NIAGARA FALLS — The calendar year has been anything but vanilla for the hotel industry in Niagara Falls.

While the area received praise as a most popular tourist destination in two separate national magazines, four hotels either changed ownership or received major renovations in 2011.

In March, the Sheraton at the Falls opened its doors under new ownership, taking over the building formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown. Michael DiCienzo, a vice president at Ontario-based Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. purchased the property in January, less than a year after previous owner GKK Hotel Niagara Owner LLC paid $21 million at a foreclosure auction.

“It’s as premiere a location as you are going to find here in Niagara,” DiCienzo said at the time of the purchase. “It is a good property, based on the fact the previous owners spent a lot of money renovating and updating it.”

And while the Sheraton hotel downtown opened its doors in March, another began operation in LaSalle in May.

The Four Points by Sheraton, on Buffalo Avenue, began operation following a $6.5 million renovation in the works since July 2010.

The hotel, occupying the former Inn on the River site, features 141 rooms, a full-service restaurant, a 2,500-square-foot patio and four meeting rooms, the largest of which can hold up to 400 people.

Owned by Faisal Merani of LaSalle Hospitality Inc., the Sheraton’s completion seven months ago helped energize an already vibrant tourist season in the region.

“We’ve been going strong for seven months now,” Merani said. “We’re already booking several weddings and other events for 2012. And we had a very busy summer, which shows lack of supply Niagara Falls has.”

The future is also looking brighter for two more hotel properties downtown, as both the old Hotel Niagara and Fallside Hotel and Conference Center are looking at potential upgrades under new — or newly-committed — ownership.

Merani, the owner of the Four Points by Sheraton, also owns the Fallside property under a different company. He said the Fallside property wouldn’t be ready for business until at least December 2013, with a groundbreaking potentially set for early 2012.

“It’s going to be big project,” Merani said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, from interior demolition to exterior facades. But we’re still hoping to keep some of the iconic parts of the hotel intact, to keep some of the things the local people are fond of.”

The 135,000-square-foot facility was purchased in 2009, but wasn’t the first priority for the hotelier. However, he said in June with work completed in LaSalle, his focus has shifted to the Fallside property.

The old Hotel Niagara property also got a boost this year, after being purchased by Hamilton-based developer Harry Stinson.

Stinson took control of the property in October after finalizing an arrangement with previous owner, Vancouver developer Jamal Kara.

“Our objective is to restore the building as a genuine tourist attraction, not just a place to stay,” Stinson said. “There will be a lot of interesting features in the building. There will be elements in the building that people will want to see when they are in Niagara Falls. Hopefully, it will be a compliment to the area.”

Once one of the highest-profile hotel properties in the city, the Rainbow Boulevard property has been empty for several years. A previous owner — Amidee Hotel Niagara — started renovations after purchasing it in 2007, but never completed work and the building eventually fell into foreclosure. In January, The State Bank of Texas purchased it for $1 million but expressed no interest in owning the site. Earlier this year, the bank auctioned off the property in an effort to recover part of its investment.

Representatives from the city and the state-run USA Niagara Development Corp. are talking with Stinson about possible public assistance. Local economic development officials have previously said that incentives may be available as the building is regarded as a key property in the downtown landscape.

THE LIST

Each day until Dec. 31, the Gazette is running recaps of the Top 10 local news stories of 2011 as chosen by the newsroom:

• 10: Holiday Market opens in the Falls

• 9: Work begins on culinary center

• 8: Shawn Zimmerman finally sentenced for Porter home invasion

• 7: Legal saga of John Gross

• 6: Amazing recovery for deputy injured in crash

• 5: Falls doctor arrested in prescription pain killer investigation

• 4: Four major hotels here undergo ownership changes and extensive renovations