Courtyard by Marriott Syracuse Downtown at Armory Square — Hotel in City of Syracuse

Overall: 3.0 Stars - This is at least my 4th time staying at this location (either Courtyard or Residence Inn - connected). Though location is great, questions on cleanliness and safety concerns with downtown may prevent future stays...

Location (Safety, attractions, restaurants, etc): 2.0 Stars - Hotel is in the heart of Armory Square, Syracuse. Across the street from major food and drink destinations of Syracuse. Great to be able to walk to establishments. HOWEVER - be aware that Syracuse has 2-sides... the businessman/yuppy/young crowd, but also a significant number of drifters and others wanderers in the downtown. Just this trip I was approached by 3 different people wanting money (day and night)...and at times they can get pretty belligerent when you say No. My co-worker was threatened the last time he stayed at this hotel after telling an approaching panhandler No. Can sum it up by saying that I would not want my wife to be downtown by herself.

Convenience (Airport, Highway): 4.5 - 15 mins from SYR. Easy access to Hwy-690 (great for my requirement to travel in/out of the city for work). Being directly across from major "good" restaurants is a definite plus!

Cleanliness: Hotel - 2.0 / Room - 3.0 - my rating here is more based upon the experience of my coworker this trip. Honestly - my exposure to my room and the hotel could easily be a 4-star. However, my co-worker noticed a used condom in the stairwell (there for many days), and upon checking into his room found one of the beds not made (to the credit of the hotel - they put him in another room and provided a goody bag later that evening which included a free breakfast voucher...but still)

Room (layout, amenities): 4.0 star - My room was an even-number room on the 7th floor - facing the rear of the hotel, so quiet at night. Darkening shades were effective. Room standard with mini-fridge and coffee maker. A nice wardrobe and desk area for working. Plenty of lighting and overall found the room very comfortable. Two small gripes - 1) When laying in bed to watch TV - portion of the TV is cut off due to the wardrobe 2) The handle for turning on the shower causes you to be in the line of fire of the water coming on...never like that.

Hotel Amenities: 4.0 Star - Used the gym each morning (which is shared with Residence Inn guests). Good free-weights, good body workout equipment (Bosu balls, mats, etc). Fair amount of cardio - though the gym can begin to get crowded starting at 6:15-6:30AM. Small pool (shared as well) - did not use. Standard Courtyard restaurant - though noticed this time round that the menu has changed (for breakfast at least). Overall - food was fine and as expected. Roomy sitting area on main floor with business station.

Service: 4.0 Star - No issues here. Valet parking was spot on, never much of a wait (this hotel only has valet parking). Front desk - efficient. Servers in restaurant were friendly and spot on as well. Did not get housekeeping during...

update at bottom At my Sunday night arrival desk staff was less than eager. No worries everyone has bad days. Went to my room and found keys she gave me not opening my door. Tried both, several times. Back to lobby. Explained to her. Lacking perceivable empathy for me, she reprogrammed my keys and gave them back. Went back up to my room and the keys worked. Now in the room, there’s an overwhelming smell of urine. I went into the bathroom and checked toilet to see if it was just there (I have kids, they forget to flush) but the toilet wasn’t the odor source. At that point it didn’t matter, this was not going to be my room for 5 days while I was in town for business. Back to the lobby. Front desk staff sets her cell phone down on the desk where I could see it. She was on a FaceTime or the like. I could see a guy on there as I told her that room she gave me (room 205) smelled so badly of urine that I expected a new room and after this 2x waste of time, I’d like one that’s an upgrade. She gave a lackluster apology and clicked around on her computer. Reprogrammed the keys she had given me before, literally scratched thru in pen the room number on the key holder from before and wrote the new number next to it. (room 203 - adjoining, next door to the urine room). Room 203 as best I could tell was not any form of upgrade aside from lacking the urine smell. But room 203 did smell, like the entire hall of the second floor, of marijuana. Smells I didn’t sign up for aside, the room was a solid 1-2 stars. Worn out is the best term I’d use for it. I haven’t stayed in a hotel and been this let down since I tried to stay in Houston, TX the year following Hurricane Katrina where all hotels turned into emergency shelters for long stretches. This Courtyard in downtown Syracuse I selected because I thought it had a relatively recent refresh. Well, not in my room experience. It was in rough shape. I wouldn’t stay there again ever.

• one week after my stay, I’ve moved their star rating from 1 star to 3 stars. The Hotel condition obviously isn’t any different but by including this same info above in my “how was your stay” feedback email response from Bonvoy, the hotel GM reached out today and apologized in detail regarding my stay, especially the staff behavior and gave me some extra stat points. That’s huge for me. Well done...

We booked a block of rooms for our wedding back in December 2019 and the employees at this hotel couldn't have made our planning experience and stay any better! They allowed us to take a tour of the rooms and the suites during our planning process to help us decide which hotel to go with. Ultimately, we booked the Courtyard Armory Square due to the attached parking garage, valet service, and different styles of rooms to accommodate our guests. We blocked out a large portion of rooms and had almost all of them full. During the wedding weekend, most arrived Friday night for festivities and to experience downtown Syracuse nightlife. The staff was amazing in allowing us to check in a little early, helping us unload all of our vehicles, and even assisting with getting everything to our rooms. My husband and I booked one of the big suites, which was perfect for what we needed. It had a kitchen, full living room, and bedroom with it's own door. The hotel allowed us to bring in outside catering for Saturday morning to get ready. They also allowed our photographers and hair and makeup artists to use the parking garage and help bring their things up to the rooms. We were given permission to take pictures in the lobby in front of their spectacular Holiday display, including a Christmas tree, presents, and lights. On Sunday morning, I called down to the front desk to see if someone could bring up some garbage bags so that I could clean up the rooms used to get ready in as to not leave a huge mess for the staff. They sent someone up right away and she even helped me clean things up and brought the bags out to the dumpsters. After our guests had checked out, the staff allowed my husband and I extra time to bring all of our things down to our vehicle, and allowed us to keep our vehicle in the parking garage as we took some time with family to go out to breakfast and enjoy sightseeing downtown. Kudos to the hotel and the extremely friendly service! The staff here and our stay...