Clarion Inn Elmira-Horseheads

After a five-hour drive, we arrived to find there were no accessible rooms, even though we'd booked two. The front desk agent yelled and swore at us in front of the young children. The website doesn't clearly show when accessible rooms aren't available, and this was more than a simple mix-up. Our two adult children had nowhere to shower or use the washroom, and we were denied a refund. I'm appalled. Shame on you.

The pool was nice, and the location worked well for visiting family. But my Dad and I were in separate rooms, and both were dirty. The carpets were filthy, and there was pubic hair in the shower and on the bathroom floor. We asked twice for someone to vacuum. They said someone would come, but nobody did, even after I offered to vacuum myself. The bathroom vent was disgusting, and the second-floor hallways looked like something from a crack hotel. The coffee maker and blow dryer in my room didn't work either.

The location is the one thing this Clarion on Water St in Elmira, NY has going for it. The staff have been polite, but they haven't been accommodating. I'm a professional residential and commercial housekeeper, and I shouldn't have to clean and sanitize a room I paid a couple hundred dollars for. A spray of ordinary bathroom cleaner made the soap scum run right off the shower. The parking lot had a whole sheet of thick ice, with no safe way to get to our paid room. I raised the issue in person and nothing was done. We've also complained about the vending machines being empty for over three months. The answer is that the vendors won't come fill them, even though there are around seven machines sitting empty. When we rent and prepay for more than one night, our key cards keep needing to be reactivated every day. We've asked the desk attendant to leave them active for our stay, but we still have to get them reset when we return, which is especially inconvenient during the holidays or after a late night out. Often we have to track down the desk attendant because nobody is at the desk and the call button gets no answer. I understand they may be helping another guest, but I've often found them lounging elsewhere instead. Even asking for extra coffee pods gets us told there aren't any at the front desk. The location is good, and the staff are polite, but the room condition and service are disappointing and unacceptable.

The front desk staff were friendly, but that didn't make up for the poor maintenance. My room was old, and the noisy old fridge kept me awake until I unplugged it. I was also charged twice, with two security deposits added to my account. When I called to sort it out, I was left on hold for 25 minutes and nobody picked up.