Niagara Falls Marriott on the Falls Review – My Worst Marriott Experience

Marriott on the Falls Niagara Falls Canada Review

After staying at numerous Marriott hotels across the globe, I can say that I had my worst customer service experience at Niagara Falls Marriott on the Falls.

As I always do, I asked for an upgrade at the Bonvoy check in counter. The Asian-Indian woman had no idea what a courtesy upgrade was and demanded money. I told her that I have had upgrades from many other Marriotts and this had never happened before. I told her about my last Marriott experience in Manila. She reluctantly moved me to a king bed from 2 queen beds.

It’s not that I didn’t like not getting an upgrade. Many other Marriott hotels had declined me before, but with a smiling face and saying they were unable to accommodate me. But this rep didn’t even know how to handle it.

After a couple of hours, I went to the Bonvoy counter again for slippers, as there were none provided in the room. This time there was Chinese lady who asked me to wait, so she can give me the slippers to take back to my room.

My partner was shocked because it is humiliating to hand over amenities to the customer. I asked her, “Isn't someone supposed to take it to the room?” She said, “No, I will give it to you now.”

Instead of arguing, I returned to the room with a pair of dangling slippers. It was like a demonstration of how bad a Marriott can be.

I am a Bonvoy member but they never mentioned any thanks or appreciation for it, like they do at all other Marriotts. I wanted to call Marriott to complain, but my lady stopped me and asked me to let it go and still have a good vacation after some unprofessional associates ruined the name of Marriott within our first 2 hours of checking in.

Next morning, I wanted to print a copy of my itinerary, but the printer in the business centre had no ink. I notified someone and she said to come back after 30 minutes. I came back after 2 hours and still they hadn’t changed the ink.

I asked someone else again and she said to email her my itinerary and she would print it from a printer in her office. I was not comfortable emailing it and let it go.

I couldn’t help thinking about other Marriott hotels I had been to and their unparalleled service and attention to detail! My next Marriott stay is expected to be in Bangkok, Thailand and can’t wait to check in at a different Marriott again!

The Ultimate Philippines Itinerary | How to Create the Best Philippines Itinerary

My 20+ Days Philippines Itinerary

My nearly month-long Philippines trip is right around the corner. Today, I will give you some insights on my Philippines tour and I will also give you some tips on how to create the perfect Philippines itinerary.

Here is an overview of how every day unfolds:

Day 1 – EVA Air Flight YYZ – TPE

Day 2 - EVA Air Flight TPE – MNL

Manila to Lucena | 2 Nights in Lucena

Day 4 – Check out and bus to Manila

Cebu Pacific flight to Boracay from Manila

Check in at Calypso Dive Resort hotel in Boracay

Day 5 – Check out and check in at Airbnb Absolute Beachfront Studio with Kitchen & Balcony - 2 nights

Day 6 – Boracay Island and Beach-Hopping Boat Tour

Day 7 – Check out and check in at Diamond Water Edge Resort

Day 8 – Check out and check in at Airbnb Beachfront Loft - 3 nights

Day 9 - Boracay Sunset Cruise Experience

Day 11 - Check out and check in at Boracay Ocean Club hotel

Day 12 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Double room w/ balcony, Ocean view, Bulabog Beach - 2 nights

Day 14 - Check out | Cebu Pacific Flight to Manila

Check in at The Bayleaf Intramuros, Manila

Day 15 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Penthouse view on 60th - 3 nights

Day 18 - Check out and check in Manila Marriott Hotel

Day 19 - Check out and check in at Airbnb Spectular Sunset Views 59th Flr Gramercy Poblacion - 2 nights

Day 21 - Check out and check in at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria - 3 nights

Day 24 - Check out | EVA Air flight MNL – TPE – YYZ

Although my Philippines trip itinerary looks simple, it is actually quite complex. If you miss one day or double book the same day twice, it will ruin the whole trip.

My tips are to put the whole trip day by day on a piece of paper or physical planner and then start booking. Once you finish booking, forward all your confirmation emails to an online trip planning service like TripIt or Kayak.

