Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Syracuse Carrier Circle — Hotel in Town of De Witt

During our recent road trip, our family stayed at two different Fairfield Inn & Suite locations and noted a significant difference in the satisfaction of our stays. For comparison reasons, the other location we were at was the one in Ithaca - but this Syracuse location is our preferred location.

Upon entry, you have a "Corner Cafe" for some snacks to purchase, the front desk, and then the breakfast area alongside coffee available all day. The breakfast seating area is about the same size in both hotels but I found the Syracuse location to be more comfortable as it was less cramped and less busy during breakfast hours. On the note of breakfast, the breakfast at the Syracuse location was significantly better. To compare, Syracuse had the following advantages: Their mini fridge was available at all hours of the day, filled with individual packages of Chobani yogurt, Silk soy products (original and chocolate), milk (whole, 2%, and low fat chocolate), as well as some fruit cups and apple sauce. Versus the Ithaca location which has their fridge turned after breakfast so people couldn't access it, they had less variety and less stock. Syracuse offers two waffle machines (with timers which were helpful), with a runnier yet fluffier waffle batter. At the Ithaca location, there was a constant line of 2-4 people waiting for the single machine and without the timer, people were often confused about when their waffles would be ready. Overall, there are more items available at the Syracuse location: hard boiled eggs, Nutella packets, low fat cream cheese, single packets of Delight creamers, bananas, to name a few. Despite breakfast hours being 6:30-9:30 am, the Syracuse location extends their breakfast for a bit after, keeping their stock, and leaves out stable items (i.e. the mini fridge) out for people to grab n' go versus the Ithaca location which stops stocking items in the last hour hence if you go for breakfast closer to 9 am, there's not much for you to eat. the Ithaca location was also less organized with their breakfast. People were excited to get some cheese with their eggs, but got disappointed when they opened the container to find a compote of sorts.

In general, I found the staff to be friendlier and more "hardworking" at the Syracuse location. The tables were cleaned more frequently at this location and we appreciated the big trash cans, versus the ones that were alwyar overflowing at Ithaca.

To give you an idea of how good their breakfast selection is, I was able to make a fluffy waffle with Nutella spread, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, banana, topped with Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt. It was delicious! We were initially going to visit Funk n' Waffles but after this, decided we didn't need to spend the money.

In terms of the rooms, they're quite similar but the bathroom at this location was bigger and brighter. I also liked the light up mirror they had. For the shower head, you can adjust the water flow/sprinkler type.

At both locations, the rooms are lit with mainly lamps as there are no lights on the ceilings. Overall, lighting was suboptimal.

The beds were comfortable, comparable at both locations. I did find the rooms to trend on the colder side, even when we turned the temperature up.

I do have one "negative/strange" thing to say about this location which is regarding the mirror location beside our TV and facing one of the beds in our room. We have a habit of checking out mirrors but this mirror did not pass the test as it had no "double finger reflection and/or gap between our finger". This was odd and suspicious as the bathroom mirror did pass the desk and the one at the Ithaca location that was placed in the same fashion also...

