Byblos Niagara Resort & Spa

«Free wifi» is actually not available at all, because their network won’t allow any Apple products on (so both of our Macs and iPhones can’t connect), no matter what combo of username or password.
Really frustrating, but the guy at the desk that tried to help us was nice. But he said there was no one available to fix the problem. So there’s that.
No fridge in room.
Gym & pool is acceptable.
Room is fine, nothing especially wonderful or horrible.
Non-​river view rooms are pretty lame.

The hotel was kind of rundown it used to be a Holiday Inn. I went there on Valentine’s Day with my wife and we really had a good time. Plus, we found out when we got there that the fourth floor is haunted by a 10-​year-​old girl who has long blonde hair who died in a burning mansion right where this resorts sits ! her name is Tanya and she likes to haunt the fourth floor especially room 422! I tried to get Tanya to appear, but she would not appear for me. If you see Tonya standing in a white gown –talk nicely to her, she is a friendly ghost and she is scared being stuck in the in between she will not hurt you she is just plays 10-​year-​old like games with you. If you approach her she will turn and disappear. All Google searches say that she is not dangerous. I am not a fan of paranormal activity, but if you like that kind of stuff stay here if you like fancy hotels stay elsewhere. It would’ve been cooler if the light bulbs worked in our room and the shower worked. I complained to the front desk and they did nothing about it.

Rooms have older furniture, the beds are ok but aren’t too big. The first room we had drawers laying on the floor and the handle to the patio outside was broke so they moved us to a different room. Nice hotel but everything is kind of retro.

Here’s what they are doing right a fire place with a lit fire… now I loved that.
A full gym/​fitness center and a lovely pool area.
A great sauna which works great.
Now I would argue with scott the manager who says the whirlpool is the right temperature; the locals say its always lukewarm.
They rent out the pool area to the community.
The Bad
I had river view rooms and yes I loved the river… .
I was overwhelmed with how cool in temperature in general the floors were in the hoteI yet I get it they are trying to save money through the heating bill. Dress like a polar bear when walking through this place.
Now they say they are going to do renovations and by George it is much needed… The place is so dated it could be a throw back to the 80s and not in a good way. Pillows so tiny on big bed too, but service great… If you request more pillows no problem they will supply.
Will I visit again
Only after renovation not even if I get a groupon for 50 bucks a day no no and no.

Outdated hotel with HIGHLY disappointing service.
This hotel is a waste of an excellent location and lovely waterfront view. The interior décor is dated and worn and although our room was clean it was far from inviting. It would have been hard enough to sleep with the constant running and thumping of nearby pipes but we were blessed with fighting neighbors!
After the first 30 minutes of arguing, explitives and the the sounds of items being thrown across the room we called the front desk. We were told it would be handled but no one came. After another 20 minutes of increased yelling and an obvious physical altercation, we called again. This time my call was ignored but the phone in the room next door immediately started ringing. Presumably the front desk…
Another 30 minutes later we heard the woman exclaim that her nose had been broken. So we called again. At no point did we ever hear anyone knock at their door.
So, at check out we decided to stop at the front desk and address the situation. The desk attendant was clearly waiting for us. When, I said we were in the room next to the fighting couple his response was a smug, ‘Sorry, there’s nothing we can do for you’.
I’ve spent most of my adult life in hospitality and I understand that they don’t have control of the guests actions but they do have control over how they handled it. In this case, I would have been happy with a sincere apology and a kind disposition. We received neither.
I will never recommend this hotel.

My family had to stay here a while because we were taking care of my grandpa who lived in Tonawanda. We stayed at the Byblos on and off for a couple months until he went to heaven. The staff was so nice and accommodating. The area is so peaceful, it was a nice place to stay while going through a difficult time. Thanks for everything, if we come back to visit Buffalo we know where we will stay.

