lesteryen

Dear All,

I will be going to Syracuse between October 2-6 and I am wondering, as an SPG Gold Member, what kind of upgrade will I usually get at this property. Thanks!

lesteryen

jayzee9

Probably not much. I rarely got much of an upgrade as a plat and stayed there every week. You can try to get club floor. They also have a couple junior suites, but they're on the 3rd floor and can get loud if they have a convention in town. The best are the jacuzzi suite and the presidential suite, which i got each one time. Good luck. It's probably the best hotel in town, which isn't saying much, but the staff are nice and the shuttle is a great feature.

belynch

FYI, SU uses the Sheraton as a pseudo-dorm (they own the hotel as of a few years ago). They put the kids there that sign up for the special "quiet lifestyle" living housing requests, but it is something you have to consider.

When you check-in, mention that you want to be as far from the student block as possible.

Decent hotel though.

Although I personally opt to stay at the Marx whilst in Sorry-excuse. Non *wood property, but worth missing out on the points for. It flirted with being a Radisson for a bit, but the hotel management dropped the flag because the property was too good for the Radisson name* (!), and it wasn't driving bookings.

(*If that's not a kick in the proverbial brand-pants, I don't know what is)

Occupationalhazard

I stayed here earlier this month. It's a pretty average property, really. Staff was very friendly, though, but restaurant menu has been revised (from average to "not great") since the last time I ate there. It's convenient to the campus (being ON-campus), although the (non-SPG) Genesee Grande is close enough to walk, and is quite nice (better facility, imho).

There is a SBUX handy (kitty-corner to the hotel) and a DD within walking distance. There will be (so I hear) a "Freedom of Espresso" opening on the hill soon--Freedom is a locally owned espresso bar. They have 3 or so locations, one on Pearl St. near Columbus Bakery, one on Solar St. at Franklin Square, and one Downtown near Armory Sq. (might be 2; I think they opened another one since I moved). Dining out options are Armory Square, Armory Square and Armory Square. Oh, and the (original!) Dinosaur BBQ....which is a short walk from...Armory Square. (Okay, there are others, but they're not conveniently grouped together, unless one likes RubyBennigTullyBees chain-dining on Erie Blvd.) I find Colemans on Tipp Hill to be worth the hike, but that's me. *shrugs*

O/H

aviators99

I stay there 2-3 times per year. I wouldn't rate it too high, but it's very convenient for me, since I give talks on campus.

They are terrible about Platinum upgrades.

I'll be there May 2, so I will give another update if anything material has changed.

Rand0mized

Yeah, if you are in the Syracuse area, it is a must to stop at Dinosaur BBQ. They have the best BBQ in New York State. They also have a location in Rochester, NY and Manhattan. I have not stayed at the Sheraton but planned to stay there in the future. Thanks for the update!

etsmyers

So any updates?

I am staying there next week, making sure I am making the right decision.

767-322ETOPS

I'm staying at this property this weekend (Nov 21-22) for the SU - Rutgers game. I'll post an update on return.

767-322ETOPS

Stayed at this property arriving 21 Nov 09 and departing 22 Nov 09. A very nice property with excellent staff. Booked room at sheraton.com for 199/night. At check in was given a room on the 9th floor - club level. This was a pleasant surprise as I don't have status with Starwood. Room was in very good shape including bathroom. Free internet access.

We arrived around 2:45pm on Saturday for the Rutgers/Syracuse game which kicked off at 3:30. Some traffic getting from I-81 to the property but not too bad. There is a parking deck attached to the hotel which they close to the general public on game days. My name was on a hotel guest list and we parked with no problem. There were some tailgating stations set up in front of the hotel. Everything was festive, but not crazy. It was family friendly (which was good as I was traveling with 14 and 12 year olds). All of the tail gating stuff was cleaned up and gone by the time we returned from the game.

I used the gym at 6:45am on Sunday and there was only 1 other person in there. It's kind of small, so it might be tight during busier periods. 2 treadmills, 1 elliptical and a recumbent bike make up cardio equipment. Weights include some cable machines and a set of dumb bells up to 50 pounds.

Didn't try the hotel food. We got take out from Dinosaur BBQ (Saturday night wait was well over 1 hour). For breakfast on Sunday we went to Stella's before making return trip to NJ.

In sum, you can't beat this property if you are attending a game at the Carrier Dome. It's a 5 minute walk from hotel to the dome.

treznor

Definitely agree; I've stayed here for a number of Syracuse football games. Very short walk to our tailgate area that we use and the stadium as well.

Haven't eaten there either as Dino and Zebb's and Varsity and a number of other places always seem better. The bar is a decent area for drinks while passing some time though.

The last time I was there the lounge attendant was making drinks instead of letting people make there drinks. A bit weird(and I think the only time I've seen that in the US) but probably understandable considering it was a game day and the hotel is at the campus.

heakja

Any recent experiences with this hotel? Considering a stay here during a road trip in August. Still no plat recognition to speak of?

60614

I was only there one night, and it wasn't for a university-related event.
Pluses:
Friendly staff, convenient, Starbucks catecorner from the hotel
Minuses (pretty significant)
Restaurant refused to seat me at 9:30 pm, even though it was advertised as closing at 10 pm. I ate in the bar. Wish I had read about the BBQ place on here before I traveled.
Hotel is VERY tired and beat up. Sheraton has spent a lot of money to renovate and improve the brand, but this hotel clearly has not benefitted. As a Platinum, I got a 9th floor club room (not a suite, which I did not really care about or ask for). Decor was early 80's. Dark brown carpet, brown walls, shiny black pleather headboard, a vinyl fake alligator or lizard desk chair. Elevators were very beat up. More dents than I've seen in a long time. A weird air freshener odor in the room from the heater unit. I turned it off. Luckily it wasn't too cold outside.
Also, be aware that the hotel has a serious kitchen ventilation issue. Several others have noted this on TripAdvisor. The smell in my 9th (top) floor room of bacon cooking was so strong at 6 am that it woke me up. There was also a strong grease smell in the hallway when I arrived, although it wasn't noticeable in my room.
I'm pretty loyal to *wood but I think if I went to Syracuse often or had to stay there for a long time, I would look for an alternative.

There seemed to be a lot of students staying there, but they weren't noisy so it wasn't really a bother.

freeloader

Just finished a one night stay. Pleasantly surprised.

Upgraded to exec floor as a plat. Good view of the SU campus, very picturesque from the 9th floor. Took breakfast in the lounge. Both the evening and breakfast spreads were impressive for a domestic sheraton (wide amount of snacks, veggies, couple of hot dishes at night, full continental breakfast w/ eggs in the AM); nice lounge setting, helpful attendant.

Room was modern enough. Hotel met my expectations for an older sheraton.

Thing that annoys me is the $13 to park overnight. They have ample parking, so it felt like a money grab. Especially since other hotels in Syr don't charge parking (and since they don't, this won't get reimbursed from my company).

I'd likely stay again, tho maybe not for a longer stay (since again, the parking is out of pocket)

mysterym

I want to stay Jan 31-Feb 2 for the 'Cuse Duke game. Unfortunately I waited too long to book and there appears to be no availability. I am Platinum and the rack rate is $499/night whereas I probably would have paid less than $200 had I booked in time. Any thoughts on how to get a reservation without spending more than $1k for two nights?

treznor

I'd say its probably not gonna happen. You can check back daily to see if something randomly shows up, but if its already booked then not much chance. The Sheraton is by far the best-located hotel in Syracuse for SU events, so for pretty much any decent event it books up.