Thriftlodge

I would actually have given the Thriftlodge 4 stars were it not for the check out!
Every time my friends and I come to Niagara for a fun weekend, we look for a hotel that’s a) close to Clifton (check) b) inexpensive without being a wreck (check) and c) decent customer service. We had a terrible experience with the Days Inn on Clifton, we we decided to stay here (it was our second stay). It’s part of the chain of Travelodge hotels (and is connected to the other Travelodge on Clifton).
Heads up to people potentially staying here– there is a Beer Garden on the property, which means it is often loud at night due to the karaōke! (They let you know this on the phone when you reserve, generally.) We didn’t mind that (in fact, we didn’t do the karaōke, but we did visit the beer garden, and had some drunk fun listening TO the karaōke) but I wouldn’t advise you stay there with kids that want to go to bed early.
The hotel was cheap, right on Clifton, and right across the street from the Skywheel, and it was fun (no nonsense check in, good for twenty somethings looking for a place to stay). The room was clean and we didn’t have any issues with our reservation or the room– it wasn’t meant to be the Hilton.
I am giving it a ³⁄₅ because at check out, there was no clerk at the desk for a good 20 minutes, and the room was locked. Not impressed. The man ahead of us called the «Travelodge direct line» and was told to leave the keys in his room and check out and his credit card would be charged. We called after that, as we wanted a receipt (totally not impressed, checkout time was at 11 and we were there from 10:50 to 11:10) and they said to come to the neighboring Travelodge to check out. We did (and got the receipt) but I have never stayed in a hotel, EVER, with no front desk staff. Especially not at check out time.
I’m still doing 3 stars because we had stayed there before and it was clean, safe, and good value for the low price we paid. I just thought that no front desk staff was REALLY bad customer service!