Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Ithaca, NY

Very nice experience We visited as pandemic restrictions were being lifted and the staff made an outstanding effort at providing a delicious breakfast and maintaining the pool and fitness center. We stayed in a room with a kitchenette area and it may be the largest hotel room I’ve ever seen. The hotel is about 2 miles outside Ithaca, which is as close to downtown as I’d want to be. A very pleasant stay.

Needs some TLC Just finished a a three night stay with my wife. We have stayed at this hotel for the last several years, since our daughter attends Ithaca College which is just down the road from the hotel. In the past, our stays have been pretty good. It is a pretty basic hotel, and it’s very convenient near the school. However, this time, we noticed that it is getting very run down. Lots of repairs not getting addressed: broken sidewalks, leaky bathroom fixtures, etc. one thing that we didn’t count on was BUGS IN THE SUITE. We found lots of small water bugs during our stay. Probably about a dozen or so on our first night. I spoke to the young lady at the desk about it. I told her that we weren’t using housekeeping during our stay due to COVID concerns, but that they could come in and spray for bugs if they wanted to the next day, since we would be out most of the day. She thought I was looking for some sort of refund at first. I told her that was not the case at all. I just wanted to get the problem addressed, and showed her pictures of the bugs. The bottom line is that nothing was ever done. We reminded them of the problem when we checked out. Apparently, the original person we spoke to did not tell anyone about the problem. I should point out that the hotel Is not a cheap place to stay. During peak school times, such as move in, the room prices more than double. We’ve paid as high as $250 a night for a modest room during those times. So, given the prices, I would expect the hotel to be run much better. I’m assuming Covid times have hit the hotel hard, and they are not keeping up with the repairs and maintenance. During our previous stays they are pretty busy, but maybe business is down in general. This is no excuse to have infestation problems in the rooms however. I gave the hotel three stars to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it really should be two. I am very surprised how quickly it has gone down hill. Going forward, I will be sure to not be enamored with the location, and stay elsewhere.

Do NOT book for graduation We have stayed here before without incident. For graduation ceremonies 2021 they use a contract and check. However they have failed to respond over 3 months to certified letters and corporate Radisson Treasury enquiries. They are either unwilling or unable to meet their financial obligations.

Ewww - First Impression Are Important - Always Inspect Your Room I do not think the franchise owners of this Radisson property cares about cleanliness based on our experience in September 2020. Our first room was DISGUSTING. Food crumbs & dried stuff on the couch, coffee table, upholstered chair. Human hairs on and around the toilet seat. Headboards not wiped down. Fingerprints on the mirrors. The only thing that appeared to be “clean” was the plastic wrapped/disinfected TV remote control. I immediately called the front desk and asked them for assistance. The same front desk associate who helped me at check-in came to the room and agreed with my concerns. She transferred us to a second room. I asked her to wait by the door while I conducted a short visual inspection of the second room. The second room looked clean enough that we decided to stay, but I still proceeded with my pre-pandemic travel routine: wiped down common surfaces with disinfectant wipes, inspected the mattresses, removed the rarely washed decorative top quilt/pillows from the beds etc. Gym, pool, and breakfast buffet were not available due to Covid-19. A breakfast To-Go bag was available which included a sandwich, yogurt, and juice. We did not eat the sandwich. The 1st room cleanliness problem overwhelmed the positives: nice hotel staff, proximity to Buttermilk Falls/downtown and the size of the 1-bedroom suite with 2 queen beds, a microwave and refrigerator. The front desk had plexiglass and hand sanitizer and encouraged distancing. We did not want daily housekeeping due to Covid-19, so I bagged our trash and left it out in the hallway each morning. First impressions mean everything…we will not stay at this hotel again. To the high-school student working the front desk: Thank you for listening to our concerns, for taking the time to look at the first room and for your professionalism. You alone deserve a 5-star Service Rating for this hotel property.

RACIST STAFF I never write reviews but my experience with this establishment compelled me to do it. We stayed a night in a room with two queen beds and a couch that pulls out to become a bed. The room was functional, nothing spectacular. We checked in late in the evening and the lady at the front desk was accomodating of our basic requests (extra soap, bedding). The following morning we went down for the complimentary breakfast. Given the current situation, the dining room is closed off to guests. As a result, guests are expected to check-in with the front desk and notify staff of the number of to-go boxes they want. We checked in with Cheryl, the antagonist of our story, and notified her that we needed 5 boxes. Important side note, we were a group of POC, the only ones visible in the reception area at the time. While registering our requirement, she took down our room number and number of guests, she retorted that guests from our party had already collected our allotment of the boxes. This was patently false and we realized that she was referring to another group of guests who had the same ethnicity as us. We were a little taken aback with the comment but we clarified her mistake. Giving her the benefit of doubt (we've worked service jobs, we know it's not easy), we awaited our breakfast boxes. As we waited, a number of guests filtered in, none of them POC, to the waiting area and Cheryl proceeded to take down their requests. Mind you, we were the first ones to register our request. As time went by, there were about 5 groups of guests awaiting their orders. Cheryl proceeded to bring out the orders for EVERY PARTY OF GUESTS barring us. DESPITE US GETTING THERE FIRST. We were dumbfounded! Guests who had arrived well after us (again, visible to everyone there) were leaving with boxes in hand. The whole time we were stood there being stonewalled by Cheryl. Eventually, when the reception had emptied out Cheryl returned to the front desk continuing to stonewall us. Needless to say, we were left speechless. We politely inquired about the status of our order and she pretended like she hadn't taken our order down. Clearly a lie because her notes very evidently suggested otherwise. She then begrudgingly, no semblance of contrition in sight, brought out our 5 orders with the haste of a geriatric sloth in two large unmarked bags. When asked which of the bags contained the vegetarian order she asked us to figure it out for ourselves. We walked back up to our rooms fuming. To no one's surprise the food was practically inedible. Scarred at the treatment meted out to us, we checked out soon after. A succinct word of advice to anyone considering staying the night here: DON'T For Cheryl: our paths will never cross and I thank my circumstances for that. If you're in a customer facing job, the least you can do is pretend to be respectful. I know full well that the hate you live with will consume you in your later years and I take solace in knowing that.