CMK10

Stay Report - 1/11 - 1/12

Location: As the name suggests the hotel is located in Downtown Ithaca right next to The Commons, a pedestrian mall. Nearby are over a dozen restaurants which are within a few blocks (I suggest the Mahogany Bar and Grill) as well as a lot of shops. You can theoretically walk to Cornell pretty easily as it's about a mile to a mile and a half away but you'll be walking up steep hills and it can be very cold. ITH itself is about 15 minutes away.



Hotel: The hotel is two years old and looks great. It's a new construction building with a large comfortably lobby which also has a bar and restaurant, small sundry store and 24 hour gym. The hotel has valet parking or you can self park nearby at a garage. There is no Executive Lounge sadly.



Check In: We were able to get into our two rooms at 2 PM which is nice. The agent was very friendly and helped us get our car parked despite the valet being off somewhere. As a Platinum I was offered 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit plus breakfast for two.

Room: We were given adjoining rooms one of which was the larger corner room. It had a settee next to the bed, a small desk, a large SmarTV. The bathroom was pretty small but had a really good shower. Soundproofing was good and the bed was comfortable with outlets next to it.







Restaurant: We went to the bar at night and received excellent service. They also have an extensive wine and cocktail list. Breakfast was excellent. All three of us ordered entrees, sides, coffee and juice and after the coupon and $10 credit we were $6 out of pocket.

This is a really nice hotel, a surprising find in fact and I'd gladly be back.

Antonio8069

Ithaca is a very pricey place for hotel stays. Curious what rate you got and how much more it was to stay @ the Statler?

tampatravel

CMK10

According to my reservation email it was $363.83 total with tax for both rooms so about $160 a night before taxes I'd guess. The Statler was north of $400 for the same dates.

guv1976

Yes, lodging in Ithaca can be pricey, but during Winter Break, occupancy tends to be quite low, and at least some properties adjust their rates accordingly.

By the end of 2019, yet another new hotel -- a Canopy by Hilton -- is expected to open in Downtown Ithaca, about 1 1/2 blocks from the Marriott.

For those who don't need to stay downtown, one can find a Holiday Inn Express, a Fairfield Inn, and a Hampton Inn on Elmira Road/Route 13, near the city's southern border. When the Ithaca HI Express has award nights available, they go for 20,000 IHG points -- which can be bought for $100 when IHG runs one of its periodic 100% bonus points sales.

hockeyinsider

Why did you pay for breakfast when it was supposed to be complimentary?

Were there no refrigerators in the room?

hockeyinsider

For $850 per night, they better give you champagne at breakfast and also have a bottle on ice waiting in your room.

ryw

OP was in a party of 3. They had coupons which provided the complimentary breakfast benefit for the member + 1 guest in the restaurant, and used the $10 F&B credit from the welcome gift towards the third person's breakfast.

MSPeconomist

CMK10

That is correct. But no there were no refrigerators in our rooms.

zippy the pinhead

They had a refrigerator in ours. This piece of furniture is in the entry; as you can see, there is a mini refrigerator inside:



Wardrobe and suitcase rack to suit millenial tastes?



Mini refrigerator.

woodje12

I stay here frequently as we have an office in the area (and a corporate rate). It's a great little hotel. As a Titanium they offer points in lieu of the Lounge which works for me. The gym is just OK but definitely a step up from lower tier brands and the restaurant / bar is very good. This is especially important come winter-time when you may not want to leave the hotel, granted it is a very short walk to half a dozen restaurants in downtown Ithaca.

dlricci

Ithaca marriott downtown on the commons for 10/14 is $149.00 but 40,000 points

ryw

Yes, that looks right. Better deal to pay cash that evening than points.

Marriott point redemptions are based on the category of hotel (which is determined by some combination of general popularity and service level) and are relatively stable throughout the year (each category has a standard/peak/off-peak redemption "cost", but they're limited to those 3 price points for points redemptions). Whereas cash prices fluctuate daily based on demand.

This means sometimes there are situations where the cash rate is very high and you can get a lot of value using points; or situations like yours where the cash rate is a much better value than using points. (Many people place a value of somewhere between 0.7 to 1 cent per Marriott point to help gauge redemption value).

cfischer

i am staying there tomorrow through next Wednesday. Looks fully booked
They are offering BF on weekends and $40 credit 'at the market' (whatever that means) for Mo-We. Seems fair to me.
Rates were pretty good