358-7131 Web site: www.niagarafallsparkplaza.com
	Park Plaza hotel	Front desk

Number of rooms on the hotel: 145 – number of accessible rooms: 1

There are 113 rooms in the hotel tower, with the remainder in the motel part of the building. The accessible room is number 209 on the second floor of the tower. And if you like a lot of room to move around then this room is for you.

The Park Plaza is just 6 ½ years old and is located in the heart of the tourist district. It is in close proximity to the famous falls as well as a number of other major attractions, including Casino Niagara, Marineland Theme Park, Clifton Hill entertainment strip, the Skylon Tower and Canada One Factory Outlet shopping mall.

PARKING: There are two designated parking spots but neither is wide enough to take a vehicle with side-opening ramps. If you drive such a vehicle and can’t find a parking spot on the end of a row, you could pull your vehicle up to the front entrance and ask the bellman or front desk staff for help and they will gladly assist you.

ENTRANCE & DOORS: The entrance to the hotel is large with a covered drive-through and double automatic sliding doors. There is a large mat between the two doors but it did not impede entry. The flooring is ceramic tile.

Lobby off the Front Desk	Lobby fireplace

LOBBY: The front desk is on your right as you enter the lobby. The desk does not have a lowered section but at 41” high it is easy to see over it. Similarly, the concierge desk is also 41” high. The lobby is attractively furnished and has a fireplace. The flooring is ceramic tile with area rugs. The elevators and a bank of low telephones are to your left off the lobby.

Lobby washroom: There are accessible men’s and ladies’ washrooms down a hallway to your right just past the front desk. The door to the washrooms opens into another hallway and separate men’s and ladies’ washrooms. We immediately noticed how clean and fresh smelling the area was. There is a space of 51” from the vanity to the stall door. The accessible stall has a 35” door with a low purse hook on the back but no pull to close the door. The stall is nice and large at 5’ by 5’8” allowing for turnaround room on a scooter. The toilet is 18” high with a 2’ grab bar on back and a 32” angled grab bar on the side. There is a three-sink vanity 32” high with the middle one open 29” below allowing for legroom. The accessible sink has lever handles. The one drawback to the washroom is the fact that the soap dispensers are attached to the mirror above the vanity and would be very difficult, if not impossible, to reach from a seated position. There is a D handle on the door to exit the washroom.

ELEVATORS, HOTEL HALLS & ROOM ENTRANCE: There are two elevators with Braille under the elevator buttons. We had to hurry to exit the elevator, as the doors did not seem to stay open for very long. The hotel hallway leading to Room 209 is 57” wide. There is a wheelchair symbol on the door to the accessible room. Entry is with a plastic key card. The door has a lever handle and the opening is just 31”. There is no lower peephole but the door does have a lower lock as the safety lock is too high.

On your left as you enter is a light switch 36” high that operates a pot light in the hall. This hall is 5’2” wide and almost 11’ long with the bathroom door on your left.

From the far closet to the bed	Plenty of room to move in/ pullout	TV opposite bed and pullout

Large closet area but no lowered rack	Opposite bed

BEDROOM: Room 209 is one huge bedroom at 27’ wide and 15’ inside room measurement. There is a queen bed, which, unlike most hotel rooms, is on legs rather than a platform. There is also a double pullout sofa; a low dresser on the widow wall with a remote TV and coffee/tea fixings and a mirror above the dresser; a round table and pair of tub chairs beside the dresser; a desk and chair with telephone/dataport and lamp; a bedside table with clock radio; and an end table beside the couch with a lamp. All the lamps have twist knobs. The room has an open closet with two pillows on a shelf and no lower clothes rack. The closet has an overhead light with a nice low switch on the wall on your right.

An interesting feature is the easily accessible three-switch plate at the head of the bed just 29” high. One switch operates the hall light and another operates a hanging lamp over the window. The third switch didn’t appear to operate anything. There are also two plugs just 16” high also on the wall at the head of the bed. Another open plug is located on the wall beside the sofa.

