After plans for our month-long river cruise and self-guided tour around Europe blew up we were sitting around the house feeling a bit sorry for ourselves … but only until all the refund money started to appear as credits on our charge card of course.
What we had budgeted to spend on travel in 2026 never got spent and it felt like we were sitting around with a bunch of new money. We weren’t of course, but we did realize that the recovered money could be used in other much less expensive fun ways.
Our family “Thanksgiving Celebration” was scheduled for the weekend after the official dates because of commitments for other family members, so the Love-goddess (T-L-G) and I were wondering what we would do to fill in our now wide-open dance card for the holiday weekend. And, we also had to give some thought to what we would do to celebrate her birthday that had just taken place, and that we had planned to celebrate in Europe.
What we landed on was a weekend getaway to one of Ontario’s most charming towns, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Also commonly referred to as NOTL. Niagara-on-the-Lake is a much-visited destination for many reasons, including a couple of big ones. First and foremost, it is the home of the long-standing and nationally famous “Shaw Festival Theatre”, currently in the midst of its 64th operating year. And secondly, it sits at the epicentre of Niagara region’s wine producing area.
It is a historically interesting place to visit as well. The town and surrounding area played a central role in important battles fought during the war of 1812. And fast forwarding to the future, it is home to an array of absolutely wonderful boutique hotels, and restaurants. All of these are nestled into a village like setting with a delightful assortment of specialty shops. The perfect locale for a weekend getaway.
We thought we might take in a play on Sunday, which was the day we would have time to attend one. Unfortunately, only the main theatre had a performance scheduled … one we weren’t particularly keen on seeing … while the other two theatres were dark. I guess everybody wants time off to celebrate Thanksgiving.
We had a commitment for the Friday, so we got off to a bright and early start on Saturday morning and headed out. It is about a two-hour drive to NOTL from where we live. We took the scenic route the whole way and it ended up taking over 2 ½ hours, but it made for a lovely fall drive and well worth the extra time spent.
Click on the left image in photo carousels and they will pop up into a easier to view larger size. Unfortunately, the text is difficult to read in the expanded format. I am working on getting this resolved.
Pub Lunch
We arrived just in time for lunch and were in the mood for a pub lunch, so what better place to address that than at the Olde Angel Inn. The Olde Angel Inn is one of the oldest continuously operating pubs in Ontario. It was originally established in 1789, then burned during the War of 1812, and rebuilt in 1815. The inn is reputed to be haunted by Captain Colin Swayze, a War of 1812 militia officer who was killed by the Americans in its basement during fierce fighting.
We found a quiet corner in the back room where we had a bite and a beverage to cap off our journey. We spent some time talking to a couple from Rochester, who of course before they said anything else apologized about the orange menace that is infecting America. Lunch over we headed down to check in at our hotel.
Our Lodging
There are a number of wonderful hotels in NOTL to choose from, and we typically stay at the Oban Inn when we are there. However, this time we booked in at the Queens Landing hotel down on the waterfront. The Queen’s Landing is one of a number of hotels owned and operated under the “Vintage Hotels” banner. Others included in the group in NOTL are the Pillar and Post, the Prince of Wales Hotel, and the Moffat Inn. There are other hotels in the collection, but they are in different locales around the province.
The consolidation of all these wonderful hotels under one umbrella is an interesting story. The Vintage group is owned by Jimmy Lai who is a Hong Kong businessman, politician, and now political prisoner. He is currently in prison serving a 20-year sentence for his efforts in support of democratic governance in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai put up the capital in 1997 for his twin sister, Lai Si-Wai, to acquire numerous hotel properties in Niagara-on-the-Lake. His sister previously immigrated to Canada in 1979 and had built a career working in the hotel business. The Lais Group of Companies also owns additional properties in Jordan and Caledon (Ontario). Lai remains the owner despite his arrest.
It’s been a while since we last stayed at one of the Vintage Hotels, and it was a pleasure to be reminded just how exceptional their service is. As I mentioned, when we are in town, we typically stay at the Oban Inn, which, interestingly, is now owned and operated by Jimmy Lai’s sister. Both establishments have outstanding proprietors, and the quality of service is a testament to that.
After checking in and getting settled into our room, we decided to head down to the patio overlooking the river and have a pre-dinner drink. Margaritas seemed to be in order. 🙂
A “Different” Dining Opportunity
Now relaxed and hungry, it was time to head out for dinner. We had reserved a table at a place that might not immediately spring to mind for most visitors to Niagara-on-the-Lake: the restaurant at the local golf course.
The course itself is unique. The Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course … established in 1875 … is the oldest still-existing golf course in all North America, I have never played there, but it does look like a whole lot of fun. Many of its nine holes touch on or lay alongside the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. And it’s got a great restaurant!
The dining room looks directly out over the patio onto the Niagara River… Waterfront dining at a reasonable price. They have a very tidy little menu, and we certainly enjoyed our choices. Have a look at the menu in the photo carrousel and decide for yourself if you think it might be worth a visit. I definitely want to get back there in the summer and hang out on the patio for a while.
Although it was lovely when we arrived around lunchtime, it clouded over as we were having our arrival drinks at the hotel so we decided to Uber over to the golf course and back after we saw that there might be a chance of rain.
