Sleepless in Syracuse
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 3/7/05
We attend a festival at the Holiday Inn at the same time each year and this is the only reason we stay here.
Friday night was made h#ll by a gang of teenagers holding a party in our corridor. They had their doors open and were running in and out of rooms, shrieking and laughing until after 2 a.m. Teenage kids were wandering the halls with beer bottles in their hands. Someone got sick during the night and the next morning the corridor reeked of vomit.
I complained about the noise at about 11:20 p.m. The desk clerk said he would send someone down there immediately, but whatever action was taken was completely ineffectual.
The kids woke up at around 7:30 a.m. and the racket continued until they checked out.
The main driveway was covered with ice.
One of the exits had not been cleared of snow for several days. I couldn't get more than two feet from the door when I went to walk my dogs. Fortunately we had brought their extending leashes. The snow came up to their shoulders. A path was later cleared at my insistence. I shouldn't have to ask for basic maintenance to be carried out.
This is a ghastly hotel. It has no character and is utterly featureless. The restaurant is over-priced, service can be extremely slow, and the food is not great, though breakfast isn't bad.
There are no porters and there are never enough carts. Arriving and departing with luggage can be a nightmare.
There seems to be a rapid turnover of staff, except for the restaurant. Front desk staff are pleasant but the junior ones are very slow.
If you are unfortunate enough to be billeted in the annex - the so-called "chlorine wing" behind the swimming pool - you will have a long walk to your room. If you are in the tower, take a good book to read while waiting for the elevators. Oh, and ask if you can have a room on the side away from the fire station.