A woman has revealed how she "cried" after seeing the view from her hotel window - but not for the reason many might have assumed.
Lyndsay, a budding travel vlogger from Nottingham in the U.K., regularly posts videos to TikTok under the handle wander_woman11 showcasing her adventures as a solo traveler.
"I started solo traveling several years ago and really love it. When I tell people I'm on holiday by myself, they usually tell me I'm brave, followed by 'I wish I could do that'," Lyndsay told Newsweek.
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"So I wanted to start creating content with two objectives: firstly, to empower others and give people confidence to do it; and secondly, to show providers that solo travel is on the increase."
Interest in solo travel is on the rise. Data compiled by travel tour booking platform Regiondo found that, since 2009, there has been a steady year-on-year increase in the number of Google searches for the term "solo travel."
Lyndsay is a keen advocate and is also eager to see "single supplements," to be abolished; this is a term referring to the additional cost incurred if there is only one person occupying a hotel room.
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Her latest video from a trip to a hotel near Niagara Falls may well inspire a few people to follow in her footsteps. Lyndsay was visiting New York City, Toronto and Niagara as part of a trip planned to mark her birthday.
"I'd been to New York before but never Canada, so I joined a Facebook group where people were giving tips and advice on what to do in Niagara," she said. "Literally everyone was talking about Hilton, embassy suites and Marriott, which are all big hotel chains and all out of my price range."
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So Lyndsay decided to search on TikTok for "hotels with good views of Niagara Falls." That's when she came across The Tower Hotel. "The Trip Advisor reviews were good, and the cost of the room was reasonable, but I was still apprehensive as nobody was talking about this place," she said.
Even so, Lyndsay decided to give it a chance and even took an extra step to make her visit that bit more special. "I booked it and emailed ahead to let them know the trip was part of my birthday treat and so would appreciate anything they could do to improve my stay," she said.
The hotel staff members certainly delivered on that front, though Lyndsay didn't realize quite how much they had done when she first got there. "When I arrived, the receptionist allocated me room 2708 but was not really giving much away," she said.
Though she was "pleasantly surprised" by the room given she had paid just £220 ($290), Lyndsay still didn't realize what she had stumbled on straight away. "The curtains were closed at the time and I stood for a minute silently wishing for a good view," she said. "Then I opened the curtains and literally burst into tears. It was way beyond my expectations and exactly what I'd dreamed of."
The video posted to her @wander_woman11 account captures the spectacular view that greeted her with Niagara Falls light up perfectly against the night sky.
Lyndsay captioned the video, "Why I cried when I saw my £220 hotel room." This being social media, it was a caption that had many viewers assuming the worst. "How is that bad? I think it is a great view! why did you cry?" one viewer commented, with Lyndsay saying they were "happy tears."
She added she had no idea of what to expect when she first entered. "Because the curtains were closed and I lost my bearings finding the room, I had no idea what the view would be," Lyndsay said. "Obviously, I hoped it would be good, but it could have been a car park!"
The room was just one of many highlights from what was a whirlwind single night visit to the area. "I managed to pack in seeing the Falls fireworks, the Hornblower boat trip, which takes you right up to the Falls and also the Power Station," Lyndsay said.
At the time of writing, Lyndsay's video has been watched over 445,000 times. She hopes the clip and the story behind it inspires others to follow suit, though she does have one key piece of advice for anyone traveling: "do lots of research."
"We are in the Information Age where there is so much available to us," Lyndsay said. "Definitely use social media to see what other people have done, join chat groups and of course follow me for more tips."
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