TripIt or Kayak will show you your full trip day by day and if you made any mistakes, you will be able to find out right away.

I have a video showing more details which can be viewed here:

Philippines Itinerary | How to Create The Best Philippines Travel Itinerary

50 Cent Shave by A Village Barber in Bangladesh

The Village Barber Gave Me the Ultimate Shaving Experience for 50 Cents

I always wanted to try a different type of shaving experience and the opportunity came when I was shooting my 24 Hours Living in A Bangladesh Village video.

My journey took me to a rural Bangladeshi village in Gaibandha, a district in Northern Bangladesh, in the Rangpur Division. The village barber shop was in the local market and there were only 2 barber shops I saw.

The barber shop was a run-down place with all the charm of a typical Asian village barber shop. My contact told me that they don’t use a shaving brush for hygiene purposes, so he would use his hand to generate lather.

I was surprised at how much later he produced with his fingers and shaving cream rubbing on my face. He used a professional straight edge barber razor and broke a double edge razor blade into pieces to fit in it.

He took his time to shave me and he even trimmed some of my hair before starting to give me a clean look. There were curious people who came to see a foreigner getting a shave and video recording everything. I was expecting only 2 passes for my shave, but he did 3 passes.

My contact told me that if I was a local, he wouldn’t have put this much time and care into it. And I felt that too. This was a type of experience I had never had before.

My bill was only 50 cents (after converting to US currency). I asked my contact to double it and pay him $1. He was very happy and appreciative.   

To watch this experience in a video, please visit here: My Ultimate Village Barber Shaving Experience

My One-Month Bangladesh & Morocco Trip Brief Highlights

Two Continent – Two Countries – One Month Trip (Bangladesh & Morocco)

After a one-month trip covering various popular tourist destinations, I am finally back home in Canada. I visited two countries in Asia and Africa, Bangladesh and Morocco, during this time.

Although both of these destinations are exotic and out of the ordinary, they differ vastly from each other and offer very different travel experiences.

I haven’t written any day-by-day, diary-style trip reports, but I am hoping to write the most important aspects of these trips in the future.

In Bangladesh, I was blown away by Cox's Bazar, the world's longest natural sand sea beach. Cox's Bazar beach has a gentle slope and an unbroken, uninterrupted length of 155 km (96 mi).

 Cox's Bazar is often termed the "the longest natural unbroken sea beach" in the world. It is so big that there are many beaches on its unbroken shore with different names.

I was able to visit some of the places in Morocco that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid. These include places such as the night markets of Jemaa El-Fna Square in Marrakech, The Souk and Tanneries of Fez, a stunning view off the cliffs where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea in Tangier, and much more.

Due to a weather change, from extreme hot to cold, I got sick after landing in Toronto and I’m still recovering. I will slowly work on writing more about my experience in the upcoming days.

Exotic Travel Destinations – 2 Continents

Trips to Asia & Africa | Coming Up

I have a trip to Asia this year planned months before, but what was not on my itinerary was the Africa trip, which was unexpected.

I had a change of work – forcing me to change my 1-month Asia trip to a half Asia, half Africa trip. As I was close to my departure, I spent countless hours 4 days in a row searching online, calling the airlines, and calling the travel agent to design a new one-month long trip to 2 continents.

I am not mentioning any names of the countries because I would like to disclose it once I am at the airports or at the destinations. What I can tell you is that both places are exotic and different.

You can follow the full trips on my YouTube Channel here: Ahmed Dawn

While most YouTube channels want you to stay in the box with a specific topic, my goal is to break out of the box. As such, on this one-of-a-kind rare hybrid channel, I am always trying new and different ideas to take you beyond such boundaries.

If you are into thinking outside the box, this is definitely the channel for you. And there is a lot more to come from across the globe for viewers like you who are not afraid to try something new and different.

My flight leaves Toronto, Canada on this Saturday, September 10, 2022. To stay updated, please follow the YouTube link above.