My review is regarding the wedding services that this establishment has. I usually do not write reviews unless I have been extremely satisfied or in this case, disappointed. 1^st off, I wish I could select no stars for this place, I would never recommend this place to anyone as the customer service is quite frankly, horrible. We wanted to possibly have our wedding here as a family member had their wedding here a few years ago and they had a pleasant experience. This is when it was called the Holiday Inn, boy have the times changed I suppose.
The wedding coordinator was very disorganized. We arrived early to the venue for a scheduled meeting to check the place out as to not be late. Over 10 minutes past the scheduled meeting time did the wedding coordinator come out and as we are taken back to her office, says that we don’t have much time as her next client is coming in 15 minutes. Geez, thanks, because of your mismanagement of times, it becomes our problem. As we proceed to sit down, she says she just had to print out the menu as she didn’t have enough made. As we ask about what is included in the different packages, does not actually go through them and continually talks about her nieces and nephews getting married there. We ask about who will handle the wedding, who will be the contact and says as soon as the contract is signed, she hands it over to the banquet manager. She says the only time she will be around the wedding or if problems arise is during the ceremony if we are to have it there. The banquet manager is to handle setup, etc. and if any issues arise. So, what do you say you do here?
Normally, my understanding is when you go to venues you are getting prices to see what you can afford and if you like the venue. After talking about her family having weddings here, she asks if we have a wedding budget. We say we really do not have one right now as we are looking to see what is going to work for us and if we like the venue. She was very snarky and said you have to have a budget so you know what packages to go with. Maybe if would go over the different packages, we would know what we can afford. I guess sorry for wasting your time because we don’t have a number to give you right now.
That is the time now that the other clients arrive. Wait a minute, we haven’t even looked at the facility. You mean I have to ask this? So we ask if we are able to see the venue, she says sure, wait in the hallway and I will be with you in a minute. We wait in the hallway a few minutes without giving us the menu (probably because she has to give to the next clients) and proceeds to show us the venue. I do have to admit though, the location is very nice as the ceremony area overlooks the river and the reception area was decent space that overlooks the ceremony area and the river.
If you are a gambling kind of folks, in not knowing what to expect out of a place or having added stress of disorganization, then I would recommend this place. It is too bad that this venue is in a great spot, however poorly managed.

Overall, it was a good stay. I was a little bit disappointed in hotwire hot deals since it showed me that the hotel was going to be near Niagara Falls, but actually it was 12 miles away. That is not a hotel’s fault at all, that what you get when you believe geo-​location of hot deals on Hotwire. So, instead of leaving our car at the hotel, we actually had to drive all the way to Niagara. Not a big deal, but just changed our plans a little bit.
We liked the location of our hotel and the view. It’s quite and peaceful location. The room was mostly clean, but the window behind the curtain needed some attention. It looked like they forgot about that part of the room. It was the first hotel my parents stopped at after their first ever trip to the USA, and my father asked me: if it’s a normal thing? :) I didn’t see a significant issue in that :)
Another positive part is swimming pool with sauna and hot-​tub! I spent good two hours enjoying it.
When I travel to Niagara Falls again, I will definitely consider this hotel again, if I don’t find better options closer to the Niagara Falls State Park.

They hired this wonderful bartender, Mary. She was amazing and did such a great job making all the guests feel welcomed and cared for. So, I go in there again and see these teenage twits who are good looking but know NOTHING of customer service and I am appalled. I asked the gigantic banquet manager, «What happened to Mary, the wonderful bartender, and he tells me HE DOESN’T know who I am talking about!!! Are you effing kidding me??? The best bartender I have ever met and you DON’T know who I’m talking about? For shame. You guys could OWN the word «resort» on Grand Island, and you are an embarrassment.

DO NOT PATRONIZE this place. This is a horrible place to stay if you want timely service and accommodation. I came here on a tour and they did little to even show that they cared about our well being in terms of eating. We had a time sensitive itinerary that caused us to not fully partake of breakfast (5 mins is not enough time to scarf down a buffet and there were no to-​go containers. There wasn’t even an apology for the restaurant opening late. The rooms were only ok & now I can understand why they were rated so lowly on Unilocal

