I had just arrived in Buffalo, NY from International Falls, MN for the first time. I was headed for Toronto the next day, so I knew I wanted to stay in Niagara Falls because I could walk across the rainbow bridge and save time rather than sit on the bus for 2 hours while everyone went through customs. I had read and heard some pretty bad things about Niagara Falls, NY, and it was an unusually warm night (it was 4 May 2012). For $20 I got a small sleeping room with a washroom down the hall. I got to use the fitness facilities that night which was great since there was nothing else to do and I wanted to work out, plus I got to work out the next morning. Plus side was nobody was there - so I had the whole place to myself. I saw NOBODY outside on Portage Road or Main Street from my window which creeped me out - where is everyone? It made me nervous to go anywhere because I didn't think anything was open!
This place still used the old-style keys to enter rooms. I was so happy to be on vacation I thought nothing of it, until about 3 in the morning someone entered my room - with the same key I had. Evidently, if people check out without turning in their key they don't change the locks. Now i was worried about my stuff, and thank God I was checking out that morning. I wouldn't dare leave my things sitting in that room unattended. But, I was in such a great mood that upon checkout i had nothing to complain about, and i was excited to just get this show on the road and cross the rainbow bridge, and hop on the bus to Toronto.
As of March 2013, the future of that hostel the Niagara Falls YMCA has is unclear - I wanted to do a little research on how I'm going to get around this May, and it sounds like the hostel is no longer in operation. So I'd advise anyone looking for low-cost accommodations to check out Hostel Buffalo which is downtown at 667 Main Street. Otherwise I don't see many other low-cost places to stay just for the night. read more