As we pull up in front of 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa (114 Queen St., Niagara-on-the-Lake), I’m thinking that it’s a tiny place. The two-storey brick facade, topped with a lion-and-unicorn crest, has just three second-floor windows looking out onto Queen Street, the main commercial street of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. So when the receptionist at the front desk tells me about the underground parking down the block and around the corner, I am a little befuddled. There’s a lot hidden behind the regal storefront structure, which was built as a customs house in 1825.
I’m in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a short romantic getaway with my boyfriend who loves nothing more than a romantic getaway. Holding hands, PDAs, kisses on the sidewalk—that’s his jam, and I’m happy to oblige.
I’ve visited Niagara-on-the-Lake many times before, including as a theatre critic covering the Shaw Festival (the 2025 season ends October 5), which draws theatre lovers from across Canada and the United States, which is ridiculously close. (From downtown, you can see New York’s Old Fort Niagara historic site, a reminder of an era when cross-border relations were even more hostile than now. The Americans, who had occupied the town in 1813, set fire to it as they were abandoning it, retreating back across the Niagara River. These days, the Americans come for a big drink of quaint and the theatre.) But until this trip I’ve never spent more than a few hours at a time in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Niagara Falls and the flashy family-oriented developments around the natural wonder, which is about a half-hour drive away, are world famous. But the bucket-list aspect of the falls has sometimes drowned out the more refined side of the Niagara peninsula, particularly the historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the vineyards that surround the town. Aside from visiting for an evening to see a play, or making a quick stop on a bus tour, what would it be like for a gay couple to settle in and chill?
Firstly we had to find our suite, which was in a separate connected building overlooking a surprisingly large Zen Garden, and beyond that, two other buildings that are part of the hotel complex. 124 on Queen comprises the better part of an entire block, though you wouldn’t know it from the street.
We dropped our bags by the fireplace in our room and scurried to the hotel’s chic resto-bar NOTL in time for a happy hour drink and a complimentary amuse-bouche before dinner at the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, Treadwell (114 Queen St., Niagara-on-the-Lake), just three doors down. Founded in 2006 by Stephen and James Treadwell, the restaurant started out in Port Dalhousie but became part of 124 on Queen Hotel in 2013, two years after the hotel opened. It’s a prix fixe farm-to-table menu with lamb, beef and shellfish the night we visited, plus a wine selection I felt was overwhelming until the sommelier stepped in. I was reluctant to share my tasty carrot salad, but my boyfriend’s lamb sirloin with braised shoulder cannelloni was big enough for two. We swapped tastes throughout the meal, the small dining room making it feel particularly intimate.
Queen Street was incredibly quiet as we made the microscopically short walk home holding hands. In the lobby, we noticed that the front desk person was wearing a rainbow maple leaf pin, which was reassuring—nice, but not necessary, given what we had experienced so far.
The next morning we hit 124 on Queen’s signature experience (aside from the cuisine and wine): two hours in the spa’s hydrotherapy circuit. With a cold pool, a warm pool, various water spouts, a dry steam room and a scented wet steam, I was surprised how quickly the time passed, even as the two of us started doing stretches, perhaps to the amusement of other guests. Unlike my boyfriend, I’m not fond of cold showers, but I did spend time in the Alpine-style snow room, a cold room with, well, a snow machine that created a snowbank in the middle of the room.
Feeling mellow from our spa experience, we toured the boutiques along Queen Street. Ice cream, cigars, Christmas decorations, pastel scarves, flowery dresses, tchotchkes for days—all you could ask from a touristy theatre town. Niagara-on-the-Lake wears its history on its sleeve. Passing through the pastoral Simcoe Park, we wandered through the cemetery behind St. Mark’s Anglican Church, noting the many graves marking those who were born in the U.K. but died in Canada. Some of them might have been Loyalists, Americans who crossed the 49th parallel in order to stay under royal rule. We strolled along the waterfront, through Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club (founded in 1875, it’s the oldest surviving golf club in North America) to reach Fort Mississauga, the counterpoint to New York’s Old Fort Niagara. Built during the War of 1812, the boxy brick fortress is surrounded by a grassy embankment that suggests, if not plainly states, fortification. It’s not quite as ominous as Old Fort Niagara on the other side of the river, but it hints at the resolve of Canadians to be able to stand up to their southern neighbour.
The final phase of our express Niagara escape was dropping by a couple of the 50 or so Niagara region wineries. I’m no wine expert, but it’s hard to resist a flight or two. We made brief stops at the grand Two Sisters Vinyards (240 John St. E., Niagara-on-the-Lake), which is on the outskirts of the town, and at the genteel Peller Estates Winery And Restaurant (290 John St. E., Niagara-on-the-Lake), which was right next door. Finally we drove over to Inniskillin Wines (1499 Line 3, Niagara-on-the-Lake) where we were able to sip ice wine right on the edge of the vineyard—it was spring and we could see the vines budding.
Our skin still shiny from our spa experience, I was amazed when we got back to Toronto by how full and stress free our 24-hour micro vacation had been. And we didn’t even bother to go see the falls.
The writer was a guest of 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa. The hosts did not direct or review coverage. The views expressed are the writer’s own.
