Hilton Garden Inn Syracuse — Hotel in Town of De Witt

The WORST hotel experience I have ever encountered!| · When we first checked in and walked into the main lobby, the smell of urine and chlorine was overwhelming. We walked up to the counter and the gentleman sitting behind the desk just stared at us not saying a word. I politely asked if we could check in and he replied “ let me look” check in time is 3:00 pm and we arrived at 2:30. He informed us that our room was ready and we could check in with a grunt. He tossed our keys in the desk and gave us absolutely no direction or even our room number. This gentleman’s personality and lack of customer service was the last of our worries, so we shook it off and moved into getting our belongings and getting into our room. We loaded our items onto a luggage cart and wandered around trying to find the elevator. When we found it we noticed a printed sign on it that basically said the elevator does work, but if you do not move quick enough the door will crush anything in its path.. we thought the sign was joking but as we entered the door expectedly close on our luggage cart knocking them onto my child. We made it up to our hotel room and opened the door. We explored for a minute and started to unload our things. I went into the bathroom and noticed that in the sink there were long curly hairs on the sink and vanity, as well as a huge hairball that was chilling out in the drain of the shower. My 5 year old was super excited about swimming so we immediately went down to the pool and jacuzzi to feel the water and span the layout. As soon as we walked into the pool area, the first thing we were greeted with was the overwhelming smell on chlorine and urine. The jacuzzi area was also decorated with a wonderful caution tape and electric saw sitting next to the jacuzzi. The pool was cloudy. You could see floating debris and hair about. It was all about 50 degrees. The liner of the pool also looked like it was peeling off and mold growing in and around the area. My husband and I were immediately turned off and went right to the front desk|· To discuss our concerns with the front desk. I politely and effectively told the staff that the conditions our room and amenities were unacceptable and we wanted to work on a solution because myself and my family did not feel comfortable at this property for two nights. The same gentleman at the front desk proceeded to tell me that we’re basically poop out of luck and because it was a holiday weekend, there was no manager in the building and there was nothing he could do. He also stated that because I booked through a 3rd party site (booking) that they would have to either change our reservation or issue a refund. I immediately went up to the room and called Booking customer service. The agent confirmed with me that It was actually Hilton that needed to issue the refund and they were unwilling and uncooperative with the booking customer service agent. The hotel would not answer the phone of the booking agent. So I went down the to main desk again and asked them to please contact booking. They were giving me the run around and the wrong number for the agent to call. At this point the booking agent advised me to write this review and put in a complaint against the property. The staff at the front desk proceeded desk proceeded to argue with me about the amenities saying that “ their pool is the best” and if you go to any other hotel they don’t even compare”. The lady Kim at the front desk continued to bully me about my feeling on the property and told me to basically stay somewhere else. After this entire awful encounter, we packed up and immediately left the premises. I got on the phone with Hilton corporate, and they would not process anything with the booking because the property refused to check us out in the system. I had to put in record with Hilton corporate that we legitimate left the property because I was afraid that they would try to charge my card for our stay or an accidental. In short please save your time, money, sanity and never stay at...

Traveled to Syracuse for a family visit. Stayed 2 nights in Syracuse at Hilton Garden Inn East Syracuse. Were overall happy w/the hotel/accommodations, but some things could have been improved for greater comfort & convenience during our stay.

Negatives: Mini-fridge was very mini & a little dirty inside - w/someone else's Klondike left in the freezer. We wiped it out & threw away the Klondike. The little freezer inside the fridge was smaller than a box of popsicles. We bring ice packs for our cooler + therapeutic ice packs for chronic pain. At home our mini fridge has a larger freezer on top w/its own door. Wish more hotels & inns would offer this option.

TV remote was unresponsive. Did not pull up menus at all & did not respond to changing channels 40% of the time. Had a 2nd TV/Remote in the room, so tried the other one. It worked slightly better but still not very responsive. No pay-per-view movies or other entertainment options avail on the TV besides some extended cable channels & HBO. We spent most of the time in our room watching Netflix & Hulu on our laptop, which is much smaller & unfortunate given the 2 TV's in our room. Would be nice if more places offered typical pay-per-view movies, but also the option to stream on Netflix, Hulu, etc. if you have your own account. Would be nice to watch things on the actual TV rather than a small laptop, propped at the bottom of the bed, connected to a Bluetooth speaker since most laptop speakers are subpar.