Will be staying here next weekend. With the mixture of positive and negative reviews, I will be eager to detail my visit on my blog. Stay tuned my blog readers and fellow travelers. We will see what this place has in store.
Review update…
So I am departing from my weekend stay and have come to a conclusion in regards to the mixed reviews on this site. Truth be told, all the reviews you are reading are indeed valid forms of feedback and should be considered while deciding on where to stay.
First the good…
This place is in a great location! We had a river view room which is literally right off of the river. The web site states that the resort is fifteen minutes from all the major attractions and this was absolutely true.
The indoor pool was great with space for adults and kids to swim. While we did not use the fitness center, strolling through it… it was huge and kept very clean.
I did not eat at the restaurant, but did receive a small tour from the chef right before it opened for dinner. He view was amazing with a beautiful grand piano on display in the main dining hall.
Pulling up to the resort, it looks very modern and up to date. The lobby area bosted the same first impression as well. This includes the fact that the front desk staff were very nice.
Now on to the bad…
Let’s start with the price. On one hand, it was comparable to other hotels of its size and advertised atmosphere, but on the other hand… these other hotels that you compare it to are even closer to the biggest attraction of this area (niagra falls), and actually boost the resort atmosphere that Byblos advertises. This is to say, Byblos resort is no more a resort than the holiday inn a few miles up he road is. In other words, you are paying resort prices, but getting a basic hotel experience. The rest of this feedback will provide more detail on this.
While our room was good in size, quantity is not better than quality when it comes to an over night stay. Aside from our view, the room itself was very out dated. The blue carpets where becoming detached from the floor. The wallpaper was peeling off, the balcony was covered in bird poop, the tub (which is randomly placed in the living room), had a wooden base with the paint peeling off. Along with the room being out dated, it was obvious that it was not fully clean as we discovered an old hello kitty book, colored pencils, and a single sock through out the room. The bathroom did not have a working vent which would explain the moisture damage on the walls, and the lights to the bathroom were located only in the room doorway area. Very inconvenient. With popcorn ceilings, cracked cement patios, and mirrors placed around the jacuzzi tub… it provides more of a sleezy back alley «love» hotel then that of a resort.
The hallways showed the same interior decorative aspects of the room, with less light and lower ceilings giving you the sensation of walking through a series of caves in an underground tavern.
The elevators were dark and more importantly, LOUD and SLOW! We ended up using the stairs our entire stay despite us being on he third floor and me having to wear and ankle brace due to an injury.
As stated before I did not attend the restaurant, however my girlfriend did attend for breakfast while I tried to get some extra sleep (I got very little sleep during the night as the walls are indeed paper thin and the sound of slamming doors and loud tvs, echoed throughout our room until nearly 3am.). Needless to say, my girlfriend was incredibly disappointed with the breakfast selection, especially considering she had to pay nearly 13 dollars fo quite literally just a couple of bits of food because of the fact that most of the food she would not eat. All of the food appeared «fake», and unnatural along everything seem very un appetizing.
Parents if your children are swimming at the pools. Please do not rely on the life guards for safety purposes. I found the young teenagers more focused on there card games at the table they were sitting at, paying no attention to the people in the pool.
All in all, I believe that the two star rating I am giving this «resort», in on the high end. However the front desk staff, the personality of the chef, and the location of the hotel have prevented a one star rating. However, if you do decide to stay here, be prepared to pay nearly 200 dollars a night for a place worthy of no more than 85 dollars a night with all things considered.
This place has potential to be great, but it is no where near its potential at this time.

My review is for both their wedding services and hotel rooms.
The only reason this hotel receives two stars is the beautiful outside wedding venue and the location on the river. Everything for my wedding ceremony went perfect, however it was not due to the helpfulness or understanding of anyone employed with Byblos. Throughout the course of our engagement they had 4 or 5 wedding planners. I lost track because every single time they would email me to introduce themselves and we would have to start over with all of the details. The final wedding coordinator either quit or was fired right before my wedding– however nobody told us this until the day of the wedding. There was nobody there the night of the rehearsal to help and answer questions and the ladies at the front desk lied about the coordinator being on her way. We know this because she never arrived and after we left both of our moms called to talk to her and she still was not there. I also booked what I was told «an 8 person party suite» for my bridesmaids and I for the night before the wedding. When we arrived it was a regular suite for 4 people. When I asked the front desk if they had made a mistake their response was «Nicole doesn’t work here anymore so we don’t know why she would tell you that» their compensation was a rolling bed sent to the room. I paid $ 250 for this room. When I asked who would be coordinating my wedding the next day since Nicole no longer worked with them her response was «I don’t know, but I’ll write a note to make sure someone will be there tomorrow» then the day of the wedding we had to keep hunting people down to make sure things were getting set up. super stressful when I should be focusing on other things! No chairs or anything were set up a half hour before my guests were going to begin arriving. I was also told that nobody would be in the pool. People were in the pool while our guests were finding their seats, and then they were told they needed to be quiet if they wanted to use the pool right before the ceremony started. Thankfully those swimming had more sense and respect for our special day than the establishment that was getting approximately $ 1500 from us.
After the ceremony while people were celebrating with us we were told by the «coordinator» of the day that we had to leave by 3:15 (it was 2:45). She immediately began to set up for the next ceremony before we had the opportunity to take photos with out families or anything. We booked our ceremony a year and seven months in advance. Common sense would say give the bride and groom a little bit of breathing room before you kick them out.
Back to the rooms. It was very hard to sleep the night before. You could hear people slamming doors and running up and down the hallway. My bridesmaid went to use the bar soap in the bathroom, opened up the box, and found someone else’s hair on it. Disgusting! When I brought it to the front desk they just said «that’s gross, do you want new soap?» The hotel room overall was gross. Also we opened the patio door to let fresh air into the room and we had a miniature bug invasion. 11:30 the night before my wedding I was smashing Mosquitos and flies with a sandal. The tub drain was also slow and backed up. The stay at the hotel added stress to the wedding experience.
It’s quite a shame because I would hate to discourage people from utilizing the beautiful outdoor venue. I have a relatively easy going and forgiving personality, and it escalated to a point that I probably should have been angrier. If you will find your wedding day stressful and need it to be absolutely perfect I would not recommend this venue to you. If you are okay with handling all of the details and babysitting the employees I would say definitely take advantage of the natural beauty it offers.

