HI - Niagara Falls Rainbow Hostel

Definitely not the best
we have just returned from our trip to Niagara Falls. I have stayed at a handful hostels in three different countries, and i have to say, this one is the worst so far. we are easy to please people, and nothing really went wrong, so honestly we enjoyed our stay very much, but compare to all the other hostels, i had to give a harsh rating. there's not enough bathrooms. we stayed in a private room on the second floor. based on my count, there are sixteen rooms on the second floor, but a total of two bathrooms. on our half (eight rooms) there's one bathroom with one shower, one toilet, and one sink, sharing the same door. that means if someone's brushing their teeth, no one else can use the toilet or shower. the second bathroom in the hall is slightly better, with two sinks and a separate door for toilet and shower. but it's sort of an interesting experience to be taking a dump while two people right outside of the door are brushing their teeth. Sixteen rooms means thirty-two people sharing two bathrooms is just ridiculous in my opinion. this hostel is overpriced. after tax and everything (without membership) our private room came out to be about $60. the hotel next door (with swimming pool and private bathroom) is same price. to me, hostel should be cheaper than hotels, especially when the amenities are this poor. this is the first hostel i've stayed at that charges money for using their computers. the so called "free pool" only has eleven balls. and the so called "free breakfast" is nonexistent, unless you consider coffee to be an entire breakfast. However, the kitchen was big, and pretty clean. the utensils are bountiful. there's a shelf of "free food" left by previous guests with lots of bottles of seasonings, which i thought was a great idea. there are some cheap and good restaurants within walking distance. a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant that was recommended to us by a staff was a real gem of a find! this hostel is definitely very closely located to several bus stops, train stop, and a bus terminal. we had a rental car so we did not take public transportation, but it appeared to be very convenient. the staff are helpful but not friendly. none of them would say hi to you. that didn't bother me, but may bother some people. the game room (basement) is very so-so. it has a smell, the TV is very fuzzy, and the air hockey table has no puck.

Nice place
I stayed at this hostel about 6 different times over the past 3 years (although I have yet to stay in the summer months). I live about 3 hours from here in Pennsylvania and often come up for a few days or stop here for a night on my way to/from visiting a friend in Toronto. The place is nice, better than average. It has a colorful "artsy fartsy" atmosphere to it. One of the best things about it is that it's very near the train/bus station. If your standing in front of the train station just look to you left a bit and back across the street a bit... it's only about 100m. One of the worst things is this place is it's about a 25 min. walk to the falls and downtown area. The rooms and furniture are alright, and there is no problem with heat in the winter. They have some pretty neat posters and art. The halls, lobby, and kitchen are painted in bright colors of various things, but give the place a sense of being tacky... as if it was done by a group of school children. The common room located in the basement is a gem of a find. There are plenty of couches, a TV with cable, and a working stove fireplace, which is great in the winter, and a pool table. There are also penty of movies and books. It's a great room just to chill and relax in..... however, the furniture is pretty worn out and dirty. A fellow guest was entertained by the fact he could wack the couch cushion with a stick and a cloud of dust would appear. The place is not family run, so every few months or so the staff changes. Most of the time they have been nice though, and they did some tours down to the falls. They also have activities most nights, and on one stay a guy who worked there was kind enough to invite me to go with him to a bar about a 10 min. walk away..."The Daily Plannet"... which is a popular bar for locals and guests at this hostel, and a nice fand riendly place I might add. This is the best place for atmosphere, being social, and meeting international people. If you're looking for a quiet rest or here in the winter, however, there is another hostel only a few hundred meters closer to town that is located in a house and is family run....and they also serve a tasty breakfast, and have better accomodations, but lack social atmosphere (you can see more of my thoughts about here under their listing) The last time I stayed was December 2006, and they were closed this past winter for the first time, and plan on doing the same for future winters... the manager said she was going to do some renovations over the winter for this place and I'll write an update the next time I'm back (probabbly this August or September) as well as a formal review since I write reviews for Hostelz.com and have this place reserved for writing one. The last time I was there they replaced their dinosour pay kiosk internet computers with new (and faster) desktop ones and a better place to sit...you pay for a code they give you and enter that, which is much more efficent. I'm looking forward to my next visit, which by then hopefully they will have replaced the furniture downstairs.

