Holiday Inn Express & Suites Cooperstown — Hotel in Town of Hartwick

My family of 5 and I just left this hotel after a 2-night stay and I’m only giving it 2 stars because of its proximity to the Hall of Fame, the spaciousness of our bunk bed suite, and the free coffee in the lobby. Everything else was awful and we will never stay here again.

Upon check-in, the front desk staff was not the friendliest, but we chalked it up to our late arrival.

The drapes in our room did not fully close and our husband had to use binder clips he happened to have in his briefcase to clip them closed.

The TV in the kids’ bunk bed area was not working.

The shampoo ran out while I was in the shower and there was nothing I could do but use the body wash to wash my hair. I understand that giving out mini toiletries is probably not cost effective and I have no problem with providing larger bottles in the shower, but if hotels are going to do that, the cleaning staff needs to check the bottles daily to make sure they are not running low.

But the worst experience for us was that from about 5:25 AM until 7:30 AM on our second morning, a woman sat on an outdoor bench that was right underneath our window and talked VERY loudly on her phone using very colorful language. She woke up our entire family, which made for a very horrible morning for our kids.

We get it, that wasn’t the hotel’s fault. But when we were checking out, my husband very kindly mentioned the incident to the man at the front desk and instead of apologizing or even SOUNDING apologetic, he just said, “Oh yeah, she’s out there all the time,” and shrugged it off.

Our issue is, if she is out there all the time talking loudly on her phone and waking people up at 5:30 AM, why has she never been asked to stop? Why does the hotel continue to leave a bench right outside of several rooms if there is an issue with people talking loudly during sleeping hours? And why we’re not even offered a simple “I’m sorry” when we raised the issue with the front desk worker? That just shows us that this hotel does not value their customers.

Our baseball-loving family will certainly return to Cooperstown, but we will be finding somewhere...

We have stayed here twice. The first time was ok- nothing fancy, but average, clean, what I would expect for a Holiday Inn. The hotel, although not walking distance to the town of Cooperstown, is conveniently located and just a short easy drive into Cooperstown. The second time we stayed here we noticed a definite decline. The carpet and chairs in our room showed significant stains. The carpet was pulling away from the trim at the entrance to the bathroom door. The room did not feel clean. We found blood (not ours!) on our bed sheets. When we reported this, we were made to feel as though we were over-reacting or making up the issue. They did take 50% off the room rate for one night for this, but the way they reacted was unprofessional. There was also a dirty hand print on the back of our bathroom door which remained there our entire stay. The picture hanging above one of the beds looked like it was about to fall off the wall. We were not using that bed, so we did not report it until we were on the way out. Hopefully that has been corrected. The breakfast selections were fairly typical for your free hotel breakfast. I did however see one of the staff working this area touch her hands to her mouth (spitting into a napkin), touching the trash can and her hair, and then without washing them she went and handled the food serving utensils. On the last day of our stay, we had no hot water. We were told the hot water heater had broken and again given 50% off the last night of our stay. The hotel is pricey (although it may be fairly typical for the area and time of year), but I felt like the prices (even with 50% off two different nights for the issues we had) was not worth it. The staff, with the exception of one red-headed girl who worked the front desk, did not really seem that friendly or happy to be there. I would not recommend...

I have been staying at this Holiday Inn Express for the past four years for the NY State History Day Competition in Cooperstown. The renovation that was underway last year at this time is now complete, and it was worth the wait. The lobby area now includes a touchscreen television with links to local attractions. The business center is located in the lobby across from check-in with two newer computers that were attached to a printer. The common/breakfast area now includes a cafe-height meeting table in the center of the room. I'm not sure this works for everyone, but it could accommodate a family or group if needed. I was the most impressed by my room. I stayed in a room with a king bed and a pull-out sofa. The finishes were modern and tasteful. The furniture was smartly designed including a table with large casters. The brand-new, flat-panel television was wall-mounted on a swivel. The bed was terrific with just-right pillows. The carpet and the granite in the entryway were clean. As this was a recently completed renovation, the bathroom was in top shape and was nice and clean. I guess my only concern was the heating unit since I don't think it was replaced in the renovation. However, my unit worked well and was quiet. I had to remind myself that I was staying at a Holiday Inn Express because the room seemed like it was designed for a high-end property. Finally, what makes this hotel my go-to, besides the value, is that the staff is both friendly and experienced. I have stayed at other properties where the staff has been less than friendly. Not my experience here: good, friendly, seasoned service. And, with the new renovation complete, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this property to fellow HIE and IHG members....