Niagara Crossing the place to be for Jazz Festival attendees, musicians

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

When the last trumpet sounds and the Northwest Jazz Festival weekend ends, the event’s organizers won’t be the only group of people already planning for 2026.

“Our hotel accepts bookings for Jazz Festival a year in advance, so upon checkout – sometimes, check-in – guests always book for the following year – even before the official dates are announced, and before any musicians are announced,” explained Kristi Ulrich, general manager catering sales and banquet manager for Niagara Crossing Hotel and Spa, at 100 Center St., Lewiston. “It’s safe to say that 30%-plus of our rooms book up for Jazz Festival a year in advance. By the time the official dates are announced, within 30-60 days, we have a waitlist for Jazz Fest weekend.”

It’s not just the Jazz Festival patrons booking rooms.

“Niagara Crossing Hotel and Spa is a proud sponsor for the Jazz Festival and always proud to be the host hotel for the musicians for the event each year,” Ulrich said. “Our guests come from all over – some locals, some from bordering states, some from the south, and of course our neighbors from Canada – and some travel annual for the festival; so, it can be a pleasant surprise for them to see the musicians in passing or at the hotel.”

The Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce manages the two-day Jazz Festival, which annually draws around 30,000 attendees to the village. President Amanda Haseley said, “The Northwest Lewiston Jazz Festival isn’t just music; it’s an economic driver for our entire community. Each year, thousands of visitors fill our streets, dine in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and support our local businesses. That patronage is vital to their livelihood. The impact is so great that hotel rooms, like those at Niagara Crossing, sell out a year in advance – proof of the festival’s outstanding reputation.

“We are especially grateful for the many visitors who travel from out of state and even out of the country to experience this special weekend in Lewiston.”

Ulrich said, “Niagara Crossing considers Jazz Festival as one of the busiest weekends of the year, not only for the hotel, but in Lewiston. All of the local festivals contribute to the success of the hotel and the Village of Lewiston, year after year, but Jazz Fest is considered one of the best Lewiston festivals according to our guests – especially the ones that return year after year for the festival.”

Niagara Crossing Hotel and Spa General Manager Catering Sales and Banquet Manager Kristi Ulrich is shown inside one of the boutique site’s “Riverview King” rooms.

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New amenities at Niagara Crossing

Ulrich has worked at Niagara Crossing – once known as the Barton Hill Hotel – since 2013. She said the site is now hitting its stride.

“Since our new owners took over, they have done new carpet in the rooms, new furniture in the rooms, new TVs, new fridges in the rooms, new curtains in the rooms,” Ulrich said. “And then we've done some public space renovations. We have an updated breakfast area; we have an updated lobby; we have an updated lobby bar. We did also add a jacuzzi and a fitness center, which is really nice, as well. We updated our spa completely. That used to be across the street when the hotel was first built. We brought that inside. It was converted to a section of our first floor, and we converted that to our second floor back building.

“Now, the back building has always been there. Essentially what we did was we renovated it, and that houses corporate apartments. Apartment suites, we call them. It's a two-night minimum. We do have a month-to-month option, as well. And then our second floor is where the spa is.

“It has been completely renovated, completely different from what it's been. We are looking for more renovations in the upcoming future; hopefully, by next year sometime, we'll give the bedrooms a little bit more – maybe some paint, maybe some bathrooms, things like that.”

Ulrich pointed out the boutique hotel was “one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad. That makes it part of history in my book. Yes, the hotel was built from the ground up (opening in 2007), but the hotel was built to be like a small inn back in the 1800s. So, when this was first built, everything was unique; everything was different; everything was antique.

“It's not like that anymore, but we still keep that historic charm of the building, and that's what keeps people coming back.”