The Strathallan Rochester Hotel & Spa - a DoubleTree by Hilton — Hotel in City of Rochester

The Strathallan bills itself as a “premier hotel and spa”. It simply isn’t, although it’s a nice enough mid range hotel with a very efficient and friendly staff. It is clean and quiet. ||Food here can be something of a problem. There is a good steak house on the premises, which I have reviewed separately (Char). Otherwise, there is a rooftop bar that does not serve food. Breakfast is served in Char.||For those of us with impaired mobility, there is really no such thing as an “accessible” hotel room. Sure, a room may be ADA compliant, but that doesn’t mean we can enjoy a comfortable night there. My husband and I recently spent three nights in one of this hotel’s “accessible” suites and the rest of my review is written from the point of view of someone who has difficulties with “transfers”, that is, with rising from a seat and getting in and out of bed.||There are no steps at the front or back entrance, but there are very few handicapped parking spaces.||The suite was near the elevator, which is a help. I could enter the room using my key card. That is, I could reach the lock while seated in my wheelchair. However, I needed to struggle with the door and the only security peep hole could only be used by a standing adult. The HVAC controls were beyond my reach and the system was difficult to manage. There was a kitchenette in one corner of the sitting room with a microwave, coffee maker, and full size fridge, but no dishes or silverware. Both rooms of the suite and the bathroom were large enough for me to move about them in my chair, but it was a tight squeeze between the bed and a wall and, thus, access to the bathroom.||The sitting room was largely adequate. The desk was high enough so that one could use it while seated in a wheelchair. The switch to one of the reading lamps was too high for me to reach. Because I use a wheelchair, I didn’t have to worry about seating. The bed was another matter, as I expected. Because of the usual thick hotel mattress, the top of the bed came up to my hip level (I am 5 feet, six inches tall), so I could not use the bed. I was able to sleep on the sofa in the living room, but I needed my husband’s help to rise from it in the morning. There was a closet in the living room with a low bar that I could use to hang my clothes. Apart from the HVAC, the suite was well maintained. The rods controlling the curtains were reachable. Each room had access to a small balcony.||The bathroom was adequate. The sink was high enough so that one could use it while in a wheelchair, but I could not reach the taps. I brought my own toilet booster seat, so that took care of the toilet height, but there were grab bars only to the left and behind the toilet, making it difficult for me to rise from the seat. The shower was large and walk in/roll in, with a seat. I didn’t use the shower, though, because I feared that I would not be able to rise...

I don't recall that we've ever given a Hilton hotel we've stayed at two stars, but The Strathallan earned those two in every facet of our visit:

Smelly room upon arrival. Old damage to fixtures, floors, and walls of our room left unrepaired. With one exception (server Monica), absolutely incompetent kitchen, bar, and front-of-house staff at Char restaurant, who not only made repeated mistakes but seemed incapable of correcting them, all the while sporting uptight, rigid, "I really can't be bothered" attitudes. Ridiculous pricing for breakfast and dinner (again at Char), where Sysco pre-made sides, paired with equally low-quality proteins (except for the Kobe steak at breakfast), will cost you $100 for breakfast and $250 for dinner. It was pretty absurd. No coffee available for guests in the a.m. unless the restaurant is open. Then it's $5 a cup for flavorless brown hot water a truck stop would embarrassed to serve. Interrupted sleep due to clanking of metal pipes at 2 a.m. (midnight repairs? old heating system?). A visit to the top-floor deck after a party the previous night had us dodging puddles of spilled coffee, sticky drinks, and trodden dropped food. (Really nice view though.) Lack of feather pillows kinked both our necks on the first night, as only oversized foam pillows were provided.

I could go on (and on) about the total failure of Strathallan to meet even MINIMUM expectations for our visit, but writing this review is sort of pissing me off and I don't want it to depress the rest of my day the way it did when during our Rochester trip....

To conclude, the location was great. We enjoyed morning walks, visiting the art museum at the end of the block, and quick drives to great restaurants (like Nosh) nearby. We just need to find another hotel in the area, as we will never, ever step foot in the...

Note this is a doubletree hotel, not really a Hotel and Spa. If you expect it to be a Spa-like hotel, it is not.

Still, check-in was nice and the person who helped us was really friendly. The suites are large and the bathroom is long. We typically use Hilton because we like to bring my daughter's small dog, but alas, this hotel does not allow dogs, which was a surprise (isn't that what Paris likes to talk about on the ads for Hilton?).

But I am really giving it a 2 rating because we got four rooms and we weren't allowed one late check-out on our block of rooms-- though we had pre-booked on the app to have a late check-out. Why offer it, if not a true option? Why not send me a message and let me know ahead that it is not available?

...Traveling so much, I sometimes just need one room for a conference call. It turns out, even with "Diamond member" status (because of countless travel day for work) and even though I requested it before we got here, no one thought to say anything about us not being able to check out late. My mistake was I asked which room of our four was the late check out and the manager said none.

This may seem trivial to the average traveler, but, for me, who has to find a space for a call with a hotel that has no business center, no club and no public space that would be appropriate, it is a pretty big deal.

Here I am in a town I do not know and did not map out where else I might be able to take this call. So awkward.

Generally the staff have been lovely.

ALSO the restaurant is really very nice and we LOVED the bartender and also the waitress in the morning. The food is very pricey-- I would say that the food rates as a finer Hilton experience-- but travelers SHOULD come to the restaurant and the rooftop bar-- EVEN IF YOU STAY...