Kiteville Owego

I understand a budget hotel means you get what you pay for, and this was $70 a night. The leaking roof, dirty hallways, and lack of any sort of employee weren’t even my main concern. I had booked a larger room with a balcony, a king bed, and a sleeper couch because I was traveling with more than one person. Instead, I arrived to find a single room with a king bed and no balcony. The couch mattered for our group. Management can only be reached by text, since they never answer calls. When I contacted them, they apologized but said they’d given my room to someone else and wouldn’t change it during my stay. It was upsetting, but what do you expect at that price?

The ratings on Expedia looked good, so my husband booked this place. There’s no one to check you in, only codes for the entrance and room. We found the room freezing when we got inside. It had a refrigerator, microwave, and electricity, but the clothing nook had a missing ceiling tile with ductwork and wiring exposed. The bathroom ceiling light had no cover or bulb, another fixture above the sink had no bulb, and the toilet paper holder was broken. We ran the heater at 80 degrees for two hours and still had to sleep in our ski clothes. There was nobody on site to sort out problems, and management never responded when we tried reaching them. The place is seriously lacking and gave me a very unsettled feeling. My husband owes me big time for thinking we should stay here. I’d rate it 0/5 if I could.

My room was clean and spacious, and the bed was comfortable, though the blanket was very light. The furniture was worn but usable. The in-room refrigerator badly needed defrosting, and the heating sleeve AC unit wouldn’t get above about 74 degrees. After a cold first night, I brought in my sleeping bag to use as a blanket. The TV was nice, with ROKU and HD cable channels, though the remote wouldn’t turn it on or off. There were USB power outlets by the bed. Keep the paper cup from the coffee maker, since I don’t know how you’d get another one. There’s no lobby or front desk. I hadn’t received an email or other instructions before arriving, so I called to check in. The helpful person who answered had trouble finding my prepaid American Express reservation. After about 20 minutes, he gave me the outer door code, room number, and room code. The touch locks need a wake-up touch before entering the code, and then they respond in a foreign language. My first room’s lock didn’t work, but Kiteville's phone agent gave me another room and code that worked fine. With a little orientation to the procedure, I’d call this reasonable accommodation for the price.

The self check-in setup means there’s no front desk staff. They also need to change the door codes more often: we accidentally walked into a neighbor’s room because their code was the same as ours. Very awkward! The rooms are tiny but clean and updated. Rates are cheap, the location is great, and there’s a grocery store and dollar store right next door. The hallways smell, look scary, and need some touch-up work. I’d stay there again in a pinch, but it’s definitely no frills.