Quality Inn Horseheads

The pool was advertised as open until around October, but it had already been emptied and closed when we arrived on Sept 19. It’s smaller than the photos suggest and sits right by the main entrance in the parking lot, with no privacy, so we probably wouldn’t have used it anyway. Breakfast came with the room, but the quality was very low. We didn’t try room service; the front desk and breakfast staff were okay, though not especially polite. Our family of four came from Canada to NY state for a weekend at Watkins Glen Park and the Corning Glass Museum. We chose this place despite the mixed reviews because affordable places nearby were scarce. The room and bathroom were clean, and the beds and pillows were comfortable. The bathroom sink wobbled so much I worried it might come loose when I turned the tap on or off. The fridge was quite loud. Everything inside, including the AC and heat unit, looked VERY dated, maybe 1980s. We were there in September when the weather was pleasant, so I can’t say whether the utilities worked well. The whole property smelled and felt old. It needs a full refurbishment, especially with a Best Western right across the street.

The free breakfast wasn’t worth having, and the eggs didn’t seem fresh. I couldn’t tell if they were even real, so I’d get breakfast somewhere nearby instead. The room was comfortable and clean, with a perfect temperature. Bathroom was okay, though I didn’t care for the tub or the water. It felt oddly slippery, like rinsing bleach off your hands and still having that slick feeling, but it didn’t smell like bleach. No idea what caused it. Otherwise, the room was good, and the location worked well, around 30 minutes from the wineries and Watkins Glen State Park.

I left an hour after arriving and they still refused to refund me. I had to find another three-star hotel, which was amazing, and I was really pleased with it. The first room smelled dirty. The carpet felt gritty, like nobody had vacuumed, and the tables were sticky. The tub and toilet had hair and poop in them. Mirror frames had big chunks missing, hanging lights had exposed wires, several outlets didn’t work, and old food behind the bedside table was attracting gnats. They offered another room, but it was the same. At the front desk, I was told I was nitpicking and expected too much because this was a three-star hotel, not a five-star one, and I hadn’t paid hundreds of dollars. The staff member called it normal wear and tear, said no one cleans perfectly and people make mistakes, and compared the flaws to what happens in a private home. She said wear and tear is inevitable and new items, upgrades, and repairs cost a lot, but they do their best.

The room wasn’t damaged when I left, but a few days later I noticed a $100 charge on my card, more than the room had cost. I’d booked one night through a third-party site, and they took my card for incidentals at check-in, which was fine. When I called, the desk clerk said there was no reason for the charge and that a manager would contact me. Nobody did. Really shady. After the hotel replied: I saw the charge pending the morning before checkout and figured it was just an incidentals hold that wouldn’t post. If they tried to reach me and I missed the call, basic courtesy would’ve been to leave a voicemail. Also, my two companions and I are all asthmatics, and none of us has ever touched marijuana.