The 1st Breakfast
After a good night’s sleep, we sauntered over to the main street in search of a place for breakfast. We settled on a familiar name, the Sunset Grill, a breakfast chain we had patronized on previous occasions. I ordered my usual, Eggs Benedict. This is what I have for breakfast every time we eat in a restaurant. I’ve come to regard it as my personal benchmark for judging the quality of a breakfast restaurant.
I have had Eggs Benedict in other Sunset Grills around the province, and I would have to say that this was the least enjoyable offering I have had in any of their eateries. So, I am suggesting that you take a pass on this particular Sunset Grill restaurant. We did find a much better place on our second morning in town, which I will tell you about in a bit.
Puttering In the Shops
By the time we finished breakfast most of the shops were open in town so we did a bit of puttering around, and popped into a couple of stores. The place I love going to is the “Irish Design” store. It is crock-a-jock full of lovely Irish clothing and gifts. I bought my “purse” in this shop about six years ago.
The owner was there, and I filed a formal complaint with him for having misspelled my name up on the wall. I explained that the third letter was “C “not “G”. His retort was that that was his wife’s surname. We discussed how both were rooted in the same origins, but in an era when people couldn’t spell – and that we were descended from a line of horse thieves. 🙂
The Love-goddess bought a beautiful Irish sweater and then we headed across the street to check out the Christmas store.
“Just Christmas” has been in the same spot on the main street for years, but we had never been in there before. And we probably wouldn’t have gone in if our river cruise hadn’t all blown up and resulted in us staying home. I was really looking forward to picking up some new Christmas baubles from places in Europe we would be visiting for the first time… Sigh.
Although we had been to Niagara-on-the-Lake a “kajillion” times before, we had never given thought to buying a souvenir Christmas decoration for our tree. The store was huge inside, but eventually we found the little section of NOTL- related ornaments.
As you will see, it is a lovely glass Christmas ball, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is absolutely the most expensive ornament we have ever bought for our tree. That may account for us never having bought one before. They just caught me on a year when I was absolutely desperate! 🙂
At this point, I must confess to a bit of a failure on my part to show you one of the most beautiful elements of the NOTL experience. That is the amazing plantings that are showcased all over town. And at this time of year, they are fully grown and spectacular. Here are a couple of photos I took on a previous visit that will give you a very small sense of what that is all about.
Our shopping outing completed. We went back to the hotel, jumped in the car and went out on a bit of a local road trip.
Winery Visits
Our little road trip did involve going to a couple of wineries, but to kick things off, we drove down the Niagara River Parkway as far as Queenston. I would like to officially report that there is absolutely nothing of interest in the village of Queenston other than the Laura Secord Homestead. There doesn’t even appear to be a store of any kind. The drive down and back is lovely though.
Queenston surveyed and abandoned, we headed off in search of my favourite little winery in the Niagara region, “Reif Estate Winery”. They make a lovely Gewürztraminer, and I had decided that I couldn’t go home without picking up a couple of bottles.
Reif is one of the founding wineries in the region. It was established in 1982 and is still harvesting grapes from vines planted in 1977.
Our official wine shopping completed. We hopped back in the car and went in search of the beloved grapes themselves. When we arrived in town we were pondering whether the fall harvest had begun or was completed. We were wondering if we could find grapes still on the vine.
And when we pulled into Peller Estates, there they were in all their magnificence, full and ripe, hanging from the vines. Apparently, the harvest of different varieties of grapes takes place from the end of August till the beginning of November. The red wine grapes are harvested starting in mid-October. Looks like we arrived just in time before the beauties pictured below would have been picked.
Dinner at the Prince of Wales
To wrap up this special getaway, we decided to have a meal at a favourite restaurant in town – the Noble Restaurant at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The Prince of Wales Hotel and I go back along long way. I used it in the 1980s to host annual corporate functions I was organizing. The hotel and the dining room have long been the gold standard in NOTL.
It’s not a very long walk from the Queens Landing Hotel, but the Vintage Hotels provides a shuttle service that will run you back-and-forth between their other venues. Who were we to refuse a free ride with a chatty driver to our dinner destination?
Dinner was lovely, as it always is. A number of our favourite items were on the menu. Additionally, they had a Prix Fixe set menu which I chose to have and managed to partially share with T-L-G. I really wanted oysters as my appetizer, and she thought she would enjoy the soup that came with my fixed price meal. So, I got to enjoy one of my favourite saltwater treats and she got to enjoy a lovely squash soup.
Let’s have the photos do some of the talking here about what we ate.
I would like to complement either Mr. or Ms. Lai on the art choices in the Vintage hotels. You have already seen one from the Queen’s Landing Hotel, and I was quite struck by these two in the Prince of Wales dining room.
Heading Home … Breakfast
After a good night sleep, we loaded up the car, checked out of the hotel, and headed out for breakfast. We went to another breakfast location we had spotted on the main street the first morning, the Stagecoach. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure we have had breakfast there before over the years.
I didn’t bother taking any photos myself, so the following are borrowed. I was too busy concentrating on enjoying my really nice Eggs Benedict. I made a point of telling the owner how much more we enjoyed our breakfast in her establishment than at “the other place”.
Thanksgiving weekend getaway mission accomplished, we are both already looking forward to our next visit.