I travel a lot for work. 159 hotel nights in 2024 all across the world, 120 or so the year before. My stay last night was my 36th at this property, and I think it's a great example of how to operate a hotel reliably and comfortably. ||Over the three years I've been staying here, I would have expected to see wear and tear -- the kind of thing I often see, honestly, in a lot of properties in this price range. Wallpaper peeling at the edges, dingy stained carpet in the elevators, that sort of thing. The Carrier Circle property NEVER has had that in the 36 times I've stayed. They seem to take real care to ensure that when items need to be replaced, they're replaced. No sagging light fixtures, loose toilet seats, broken elevators, or anything like that. Clean, comfortable, and well-kept.||When I'm able to take advantage of it, the breakfast area is clean and well-appointed. Despite the self-serve nature of the Fairfield breakfast, one of the morning staff often walks the dining area with a pot of coffee offering to refresh everyone's cup. The food choices are standard Fairfield fare -- if you want something fancier, try a Westin or Le Meredien! But they are freshly made, always well-stocked, and the counter is never, ever gross. I can't say that for some of the other Fairfield properties I've used in the U.S. ||Here's a small detail that I think illustrates the care the staff seem to have for what they're doing: the tea-water carafe is only for hot water. Why does that matter? When you mix up the carafes, and use a previously coffee-filled carafe for tea water, the tea tastes like coffee...no matter how hard you try to clean the carafe. It's a thoughtful detail not to mix up the carafes, so that the tea tastes like tea. Those details matter.||Pricing is generally competitive and the hotel is convenient to -- though not necessarily close to -- the NYS Thruway, Hancock Airport, and the Amtrak station.||My experiences with the front desk staff have been uniformly good; I'm not particular about having someone read a script thanking me for being a Titanium Elite, but my status has always been recognized and I've always received the upgrades for which I'm eligible. I've checked in late afternoons, in mid-evening, and even at 2 a.m., and never had a problem. Likewise, more often than not I'm checking out around 4:30 or 5 am for a first-out flight at KSYR...again, never a problem. That's why I sometimes can't get the breakfast, because my flights are too early to eat. Even so, there's fresh coffee and tea ready even at that hour, and it's very welcome. ||I travel enough that the small details really do make a difference; this property gets the small details right, and in ways that many of the higher-end properties I've stayed at do not (I'm looking at you, Westin Westminster, Colo.!). The management and staff here are doing it right!||(One last tip: if you need to get to the airport or Amtrak early in the morning when the Uber drivers are too sleepy or too expensive...get the hotel to hand you over to Bobby, who runs a taxi service. Bobby is phenomenal...

I travel a lot for work. 159 hotel nights in 2024 all across the world, 120 or so the year before. My stay last night was my 36th at this property, and I think it's a great example of how to operate a hotel reliably and comfortably. ||Over the three years I've been staying here, I would have expected to see wear and tear -- the kind of thing I often see, honestly, in a lot of properties in this price range. Wallpaper peeling at the edges, dingy stained carpet in the elevators, that sort of thing. The Carrier Circle property NEVER has had that in the 36 times I've stayed. They seem to take real care to ensure that when items need to be replaced, they're replaced. No sagging light fixtures, loose toilet seats, broken elevators, or anything like that. Clean, comfortable, and well-kept.||When I'm able to take advantage of it, the breakfast area is clean and well-appointed. Despite the self-serve nature of the Fairfield breakfast, one of the morning staff often walks the dining area with a pot of coffee offering to refresh everyone's cup. The food choices are standard Fairfield fare -- if you want something fancier, try a Westin or Le Meredien! But they are freshly made, always well-stocked, and the counter is never, ever gross. I can't say that for some of the other Fairfield properties I've used in the U.S. ||Here's a small detail that I think illustrates the care the staff seem to have for what they're doing: the tea-water carafe is only for hot water. Why does that matter? When you mix up the carafes, and use a previously coffee-filled carafe for tea water, the tea tastes like coffee...no matter how hard you try to clean the carafe. It's a thoughtful detail not to mix up the carafes, so that the tea tastes like tea. Those details matter.||Pricing is generally competitive and the hotel is convenient to -- though not necessarily close to -- the NYS Thruway, Hancock Airport, and the Amtrak station.||My experiences with the front desk staff have been uniformly good; I'm not particular about having someone read a script thanking me for being a Titanium Elite, but my status has always been recognized and I've always received the upgrades for which I'm eligible. I've checked in late afternoons, in mid-evening, and even at 2 a.m., and never had a problem. Likewise, more often than not I'm checking out around 4:30 or 5 am for a first-out flight at KSYR...again, never a problem. That's why I sometimes can't get the breakfast, because my flights are too early to eat. Even so, there's fresh coffee and tea ready even at that hour, and it's very welcome. ||I travel enough that the small details really do make a difference; this property gets the small details right, and in ways that many of the higher-end properties I've stayed at do not (I'm looking at you, Westin Westminster, Colo.!). The management and staff here are doing it right!||(One last tip: if you need to get to the airport or Amtrak early in the morning when the Uber drivers are too sleepy or too expensive...get the hotel to hand you over to Bobby, who runs a taxi service. Bobby is phenomenal...