Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Big Flats (Elmira), NY — Attraction in Town of Big Flats

My wife and I stayed here because the area Hiltons were full (we're HHonors members). So I signed up for Radisson Rewards/Club Carlson for a discount rate. Was informed via the app that it was paid when booking. The hotel had no payment, payment info or any info regarding my membership and stay. They had my name and dates for confirmation but nothing else. Sounds like a corporate problem though. Hilton is WAY more efficient and user friendly. Although it's not a bad hotel, there's nothing special to bring me back. The staff are all wonderful - friendly and accommodating. The property, on the other hand, is in need of some freshening up. The entrance road, grounds and front entrance are poorly lit/marked. We were worried that we were pulling down the wrong road at first. The room amenities are on par with most places (iron & board, microwave, fridge, good cable TV selection, hair dryer, ice bucket). But there was no informational booklet of any kind. Nothing about "what to do in the area", breakfast hours, or even where to find the ice machine. But it is very close to plenty of dinning and shopping. The room seemed clean. It certainly did not smell clean though. It smelled slightly of a dirty closet, dirty laundry or similar. If you have a teen who hasn't clean his room for a time, you know the smell I'm referring to. And the decor and furniture is in desperate need of an update! It's very old and cheap looking. The single elevator didn't present much of a problem as far as handling the volume of guests. The free breakfast was by far the best part. Along with the front porch/sitting area. All told, it wasn't much better than a Comfort Inn or an America's Best and I'll try another place (if Hilton is booked) before this...

This hotel leaves much to be desired.

There is no sign at the entrance on the road so it is easy to drive by.

There are not enough towels. They tell you if you need more towels- put the dirty ones outside your door and then ask for more at the front desk. They said it’s because they are short on towels. What? How can a hotel be short on towels? Buy more!

There is no ice. On any floor. They said to ask the front desk for ice- but no one is ever there.

Speaking of the front desk… you have to ring a bell and wait for someone to come from the back office. When they finally arrive, their appearance is completely unprofessional. One girl had on leggings and a sweatshirt with a character on the front. She was completely unkempt. When they help you, they seem very annoyed until the end of your interaction when finally they smile .

There were bugs in my room- multiple types and locations. The first night I saw a small black bug and also a cockroach in the bathroom. I killed them both. The next morning I told the front desk about it and asked them to spray the bathroom for bugs.

I still found other bugs…in the bathroom, on the windowsill, in the cabinet where the fridge is and on the desk. Also, spiders over and in the bed.

I was there for four nights. The hallway was not vacuumed during my entire stay.

I needed hot water. The thermos in the kitchen was not there- she was working on it. They suggested I use the cooler in the gym. I tried- it didn’t work. I told them it said call for service. 3 days later it still said call for service.

The TV is too small and outdated. No HD channels work so programming is...

From the outside, this hotel looks nice and cozy. Loved how it was conveniently located right off the highway and very close to Walmart and other shopping areas.

Staff are also super friendly and helpful. The lobby has fresh baked cookies and coffee/tea all day long.

As for the room and the walk up the stairs to the rooms higher than the 2nd floor, they could definately use improvement. We often took the stairs up to our room on the 4th Floor, and once we passed the 2nd floor, the smell was very noticeable. It smelled musty and very dusty like the carpets hadn't been vacuumed in a while. Our room was the same story. Noticeable dusty and musty smell as soon as we walked in. There were stains on the carpet amd comforter as well as dust balls in the corner...even an m&m on the carpet by the couch. The actual set up of the room was nice with a desk, couch, and French doors to separate the bed from the couch/desk area. We ended up buying air freshener for the room because we just couldn't take the smell. There were also random hairs on the bathroom floor and bathtub.

The pool was closed for maintenance which we didn't mind as we weren't planning on using. The gym though, was decent, but there was no AC in there. They only had a big fan which was filled with dust. So it was very hard to work out without proper ventilation.

Also, the main ice machine wasn't working so if you needed ice, you would need to bring your bucket to the front desk and they would fill it for you with their machine.

I would give this place a 1 star but upped it due to the friendly staff. Definately would not go...