Ithaca Hotel

What a beautiful place to stay, plenty of parking. Friendly and helpful staff. I would stay here anytime while visiting the area. The rooms are large and have great views of the city. A short walk to all the local stores and restaurants.

We stayed here on a recent weekend getaway and I wasn’t too impressed. Parking was fine, check in was okay too and the staff was friendly– but when we got into our room, I was just unimpressed. It was dark, outdated and even though they had just cleaned the room it still felt dirty. We stayed in the main building, and I realized after that they had redone the tower rooms– wish we would’ve stayed there. The main building rooms could really use a face lift– I think that would go a long way in making the room feel clean, modern and inviting.
We also went to the hotel bar on our way back from dinner– nothing special, it was just us and maybe 8 others, the bartender was young but served us well– no complaints here.

When we stayed in March, there were problems. We came here partly for the heated indoor pool, only to find out it was out of order. We we’re disappointed, but didn’t get upset. That was before I took a shower the next morning and found there was no hot water. When I called about it, the person at the lobby was rude and unconcerned. That’s when we marched right down to the front desk and complained to a manager. He promised to comp our next stay. I insisted he put that in writing on his business card, rather than just giving me his word.
Flash forward to this weekend. We are finally using our comp for one night’s stay. Front desk people are being courteous, so we take that as a good sign. We rush to a rehearsal, and return after 9:30, eager to get a swim in before the pool is advertised to close at 10p. It’s 9:48p and our key card isn’t working. We ask the front desk and are told the pool is now closed. We beg to be able to get a lap or so in since it’s not supposed to close until 10. That’s when they tell us they routinely lock key card access before 10 and not even they can get in after that. There’s no sign on the door regarding that. Nor on the little «pool rules» insert in the hotel room.
While the one and only Unilocal «review» on this hotel lauds it with being «modern, contemporary, clean — everything a visitor to this charming college town would want», I would think that a guest-​centric attitude would also be important. It’s not just looking good and keeping clean, although those are invaluable. It’s also making sure your guests have a pleasant stay, and this hotel doesn’t seem to feel the need to focus on that at all.
The cherry on top is that there is a horde of teenagers here for some swim match, and the noise they (and the adults with them) have been making, nonstop since 7pm last night, is more than annoying or grating; its obnoxious and inconsiderate. I’ve been woken 3 times in the night, and have been up since 6:30a this morning because of the din emanating from the hallways and the lobby (at which our room is perfectly positioned above in order to hear every voice).
We’ve had it up to HERE with this place and haven’t even checked out yet. But I know I’ll never come back to stay here on subsequent visits to Ithaca.

What a nice surprise! Located in the heart of Ithaca Commons, formerly known as the Holiday Inn, Hotel Ithaca is modern, contemporary, clean — everything a a visitor to this charming college town would want. max’s sports bar was perfect to to watch the NY Mets clinch the NL East. bartender and patrons all friendly. great place to stay when visiting !