Staybridge Suites Corning (NY)

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a King One Bedroom Suite and was given the same on the third (top) floor on the quiet side of the property, per my direct request. All larger suites do not have king-sized beds.

How are the rooms?
The rooms were completely renovated in January 2020, so everything was in good working order. The full kitchen comes with new KitchenAid stainless steel appliances; there is a full-sized refrigerator with an ice-maker, a dual burner halogen range, a microwave oven, and a dishwasher. Other appliances included a 12-cup coffee maker, a toaster oven, and a two-slice toaster. There were table settings for four of Corelle dishware and Pyrex measuring cups and containers (not surprising given the location) and basic assortment of pots and pans. There is a peninsula counter at table height that can tightly sit two people side-by-side sitting in the provided chairs; we found it easier to just move one of the chairs into the kitchen side and eat facing each other. Supplies of coffee, tea, dish soap, and dishwasher detergent are available from Housekeeping once the initial supply has been exhausted.

There are ample power outlets and lamps throughout the room, as well as storage for clothes and luggage. The bed was firm, but comfortable. The bathroom has a single sink outside of the tub and shower and toilet room. The water pressure was fire-hose strong and no issues with temperature. Bath amenities are from the J.R. Watkins line that one finds at the HIX properties in the US and had the same bulk dispensers.

As stated above, the property is adjacent to Interstate 86 / Southern Tier Expressway; the front and northwestern corner of the property are closest, so I asked for a room on the opposite southeast side. Rooms either face the interior courtyard where there is a family area and half a basketball court or outwards. My outward-facing room faced the Corning Inc. day care center next door and a small bit of the hotel parking lot. There was a large tree directly outside of the living room window, so the room was both quiet and private. As a bonus, it was also close to the elevator (but not too close to have noise from it) and it was very convenient to park near the back entrance that was closest to our room and quickly access it via the elevator.

It was a five minute walk to the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG); the Welcome Center is directly across the street from the property and there is a periodic free shuttle (every 15-20 min during our stay) that one can ride to/from the Welcome Center with stops a both the CMOG and Rockwell Museum, along with a stop at the city center on Market Street. We also found a microbrewery directly next to the property that can be accessed by walking through the parking lot of the hotel that has both indoor and outdoor seating.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good was the comfort and convenience of having a suite with a functional kitchen to use for in-room meals. We found Corning to be a bit of a wasteland for decent food options; luckily, there is a large Wegmans grocery store about a five minute drive away. There are also a number of outlet stores in town and neighboring Elmira if that's your thing. The property is very clean and the recent renovations were much appreciated.

Only real negative I found was the really spartan free breakfast options that was little more than convenience store-level pre-packaged muffins and cereal bars and bottled juices and milk; there weren't even packets of jam or butter. I found the best value in just getting a few bottled waters for the day and some bananas, supplemented by items we bought at the store. Also, the free WiFi was a rather pedestrian 6 Mbps upload/download.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
The room rate was very inexpensive and given the property's excellent location to the Corning Museum of Glass, Rockwell Museum, and downtown Corning and numerous room amenities I found it an excellent value and would certainly stay again if visiting the area.