Found a good rate online and even got a river view room, which really had a beautiful view. Staff was very friendly and the restaurant was excellent for dinner (though not open on Sundays). The indoor pool was also great and the workout room seemed decent!
Onto the bad…
It was raining when we stayed and I actually noticed the carpet by our balcony door was soaked… Which by our second day really started to smell moldy. There was a bit of mold in the shower, too. I don’t think I’m asking a lot to not have water come into our room when it rains. We spent the whole day out and came back at 3pm, noticing our room hadn’t even been cleaned yet and the person who cleans said she could do it just then if we wanted. Ideally cleaning is done earlier in the day and when we are out! So we thought 3pm was odd. We paid $ 10 each for the breakfast buffet which consisted of nasty runny powder eggs, not edible hard bacon, potatoes and some cereal and fruit. Breakfast should’ve been included. Overall, I think the hotel could be really nice but with a lot of work. I somehow doubt the money needed to update this place will come soon enough. But is it too much to ask for our room to not be moldy? I wonder what lifting up the wall to walk carpeting would reveal… Honestly. I would also like to mention that a lot of people complained that there wasn’t a fridge in the room but we got one with a fridge and microwave.

For the amount of money spent per night I expected a better hotel. No fridge or microwave in the rooms. No breakfast included and the breakfast that we paid for was sub par. I definitely would NOT stay here again, we had a wedding as to why we stayed here.

Stayed in Memorial Day weekend. Didn’t have time to explore all of the features. But the room seems quite smaller then the specification mentioned in the website.

We stayed for 2 nights and it wasn’t bad. They didn’t offer breakfast (the restaurant is open seasonally?) so that was a pain. Took the kids to the pool area which was actually quite fun. The hot tub is small but decent nonetheless. Our double bed room was ok, pillows weren’t the most comfortable that’s for sure. Our view overlooked the river which is great scenery to observe. Definitely get a river view room if possible. The ice machine was in the 5^th floor so it’s a pain in the butt if you’re not staying up there. The staff the dealt with were friendly and nice, especially the pool employee, she was the best!

Stayed 3 nights in July 2014. Had huge problem with bugs (sand flies, moths) in our room. There are no screens on sliding doors to balconies so you must keep room closed up at all times. We had a river view but could not enjoy the beautiful breezes because of the lack of screens. Overall, the place is huge and quite run down. Staff is nice but this place is in dire need of an update

This hotel is not justified at all calling itself a resort and spa. The mgt doesn’t seem to care that the place looks like a dump. The breakfest buffet was very bad

free wifi and friendly staff
Bathrooms for banquet areas smell. Sleeping room bathrooms have years of dirt. Rooms are very very very dirty. No outlets and no access to the ones in use. Mirrors and windows dirty. I even took a hot washcloth to the wall behind the bed. Everything everywhere is dirty dirty dirty. Could you buy two two-​dollar deck chairs so we can sit outside? Phones are disgusting. Photos posted by the resort do Not represent. It would take zillions to reform this to «resort.»

Overall pretty good
Pros:
–front desk is helpful
–clean beds
–arcade room (games are okay), indoor pool, outdoor pool, sauna, fitness room (hotel offers a lot)
–good tv, flat-​screen, good quality and offers many channels
Cons:
–Wifi is alright
–bathroom is not well maintained and smells probably due to poor circulation. Bathroom door is a bit old looking. (The smell doesn’t affect the room though)
–pillows not that comfy