Clarion Pointe Downtown

We were cycling the Empire State Trail toward NYC and ducked into this hotel to wait out a storm. The staff were fantastic, sending us off with extra water and snacks and even a complimentary bottle of wine for the night. I’d absolutely recommend it to other trail riders.

For the price, this was a better deal than most downtown Syracuse hotels. My ground-floor room, the last one down the hall, was spotless and quiet, with a perfect bed, carpet, and bathroom. Even the shower control shone like a mirror. The neighborhood could seem a little rough, but that didn’t change how nice the room was. The staff were so friendly, from the two men working at night to the woman in the morning. I liked the eggs and hash browns, too. When I needed a phone charger, the gas station across the street had none with “the cube.” She let me have one, which I really appreciated. That was the only nearby business open, and I didn’t have a car.

I spent about five nights here, and Mili at the front desk is the reason I’d come back. She greeted me warmly, made check-in simple, and took care of any issue I brought up. She kept checking whether there was anything else she could do to improve my stay. That kind of service really stood out.

The rooms met our needs, though getting to them meant going outside, which was rough when it was 5* outside. Breakfast was disappointing: the eggs and biskets were cold, and there was very little left even at 7:30. The bigger problem showed up later on my credit card bill. An hourly-staff gratuity had been added the day after we left, even though I hadn’t approved it. No one mentioned it at check-in or checkout, and it wasn’t on the receipt I originally saw. I only spotted it online after the credit card bill arrived.