Hilton Garden Inn Ithaca — Hotel in City of Ithaca

Let me preface this review with the fact that I spent close to $1500 for TWO nights at this hotel.. We're talking Ithaca not Paris.||I booked 2 separate reservations rather than one reservation with 2 consecutive night. This was a mistake on my part (long story).||When I checked in I was greeted by two lovely ladies. They were both welcoming, friendly and funny. Sadly, I only can remember one of their names, Ashley. She comes back into this story unfortunately. I explained that I had booked two nights in two separate reservations and wanted to know if I needed to check out and then check in again. I was told that no, they would make sure I could stay in the same room and I would need to just get a new key after noon. Great! I've done this a million times at all kind of hotels around the world and it's not usually a problem. Even if it is, it's communicated and I can plan around it. This time it turns out there was a problem yet it was not communicated to me.||I arrived on the late side (close to 8pm) so went up to my room. The following morning I had breakfast in their cafe (horrible, do not waste your time. Head to Collegetown Bagels). I left the property and headed up to Cornell to deal with getting my son moved in and settled.||In the middle of schlepping things from the car to the apartment, I receive a phone call from the hotel. It's Ashley. One of the ladies who checked me in. She tells me that they need me out of my room. I tell her that I had a full conversation about this last night and I was told there would be no issue. I could tell from Ashley's tone that she was uncomfortable. She offered for me to speak with her manager - Anne Brown.||Anne Brown took the phone and IMMEDIATELY started in with, "You didn't book the same room. You need to come and get your stuff out of the room." I explained to her that I had a conversation with her front desk people when I checked in and they said there would not be an issue. She continued in a low-key accusatory manner of insinuating that I INTENTIONALLY refused to leave the room. Not once did she apologize for any miscommunication. Not once did she acknowledge that this was not my fault. Not once did she do anything to convey that this was a huge inconvenience to me and she was grateful for my understanding.||Not once.||To say I was furious was an understatement. The tone in which is assistant GENERAL MANAGER chose to speak with me was shocking and insulting.||I stopped what I was doing and drove down to the hotel to deal with their mistake. I asked to speak, in person, with Anne Brown. Her unprofessional attitude was in full force. When I explained to her how insulted I felt that she insinuated I had done something wrong all she could say was, "I'm sorry you felt that way".||Here's where it gets better. This "manager" proceeded to lie through her teeth and throw her employee under the bus. She told me that "they" realized there was an issue with allowing me to stay in the room for the 2nd night shortly after I checked-in and had tried to reach me but couldn't. I told her I was upstairs in her hotel room. Someone could have phoned the room, called my cell, slipped a note under the door OR maybe knocked on the door. None of these things happened. Not the night of check-in, not the morning after. This woman lied to my face. Offered zero accountability that the hotel screwed up and made it my problem. ||Ashely graciously showed me to my new room. She was apologizing the entire way. For the mistake and for her boss's behavior. I felt horrible for her.||I am not unreasonable and had someone actually, TRUTHFULLY, communicated with me that I could not spend the 2nd night in the same room I would have packed up my belonging and taken it with me. Not a big deal. I had a full day of shopping, unpacking, coordinating and organizing ahead of me. But, no one did. Instead, I was accused of "not booking the same room". ||Since when do guests choose their own room at the check-in desk? I am a Gold Hilton Rewards member - I am upgraded in 90% of all stays. I do not check my reservation against what room I am assigned. I can't stand those people. I checked-in, was given my key, confirmed that I would not have to check-out the following day and went on my merry way.||The whole situation was preventable. Communication is clearly not a strong point for someone who is an Assistant GM in a hospitality environment. There was absolutely NOTHING hospitable nor professional about my interaction with Anne Brown. Zilch.||In my previous visit to Ithaca I stayed at the Marriott Downtown on the Commons. Unfortunately, by the time my son committed to Cornell Law the hotel was booked up. I think I know why the Hilton Garden Inn...

