The Gideon Putnam — Hotel in City of Saratoga Springs

Where to start? Full disclosure for context: This is my first time at this hotel, I stayed for one night in Aug2024 so I could go to a SPAC concert. I am a 35-40 yr old Female that does not drink and myself has been in the customer service field for many years when younger. I booked a single queen handicapped room in March due to limited availability for $575. When driving to the hotel the area is beautiful and there are many paths to walk under large trees. Parking unfortunately is limited and you can barely see the worn lines of the parking spots. The wait at the front counter to be serviced was long but the staff was very nice. There is only one elevator that was very slow. While the architecture is beautiful and old phone booths are nostalgic, there were many problems with my accommodations and experience at this hotel. The hallway I traveled smelled of beer and urine. Which while most likely due to late concert attendees was not appealing. Getting in and out of the room was difficult as the door stuck quite a lot and required two hands to open with difficulty. My bathroom had mold in the worn tiles, that also had pealing and staining. An old metal tissue box was falling out of the wall, there was rust on the towel rack and plaster was cracked and painted over poorly. The upstairs ice room was shabby looking again with rust on the floor and cracked chipping walls. The grounds had trash and various broken branches. While annoyed at the state of things I didn’t have much time before the concert started, so decided not to make a fuss. They were probably booked solid and wouldn’t have had availability to move me as it was track season anyway. When I reported the poor room state to the front desk upon checkout and showed video evidence of the state of the room the manager refused to watch the video, told me to put it away and then stated he would do me a favor by not charging me the 30$ amenities fee… for which I took part in none of them. There was no conversation that they would inspect the room, or improve things. There was no acknowledgment of the poor state of the room, an apology or attempt to do something more. I was only told that they would do me that favor and to have a nice day. I did not yell, or curse or act in an irate manor. I explained things in a reasonable tone and was hoping to have it mirrored back and at the minimum have a conversation. Instead I feel I was treated like a young punk kid that was looking to get the room for free or some other ridiculous ask. This is not a 575$ a night room hotel. All this hotel has going for it is a historic name, a few nice fixtures and a central location. Will Not be returning. I have posted photos below for context. I truly hope this hotel makes improvements because it could be a nice place to stay but I will not be returning after my...

I cannot begin to describe how disappointed we are with the Gideon Putnam. We decided to come for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. I was so excited because I had always heard how beautiful and opulent the Gideon Putman was.

We pulled up and the hotel looked beautiful! The location is perfect! Saratoga State Park is gorgeous! But that is were the fairy tale ended.

First, the parking lot is so far from the hotel. It wasn't horrible because it was a beautiful evening and the scenery is stunning. So after the hike I walk into the lobby.

Now it is like a Stephen King novel. Gorgeous from the outside but once you walk in, it changes. None of the expected opulence or elegance. Just old. I take the elevator up to our floor and walk into the thoroughly unimpressive room.

Within two minutes my wife screams 'don't unpack, we are not staying'. The room has bugs. BUGS!! Ten or more of the biggest earwigs I have ever seen. On the wall, the windows, and the bed.

So we go back to the front desk and tell them. The desk clerk acted as if it it was perfectly normal, saying because it is in a state park, they cannot use pesticides. We are given a different room; no sorry or anything.

So after fighting to get the luggage cart up a ramp that can not possibly be by code and into this tiny room we check for bugs - finding none we then unpack. I sit down on the bed which feels like a stone slab with a foam pad on it and survey the room.

The carpet is stained and worn. Very worn. I turn on the fan on the AC system and it sounds like someone threw a bag of rocks in a tumble dryer. The industrial gray walls give the warm feeling of a medium security prison.

The bathroom is about 90° and the ceiling is cracked plaster with paint peeling off. We live in a house built in the 30s with plaster walls and ceilings that look nothing like the walls in this room.

The power outlets on the lamps do not work and the metal ball the security bar catches has been ripped off the door as if someone ran out of there in horror.

After about an hour of laying on that medieval torture bed, we called the front desk and told them we were canceling the next two nights. Again, no 'we're sorry' or 'what can we do to make things right'? They didn't even ask why!

To wrap this review up, I see where the owner replies to many reviews with the fact that he has 'spent millions on remodeling'. Honestly, I can not see it.

My wife booked us into the Saratoga Casino Hotel. The place is gorgeous with beautiful rooms and comfy beds. Save yourself the hassle and money (the room was cheaper to boot) and skip the...

Very disappointing experience at the Gideon. The brunch is a trip we look forward to but this year's Father's Day brunch was a disappointing experience. So many people scheduled for the 11:00 seating and the food so poorly arranged that the line was out the door to even get to the food. The breakfast foods were all crammed into a far corner with only one tray of each food set up to feed everyone (one tray of French toast, one tray of bacon & sausage, etc) the very first items on the serve line were tarter and cocktail sauce? Yes shrimp was next but there was also cod across the room with no sauces so you had to slip into the line. Same with syrup for the French toast, it was located at the very last stop in the corner. The food selection was not what it has been in the past, not filled quickly, and the desserts were not even labelled despite peanut butter products sitting right next to other foods with obvious cross contamination. The worst part was when our daughter dropped a coffee mug which broke on the floor. We were told, don't worry about it we will clean it up when we reached down to get the pieces so no one got hurt. No one came and there were big pieces of jagged broken ceramics on the floor, under the table, and in the walkway. We pointed the pieces out, expressed concern that someone would slip, moved pieces that were large, but after 30 minutes we left and still no one had come. As we walked out we found that despite the main room being uncomfortably full of people, the other rooms were almost empty and the wait staff was standing around chatting. Finally, on the way out there was a group trying to assist a woman into a wheelchair. There was no staff from the hotel outside and no parking attendant despite the fact that it was pouring rain and a large number of older people attend. After realizing the problems the group were having I left my car and went to help them inside. The Gideon used to be an experience to enjoy a piece of history and luxury in our own beautiful park. Now I fear it's just another hotel with overpriced, poorly customer designed, lack of quality services that's resting on the laurels of who they used to be - A painted lady of Saratoga whose slip is showing. I hope this was...