Hampton Inn Corning

Breakfast was excellent: eggs, sausage including a plant option, cereal, breads, and fruit. Coffee from the fresh-ground, per-cup machine was outstanding, and the seating area was tidy. The receptionist was fantastic and friendly, with great suggestions for local food. Furnishings were comfortable and in very good order, with a new desk, bed, side tables, and couch. The shower head and pressure were excellent, and there were power and USB plugs on both sides of the bed and at the desk. Rooms and public areas were very clean, and the reception had great local-theme artwork. We heard no highway noise from our room on the opposite side. Measured sound was 28 dBA in the quiet room, 29 with the refrigerator on, 36 dBA peak with the heater on HIGH, and 50 dBA peak with the air conditioner on HIGH. Parking was adequate, but getting in and out meant using an unmarked driveway through the lot between a roadside convenience store and an abandoned, derelict restaurant. It's narrow and dark, not suited to two large trucks passing. The building and rooms have been recently renovated, though age shows through the thin modern veneer. The joins where walls, floor, and HVAC meet weren't cleaned or painted, and the new carpet ends abruptly at 20-year-old welds and seams, especially near the window and HVAC unit. The toilet hold-down bolts were old and rusty with no caps. Renovation dust was still above the window on the wallpaper, too high to have come from guests.

The pool was closed for maintenance when we were there yesterday. Delana Elliot, the front desk supervisor, was a great help, walking us through better options and staying to help process our refund late into the night. We'll definitely come back.

The included breakfast and heated indoor pool were nice, and the room was decent for a reasonable price. Still, I may look elsewhere next time because there are several drawbacks and no particular reason to choose this hotel. I could clearly hear people talking near the entrance until almost midnight, even though they weren't loud, and I was on the third floor. I'd avoid rooms with numbers ending close to 24. A quirk involving the weather and the a/c made the windows fog up so badly I couldn't see outside, and I couldn't figure out how to clear them. The parking lot light was failing, and the access road had severe potholes.

The connecting-room guests sounded like they were in my room, and the room itself smelled a bit off. A couple of spots weren't cleaned well, and the shower was out of soap. Still, the staff were friendly, highway access was easy, the price was good, and the common areas were clean and generally updated. The free breakfast was solid, as usual for Holiday Inn Express. I stayed one night and it did the job. The entrance is just before the 7/11 when coming from the highway: turn right and it's tucked behind there. I'd consider staying again while passing through, especially if I needed a hotel near the Corning Museum of Glass or downtown Corning.