I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn during a recent holiday weekend trip to Ithaca, and I wouldn't choose to stay here again or recommend it to others.||The lobby feels "half renovated," with a new market experience prominently featured between the front desk and guest elevators. The rest of the lobby feels like a mismatch of (mostly) old and some new furniture, none of which aligns with the architecture of the space or the lighting/ceiling design above. ||Despite being a sold-out holiday weekend, there was only one front desk agent serving the significant queue of arrivals. She was incredibly helpful and kind with each guest she serviced, but it took longer than it should have to get to my room. This property has not opted into the Mobile Key option that lets you skip the front desk, so I still had to stop by the desk for ID verification even though I checked in through the app, which was disappointing.||A minor note/nuisance, but this franchisee seems to have "gone rogue" making lime green tee shirts for the front desk staff that have their names printed on. I appreciate the ingenuity, but it felt cheap for the brand...more appropriate for a home cleaning service than the front desk staff at an upscale hotel. ||Furthermore, they gave all arriving guests two bottles of water in a brown bag, which I'm confused why they don't just put them in the rooms? Guests don't want to carry them when their hands are already full with luggage, and for a brand that purportedly espouses sustainable values, I couldn't help but think about all of the additional waste this generates.||Despite being recently renovated, the room felt cheap and already worn. You could tell where corners were cut (wall finishes, old electrical devices, not moving power outlets placed for the old furniture, etc.) when the did the renovation. They replaced quality wood furniture with laminate "cardboard" furniture that feels too downmarket for Ikea. The chrome legs of the bathroom vanity were already tarnishing from moisture in the bathroom, and the shower head had mildew buildup. In addition, there were minor housekeeping blemishes (i.e. hair from the previous guest on the countertop) and maintenance issues (i.e. damaged wall paint, etc.) that, having failed to address before my arrival, made the room feel even more aged than it was.||Finally, the hotel advertises a free airport shuttle...don't count on taking advantage of it. Shame on me for not scheduling it in advance of my arrival, so I was forced to take an Uber when I landed. At check-in I inquired about scheduling an uber to the airport for my early morning flight, but due to "short staffing" they weren't able to offer a shuttle for my flight. They were very nice about it and tried to help me find a cab (they were all busy at the time...) so I ended up scheduling an Uber which was an outlandish $52 for the 15-minute drive.||The rates here ($179) were a little cheaper than the Marriott around the corner ($220), but the Marriott shuttle was running reliably and the hotel is a much nicer and well-maintained property than the Hilton Garden Inn. Based on the airport transportation alone, I would have come out ahead at the Marriott. I will look to return there during my next visit to Ithaca and avoid this hotel on...

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ithaca from 7/28-7/31. The hotel is clean and easy to find. There is free garage parking right next door and we easily got a space and navigated right into the hotel. We stayed in a king room on the 8th floor. The space again was very clean, bright, spacious and well appointed with modern-looking furnishings. Staff at the front desk were pleasant. The gym space is surprisingly well stocked and the indoor pool, though small, is a nice bonus. There is an Irish pub attached to the hotel that also had some outdoor seating. We did not eat there, but the food we saw while walking by looked good. The hotel lobby has a well-stocked sundries area to purchase snacks, drinks, and other items you may need during your stay. The hotel is in a great location, walkable to many shops and restaurants in the area and a great base camp to drive around to the local waterfalls and wineries.

The one complaint I have is the staff in the breakfast restaurant. We had breakfast included with our room rate. On Friday and Sunday when we arrived, not a single employee was to be seen to seat us though we could hear them chatting in the kitchen. On Friday, finally someone came out to seat us, but getting coffee took forever, the sweeteners were never restocked, we weren't offered creamer, and no one explained how it worked (was the buffet, the menu, or both included with our rate?) until we flagged someone down and asked. Staff were completely inattentive, seemingly unaware that people can hear their conversations in the kitchen, and appeared bothered when you requested something. The continental breakfast looked picked over and gross, with the utensils caked with leftover pastry, water glasses cloudy and spotted, and the case holding the pastries and breads covered in fingerprints and smears as though it hadn't been wiped down in some time - really unappetizing. On Friday, the two waitresses working seemed to argue over who got what table (in front of the guests). On Sunday, we sat ourselves after waiting for quite some time for someone to come out and seat us (though again we could hear them in the kitchen) and then after sitting, we waited for over 10 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge we were there (despite walking by us multiple times and me getting up to knock on the kitchen door and ask for service). The waitress that finally came to take our order seemed annoyed that she had to wait on us and really made it an unpleasant experience and an unpleasant start to the day. She was more interested in texting on her cell phone, running next door to get a Starbucks, or chatting in the kitchen with other staff than actually waiting on anyone. An honestly shockingly rude experience. Other guests looked equally frustrated and bewildered at the terrible customer service and the poor attitudes of the waitstaff. The one ray of sunshine was the young woman working on Saturday morning - she was pleasant, welcoming,...