Visitors with a taste for a distinctly Canadian specialty – fine wines made from grapes left on the vine to freeze – can Niagara Icewine Festival, sample the latest vintages and get in the winter spirit at outdoor street parties in Jordan and Niagara-on-the-Lake.  The festival celebrates Icewine and local cuisine and showcases several of the reasons Niagara has been selected as the Top Wine and Food Destination in Canada on TripAdvisor.

For the most complete experience, purchase the popular Discovery Pass which offers visitors the chance to select six unique wine and culinary experiences from more than 30 experiences along Niagara’s well-travelled Wine Route.

At the end of the day, kick back and relax in the comfort of the Deep Sleeper bed at the Crowne Plaza Fallsview which features seven layers of luxurious bedding.

As part of the ongoing CAA Winter Festival of Lights, the 21 “Enchantment of Disney” displays use carefully crafted lights to bring to life animated characters from Disney classics, such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Fantasia, Winnie the Pooh and Tinker Bell.

Characters from blockbusters like Cars, Toy Story, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid are also lighting up the park.

An evening stroll through the park makes for a great ending to the day for families who’ve spent the day at the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark on the hotel’s one or two night Waterpark Packages.

More than half of the 234 guestrooms and suites at the Crowne Plaza provide birds-eye views of the Falls and the scenic parklands surrounding the hotel.

Every Friday evening through the end of January, the Falls will serve as the backdrop for a fantastic fireworks show as part of the CAA Winter Festival of Lights.

Visitors can enjoy the picturesque pyrotechnic displays from the comfort of their guestrooms Friday nights at approximately 9 p.m.

The Niagara Falls themselves will also be displayed with the colours of the rainbow until the end of February, as part of the festival.

The fireworks light show is just the right thing to set the mood for couples looking to fire up the romance with the help of the hotel’s one- or two-night Ultimate Couples Package.

It was during an 1860 visit by the Prince of Wales that the custom of lighting up the waterfalls got its start. In honour of the prince’s visit, more than 200 multi-coloured lights were placed along the banks above and below the American Falls, as well as along the road down the bank of the Canadian side of the gorge and behind the Horseshoe Falls.

The Niagara Falls Illumination Board has been making sure visitors can see the natural beauty of the falls at night with the help of dazzling light displays ever since 1925.

A stay in one of the Crowne Plaza Fallsview’s Superior Fallsview King rooms guarantees guests a spectacular view of the nightly light show, which will bathe the falls in the colours of the rainbow until the end of February.

Host Linda Pellegrino will broadcast the Niagara Falls themed show live between 10:00am– 11:00am on Friday, December 16, 2011 from the spectacular Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra with Niagara Falls as a scenic backdrop.

One of the longest running and most successful locally produced programs in the Country, “AM Buffalo” will feature notable guest appearances including the President of Canadian Niagara Hotels Doug Birrell, General Manager of the Winter Festival of Lights Dino Fazio, Master Hypnotist Danny Zzzz, and Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls – Fallsview Executive Chef Kevin Maniaci.   The show will also feature holiday themed segments by reporter Jon Summers, who will tour the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark, Hershey Store Niagara Falls, and the Winter Festival of Lights.

Considered the premier Fallsview entertainment complex in Niagara Falls, the 20 acre Falls Avenue Resort is home to luxurious Niagara Falls hotels, exciting attractions, exclusive shops and themed dining including: the Sheraton on the Falls, Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls-Fallsview, the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark, Hershey Store, Rainforest Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Adventure City and much more.

Located directly across from the falls, the Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls-Fallsview offers exceptional guestrooms many with a picture perfect view of Falls.  The classic hotel has been a fixture on the Niagara skyline for generations and was the first full service luxury hotel built in Niagara.  Situated on the 10^th floor of the Crowne is the spectacular Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra – Niagara’s premier Fallsview dining experience.

For more information or for room reservations visit www.NiagaraFallsHotels.com or call 1-800-263-7135

Getting to the Falls Avenue Resort from the US is about to get easier with the announcement of new security perimeter deal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama met on Wednesday in Washington to announce details of the extensive deal that will see traffic flow of visitors and goods increase.

The series of enhancements are expected to ease the congestion of travellers at land and air crossings such as the Rainbow Bridge and will increase the speed in which goods travel between Canada and the US.

Some of the highlights of the deal include more lanes to be opened at land crossings, technological upgrades to promote the use of documents including NEXUS cards, enhanced drivers licenses, and passport cards, and pre-clearance capabilities for select companies that produce goods in either country that are dependent on cross border shipments.

While speed and ease of traffic are at the forefront of the new deal, security remains the number one priority with several key points in the agreement allowing for greater information sharing and a team aspect to securing the border.

The new deal is widely accepted as the most significant step in Canadian-American co-operation since the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Now under way in its 29^th season, the CAA Winter Festival of Lights features more than 120 animated lighting displays and three million tree and ground lights that cast a colourful glow on the Niagara Parks Winter Wonderland, including the extremely popular “Enchantment of Disney” display in Queen Victoria Park.

The festival, which runs through the end of January, also keeps visitors entertained with fireworks shows over the Falls every Friday night, entertainment at various venues and the family-favourite TD Rink at the Brink, where skaters can hit the ice outdoors within view of the Falls.

Join us at the Crowne Plaza for accommodations just steps from the displays.  It’s sure to be an illuminating visit!

But sometimes all it takes is a little perspective for a couple to recapture the spark that brought them together in the first place.

A couple days away with nothing on the agenda but great food, great sights and plenty of time together can provide just the right escape this fall and winter.

The Crowne Plaza-Fallsview has just the thing for couple’s looking for some quality one-on-one time.

The hotel’s Two-Night Ultimate Couples Package includes a two-night stay, a $40 dining gift card at the hotel’s Fallsview restaurant, the Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra, a wine tour and tastings at both Hillebrand Winery and Peller Estates Winery in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, as well as other amenities that are sure to please.

So put everything else on the backburner for a couple days and move a romantic getaway in Niagara Falls to the top of the agenda.

And now celebrated chef, author and TV host Massimo Capra is giving guests at the Crown Plaza Hotel’s Rainbow Room a taste of his culinary expertise.

The 10^th floor restaurant features a fresh-market menu put together by Massimo, who has created a variety of delicious dishes highlighting local Niagara ingredients.

How about some caramelized Niagara peaches and cheese to get started for that dinner overlooking the Falls? Why not follow up with some tasty rosemary-grilled chicken Alfredo served with in an Inniskillen Chardonnay cream sauce?

All of Chef Capra’s creations are accompanied by fresh market Niagara fare.

And what goes better with Niagara cuisine than Niagara’s fine wines?

Diners at the Crowne Plaza-Fallsview can accompany their meals with an extensive selection of award-winning vintages hand-picked by Canada’s foremost wine authority Tony Aspler.

General Brock Hotel

Here is an old ad for the General Brock Hotel (Crowne Plaza Fallsview) back in the late 1930′s

Interesting Notes:

Complete Package under $5

A single room would cost 50 cents extra

Train from T.O. to the Falls $2
(based on “cent a mile” pricing)