RIT Inn & Conference Center

“Lynn” in the lounge was attentive and professional, just perfect. The room was comfortable and clean, and arranging the stay through strong memorial hospital was easy. The lighting could use improvement for older people like us, but we absolutely enjoyed our stay.

The ballroom is gorgeous, and we had no noise issues. The elevators did smell strongly of weed, which is annoying if you dislike that smell as much as I do, though it seems hard to avoid these days. The room was okay and clean, which matters a lot. Otherwise it’s a standard, no-frills hotel, and the rates felt ridiculously high for that. The front desk staff seemed miserable. It worked well enough for what we needed, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay here again.

Stephanie and Cynthia helped me get all the details in place beforehand, which made the conference run smoothly. We had more than 80 reindeer owners from around the US at the Inn for three days, and the whole event was phenomenal. The staff were courteous and helpful, the facility suited us exactly, and all 11 meals were great.

We left and made other arrangements at a much newer, nicer hotel about 15 minutes away. The lobby looked nice and newly renovated, but the room we got was far from the website and Google Maps photos, which showed Executive rooms. We learned there are two types, Executive and Standard. The Standard room was run-down, dingy, dirty, old, smelled bad, and had chipped furniture and stained drawer interiors. The carpet was nasty. Across the hall, a cleaner had the door open and was spreading a huge can of white carpet freshener over the whole rug, presumably to cover the smell. When I raised my concerns, the front desk was apathetic. We decided not to stay, and the pictures speak for themselves. I also walked around the hotel. One of the back sections, or towers as they call them, houses RIT college students, and I feel bad for them because that area looked even worse than ours. Someone else mentioned the odd pool hours. Since college students live there, a lifeguard has to be on duty, so the hours are very limited. I’d highly recommend Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Rochester, a brand new hotel. You won’t be disappointed.