The bed was ok, but could have been more comfortable. Felt very "springy". Would have been nice if was more supportive as well as more cushion such as a pillowtop.

Breakfast buffet seemed pricey for what was offered. Fresh cut melon, small boxed cereals, yogurt, bread/bagels, coffee, juice – I think that was it, for $7.95 each.

Hot tub by the indoor pool was not hot enough to be therapeutic. Raising the temps some would make a big difference here!

The positives: We had a whirlpool room and that jacuzzi tub was amazing! Was the best part of our stay. Was very deep and helped w/ our pain issues.

Wi-Fi signal was strong & clear. Came in handy since we streamed Hulu & Netflix on the laptop both nights. However, we paid $4.95 per day for “enhanced” Wi-Fi. “Regular” Wi-Fi was offered for free, but it sounded iffy and we just wanted to relax and watch our shows before bed.

Once determined breakfast buffet wasn’t our jam, then realized some were eating a sit-down meal, so we ordered breakfast instead, which was good. We both had French toast and home fries and both were tasty, hot, served quickly and priced fairly.

Did not eat at the hotel restaurant for lunch or dinner. Considered it but did not think there were enough options on the menu. We bought a few snack items from the "store" behind reception. Was nice to have that option, but were out of many things (to be fair, it was later in the evening).

Hotel itself was nice & welcoming & seemed well-kept (if slightly outdated in rooms). Staff were very friendly & professional. We were thrilled to have luggage carts available & elevators as this is not always the case. Overall, would definitely come back, but would be even happier to do so if improvements were made to mattresses, updated TV's and/or movie/entertainment options, warmer jacuzzi temps in case a whirlpool room is not available, and also, would be amazing to have a larger freezer w/the mini fridge. Also, a print-out sheet at check-in listing all breakfast, lunch & dinner options, menus, prices, times avail, Wi-Fi options & instructions, TV/Cable info & instructions, as well as info on other hotel amenities & nearby conveniences would be super helpful. This info used to be provided in rooms but may have been discontinued due to COVID. Still be nice to have it provided at check-in in some form, so you don’t have to call/text w/questions constantly or just guess. Sounds like a lot of complaints I think, but actually was a good option. Especially w/the whirlpool room. Would recommend for couples,...

I recently stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in East Syracuse, NY, reserving three rooms well in advance. I’ve stayed here before and had always appreciated the convenient location close to family and local services. Unfortunately, something has seriously changed at this hotel — whether due to new management, understaffing, or declining standards — and the experience this time was deeply disappointing.||Check-in went smoothly, and the front desk staff was friendly and welcoming. However, after a full day assisting my family, we returned to find our room completely untouched. When I inquired at the front desk, I was told that housekeeping now only services rooms every other day. I asked for fresh towels so we could at least clean up, and was told they would be delivered shortly — but they never arrived that night.||The following day, we once again spoke to the front desk and were assured the room would be serviced. We returned to the premises around 1:00 p.m. to find the room still untouched. I spoke with a member of the cleaning staff down the hall, who told me they were working their way toward our room. Two hours later, there was still no sign of anyone, and with dinner plans approaching, I had to return to the front desk once more to ask for towels. Thankfully, the same person who had checked me in was there and was able to provide them. Despite repeated requests, our room was not cleaned once during our entire 3-night stay.||To add insult to injury, I found a bug in the towels we had just been given.||The condition of the room itself was below expectations. I’ve never had such an uncomfortable bed — my husband believes the box spring on his side was broken. The pillows were flat and long past needing replacement. I’m including a photo of the shower curtain, which was also in poor condition and clearly due for replacement.||Throughout the stay, there were lots of excuses, but very little follow-through or accountability from the staff. This hotel no longer lives up to the Hilton name, and frankly, should be embarrassed by the level of service and cleanliness provided. I paid over $600 — even with a corporate discount — for substandard accommodations that did not meet basic expectations.||I did not visit the bar or restaurant during this trip, so I can’t speak to those amenities.||I truly hope Hilton takes a close look at what’s happening at this location. Until major improvements are made, I cannot recommend this hotel and will be looking elsewhere for future stays...