Ithaca Marriott Downtown on the Commons — Hotel in City of Ithaca

It is very hard to get information on parking or food ahead of time. But the worst part was the treatment of staff like you were somehow doing it wrong - when they really don’t have their act together for new guests coming from out of town. I have to think that’s a good portion of hospitality. It takes a couple days to figure everything out for yourself when you first get to the hotel. It was re-learning experience and not in a good way. I think they were encouraging being contactless.

They could’ve left a phone number for the restaurant or a menu in the room how -are are guests supposed to know how to order food or what to order when they don’t do that? They encourage you to become a Marriott member get the bon voy app and use that as your key, and not go to a front desk or interact. The mobile app key wouldn’t work in the elevator or to open my door and the instructions you can find from the hotel aren't really correct. Its looks like it’s an Airwick, hidden in elevator and door, without the wireless symbol to suggest to direct your phone to it to work the elevator or door. It doesn’t work anyway.

I felt like when I was in a Third World country where every service like the valet, the restaurant, the front desk, kind of operated in their own way they were going to do things, and you couldn’t quite figure out where your car was, why you couldn’t get breakfast, where anybody was. I just didn’t feel safe the whole time.

If you can figure out how to get into a chat room to contact someone at the hotel for some service the person that they send is someone who will bang on your door until you go answer in person just to leave a toilet paper roll outside at 9pm at night. It’s unnecessary jarring and inhospitable to guests.

Like everything else these days a swarm of uneducated employees without a sense of hospitality working there so you get stuck with the experience of whatever that person felt like that day and then probably new staff rolling through weekly.

Not at all what I used to think of as Marriott courtyard‘s as consistent and convenient and reliable which used to be helpful for me to know what I’m going to get ahead of time. You’re on your own here. I had to be my own advocate for everything when responding. Not a nice or pleasurable experience staying there.
Ithaca on the other hand I found very nice by the time I left there I knew all the little restaurants and shops to go to which are right around...

The Ithaca Marriott Downtown on the Commons is the kind of hotel, like the bland pictures on its walls, that no one would notice, or even recall, if it disappeared tomorrow. As a guest one senses that the staff works there because they couldn't find a better job anywhere else--don't expect to see the same faces if you return a few months, or a year, later. My family and I stayed overnight on a Monday in March. The valet attendant wasn't happy we didn't use his services. Instead we were given instructions on how to reach "our parking garage" (as we were told by the hotel staff) a couple blocks away. It turns out this is anything but the Marriott's parking garage. Did I lack an "elemental common sense" (as the staff person later suggested to me on the phone) for parking in one of the many empty spots with a small sign that apparently says something like, "Parking reserved for Hotel Guests of Hilton Garden"? It was nighttime, after a long day of driving -- fatigue reigns in a parking garage with reserved spots for a particular hotel. Signs are misread as "Parking reserved for Hotel Guests." Or maybe I parked in that space because I was told by Marriott staff that it was "our garage"? And wouldn't common sense today suggest Marriott and Hilton are owned by the same corporation that owns everything else? No, this was entirely this guest's fault: no "elemental common sense." And the price of this ticket: on top of the $12 a night parking fee, a $30 fine that the Marriott didn't think it worth offering to compensate. O, the inhumanity! The dry, stuffy air in the Marriott hotel room; the broken ice machine on our floor with a sign of apology (yes, they posted a sign instead of fixing it); their version of the Big Dig right next to the hotel so that guests can wake up to the relaxing sounds of a jackhammer. Fortunately, the room came with four complementary foam earplugs and a $10 voucher for the restaurant downstairs where you can buy a cup of lukewarm coffee, stroll outside and around the corner to one of the many vape shops, or take your kids on a field trip to the very adult gallery a two-minute walk away (next to the theater). To end on a positive note having nothing to do with the Marriott: Maru Ramen and The Milkstand are excellent restaurants and more than make up for any hotel hardly worth its overnight costs. Two stars as our children enjoyed meditating during the slow elevator ride to the...

I have never had such a poor experience w a hospitality service. I rarely write reviews for negative feedback as I work in a customer service industry and understand the environment but I felt that posting this was my only avenue left to attempt support from this business. I am a Marriott loyalty point holder, nothng special expcept is giving Marriott our dedicated business and my husband and I travel often, 3-4 times a quarter at least and Choose to stay at marriotts because of the dependable service and quality. I’ve encountered miscommunications and travel plan changes over the course of my 5-6 years of travel and have always been accommodated until now. Upon arriving in Ithaca I was met w the front desk unable to locate my reservation - I used a third party to book and they said I only had 1 night reserved. I showed a confirmation number of my full booking - 5 nights - but explained that I only required 4 and could change my flight. I was instructed to check back in the morning. I checked in the morning and they said I had to pay for my overnight stay now but they would mark me as staying for 3 more nights (4 total) and to just call the third party reservationists for a refund of my 5th night. Called and they said they need hotel approval. They call the hotel and the hotel says they have a strict no cancellation policy and can not refund any money. The same hotel that didn’t have me reserved at all until the day I showed up. This hotel. The hotel told me if I booked w them then I could have changed my reservation. So first lesson is that I won’t book w a third party again. But for 250 dollars a night in Ithaca when they have half the hotel open and can’t comp the room because of a third party, hotel, or even my own user mistake is someplace I don’t want to put trust in or give my money to. So Second lesson is to never stay here again. their shocking lack of accommodation is embarrassing for Marriott. Like I said I don’t normally write reviews.. and from a customer perspective you usually hear only the negative reviews anyway. But I’ve never seen such a lack of ownership over the customers experience away from home in my life. So all you college parents that are coming here to stay and visit your kids, don’t expect a business that cares. And I will be cashing in those Marriott loyalty rewards points and changing venues going forward. Good luck to the rest of you I hope you don’t...