The climate control unit is located under the window. It is 24” high and is operated with dial knobs. The top part of the window does open but you wouldn’t be able to reach it from a seated position.

Ice and vending machines are located on the 4th, 6th and 9th floors.

Grab bars, hand-held shower head	Details	seat in shower - note distance of seat from edge

Open sink, lowered towels	bars around toilet	2 1/4" lip but enough space for commode

BATHROOM: The door to the bathroom is 35” wide and has a knob handle. The door opens out into the hall and stays open flat against the wall. There is a low robe hook on the back of the door. A switch 37” high on your right as you enter operates three pot lights in the bathroom ceiling and fan. The room is 7’4” by 7’10” allowing for plenty of manoeuvrability and turnaround room on a scooter. There is a space of 5’ from the door to the edge of the vanity. The vanity is 32” high and is open 29” below with an oval sink. The faucet has lever handles and there is a nice low mirror over the vanity. Everything is reachable in this bathroom with the Dove soap dispenser 36” high, hair dryer at 29” and a double plug above the dryer 37” high. Towels are plentiful and on a 36” high rack. A low tissue box is located on the side of the vanity.

The toilet is 17” high with a 2’ horizontal bar on the back and a 30” angled bar on the side.

There is a moulded shower unit with a 2 ¼” lip. A corner seat is 16” from the lip of the shower. The actual dimensions of the floor space inside the shower are 37” by 34”. The handheld showerhead can be lifted off and draped over the grab bar. The shower control has a lever handle. There are plenty of grab bars around the shower including a 2’ vertical bar on the edge of the shower unit, a 32” bar on the back wall and an L-shaped bar on the wall around the temperature control. Dispensers in the shower of Lever 2000 soap and Finesse shampoo are within easy reach. If you’re not able to transfer to the shower corner seat you could transfer to a commode or bath chair.

Pool	Shallow steps into pool

Pool shower is the same as unit in room	Open vanity, lever handles in pool shower

POOL: The pool is also located on the second floor, at the opposite end of the hall to the accessible room. There is also an entrance to Yuk Yuk’s International Stand Up Comedy Club near the pool entrance. The comedy club is actually the second floor to Eastside Mario’s restaurant, which is attached to the hotel. (More on the restaurant to follow.)

Access to the small pool area is with your plastic key card. The hot tub is not accessible, but if you can manage the 10” up to the pool you may be able to enjoy the water by bumming it down the seven wide steps in the corner of the pool.

Pool washroom: There are both men’s and ladies’ accessible washrooms in the pool area complete with showers identical to those in the hotel room and enough room to turn around on a scooter. The vanity is 3’ high, open 32” below and the sink has lever taps. Unfortunately there are no grab bars around the toilet and no backs on the toilet. The washroom doors have knob handles.

East Side Mario's for breakfast or anytime

RESTAURANT: East Side Mario’s renowned American Italian restaurant is directly adjacent to the hotel and also provides room service for hotel guests. You can access the restaurant from the hotel lobby just past the elevators. You have to pass through a door with a knob handle. Restaurant guests use the lobby washrooms which are accessible. There is an ATM in the restaurant foyer.

Lobby washroom	Lobby vanity/ the sink over the cutout has levered handles

The restaurant offers something for everyone of all ages. Breakfast items range from continental and traditional to Mario’s Big Breakfast and are served from 7-11 a.m. For lunch you could choose from a full menu including oven baked pastas, grilled paninis, New York wraps, pizzas and calzones. Dinner selections include rotisserie roasted chicken, lasagna al forno, seafood cannelloni and New York steak among others.

The Park Plaza is a lovely hotel and offers a number of specials throughout the year. One of its more popular packages offered all year long is its two-night getaway. Whether you choose to visit mid-week or weekend your package includes breakfast for two, two mornings at East Side Mario’s, and dinner for two, one evening at the same restaurant. You can log on to their Web site for all of their special offers.

Audited April 2004