Four-Star Hotel with Full-Scale Spa Beside Niagara Falls
A giant milk bottle, towering at three stories high, is situated at the entryway of the Sterling Inn & Spa. It's a remnant of the inn's origins as a creamery, built in 1928. Today, though, guests at the inn are more inclined to enjoy fine bottles of wine: the inn's AAA Four Diamond restaurant, AG Inspired Cuisine, offers various VQA Ontario wine varietals, served in addition to fine cuisine prepped with seasonal ingredients. The fine restaurant is one of many upscale amenities at this boutique hotel, which is situated just minutes from Niagara Falls.
Chandeliers glitter in the dining room of AG Inspired Cuisine. A menu of seasonal fare comes infused with ingredients from local growers, with entrees (C$23–C$35) ranging from peach-and-apricot-encrusted salmon to roasted quail with bacon swiss chard. During your stay, you can also make a quick jaunt across the Niagara River and the international border to the Seneca Niagara Casino for an evening of penny slots and live-action poker.
Traditional rooms feature hardwood floors, modern furniture, and red-framed fireplaces. Each luxurious bathroom features an all-glass sink pedestal and a rain shower stall that doubles as a mini steam room. For more full-scale pampering, the onsite spa specializes in couples treatments, including side-by-side hot-stone massages.
Niagara Falls: Thunderous Falls amid Peaceful Surroundings
Niagara Falls, Ontario, rests on the southeastern tip of the province, where the Niagara River and the Canadian Falls create a natural boundary between Canada and the United States. For an up-close view of the world-famous natural phenomenon that gave the town its name, visit Journey Behind the Falls, where elevators descend 150 feet into the bedrock. From there, you can stand on a ledge carved out of the rock and get a literal behind-the-scenes view of the falls.
Though the falls never completely freeze, an ice bridge sparkling with frozen stalactites often forms at the base of the cascade from December through mid-March.
Niagara Falls' popular tourist center is Clifton Hill, which is lined with casinos and family-friendly attractions. A 175-foot (53 m) Ferris wheel here towers high above nightclubs and arcade halls, and you can hear the distant rush of water from the falls.