Quite a nice place. It's on the edge of town, but at least that means you see the real Niagara falls and not the hollywood version. A scenic walk to the falls. The rec room in the basement was quite fun!

The staff was very, very efficient and friendly and the hostel had a comfortable feel to it. We stayed on two separate evenings during a two-week period. First in a private room, which was clean and cozy enough. The second stay was in a shared dorm type room. It was a little crowded for my taste but for the price, it was convenient enough. The hostel is quite large and tastefully decorated in a bohemian sort of way, great vibrant colors! We also loved what they did with the floor in the kitchen area, cool idea! Overall, the hostel appeared clean and it was comfortable. Also, it isn't very fall from the Falls. We would definitely stay there again.

Hostel looks good on the outside with the colour. The room was also painted in a few colours. That explains the name: Rainbow Hostel. The hostel looked a bit old to us, the washrooms were not that clean. And had old material. And the distance to the centre of Niagara and the Falls was too far. About thirty-minute walk. Some of the reception people seem to didn't like what they were doing at the time we stayed at the hostel.

I stayed here a year ago, and they have done some great renovation since then. I love the atmosphere, and they have the best facilities for a hostel in Niagara! The events coordinator kept us entertained with a variety of activites, which happen every day at least. The Bike tour was the best though. Would recommend!

I stayed here in February. It's a few minutes from the Greyhound. I was given my own room practically! A four dorm, with no one else. It's very peaceful and the staff were friendly and good fun. It's very homey, clean, and secure. There's excellent kitchen facilities and a huge basement for watching DVDs and videos, with a great roaring fire. Drum jam on Sunday was cool as well as getting some soul cleansing on the new moon. Yep, this place is kinda alternative, but great. I loved it so much to stay another night. Only drawback was it's a good walk to the actual falls and it's a pretty dead area, but who cares?

My stay at this hostel was a fantastic experience. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, the hostel itself was very clean and well organized. Great activities as well. I got a warm, welcoming feeling upon walking into the lobby. It was very colourful and had a good vibe and great atmosphere. I would reccommend this hostel to anyone visiting Niagara Falls. I have stayed at other hostels in Niagara Falls and this one is by far the best. I will return to this hostel on my next visit to the Falls.

After a stay at this amazing hostel I felt I had to come here to tell others of the great time I had. Great atmosphere, wonderful decor and great people. The thing that made me choose this hostel was the wide variety of activities! In my short stay I was able to take a tour to the falls, a great wine tour, enjoy a barbecue and participate in a potluck and drum jam! I recommend this hostel to anyone looking for more than just a place to sleep!

This is the best hostel I have stayed at in Canada. The building is very colorful, with lots of murals, and a very relaxing vibe. The staff are very friendly, and helpful. They suggested a great and cheap wine tour to my wife and me. The other activities were pretty decent, with a barbecue and a rocking drum jam. I'll be back!

We canceled our reservations upon seeing the hostel. There was no hot running water. The bathrooms were disgusting. Very hot and smelly bedrooms. It was not accommodating for a group of teenage girls or anyone else who is used to civilization.

Good clean place. Not too far from attractions. Good kitchen and dining facilities. Bathrooms left a bit to be desired. Friendly staff were really appreciated when I took ill whilst staying there. I recommend it.

Friendly staff?? I don't think so! Extremely rude staff--they didn't even bother telling us where anything was (within the hostel) upon arriving. Hot, stinky rooms. Very dirty bathrooms. This was definitely the worst hostel I have ever stayed in across Canada/Europe/NZ and Australia!!!

Friendly staff, plenty of room, within a couple blocks of the train and bus station. It has what you need when traveling.