More about Renaissance Syracuse Hotel
some staff problem
by A TripAdvisor Member
This hotel would have received a higher mark from me if the front desk clerk had been more polite and friendly. I arrived late in the evening(8pm), although my reservation had been confirmed weeks ahead. This young woman was quite condescending, and not only that she was mistaken about the days I would stay, she was very reluctant to assign a room away from the highway to me.
I wished that I had been waited on by the other front desk clerk who seemed efficient and with smiles on her face.
The room is clean, comfortable and spacious, with up to date amenities. I would give the room an excellent rating.
As a previous reviewer stated, this hotel is a bit out of the way from anything, esp. if you don't have a car. It is about 7 blocks or so from Syracuse University campus, but the first 3-4 blocks are quite deserted.
The items in the hotel restaurant and lounge are pricey.
Nice but Warm
by A TripAdvisor Member
I recently stayed at the Radisson Syracuse for two days (March 2 & 3). I drove in and wished that the directions on the web page had been a little more explicit...but when I arrived I found a room that was clean and well designed, if a little too warm. As other reviewers have noted, the decor is distinctly modern which I appreciated. The bathroom has a shower head that is mounted on the ceiling...GREAT! The only drawback was that the room was really warm so I had to turn the thermostat down to 60 degrees to be comfortable. Also, my room faced the Route 81 expressway and even through I was on the 11th floor, the traffic noise was rather loud. If you make reservations, request a room away from the expressway and I am sure you will love this hotel.
The fitness room was small but the treadmills and ellipticals have flat screen televisions mounted on them. Obtain headphones at the front desk and you can exercise to your favorite program!
The Redfields restaurant in the hotel was great! Excellent food and wine! You couldn't ask for more.
Quality Accomodations at the Radisson
by TripAdvisor Member tgw
I recently returned from this hotel during my first to Syracuse. The Radisson and the Genesee Grand are the two nicest hotels downtown, and I would be glad to stay at either one. The Radisson is clearly of a higher calibur than the Sheraton downtown. I have also stayed in a few of the W Hotels, and YES, this hotel is very similar to those, but a bit more personalized in my opinion. Lobby is very stylish, staff is responsive and calls you by name. Some of the rooms are a little small, but very comfortable and luxurious. The beds are very nice and comfortable, although, Radisson has not installed the Sleep Number beds at this location yet. Hotel is extremely clean and well kept. The room I was in had a very creative and functional desk in it, which they advertise on their website... Great lighting! Also advertise a fitness center, which I did not use. However, I did dine in Redfields, and the food was excellent! The lounge also offered a nice setting for cozy conversation. I am not sure why other reviewers had a problem with this hotel. But I will say, that this place caters to an upper-end clinetale. I wouldn't bring kids or families here. Not for the budget traveller.
The Marx gets average Marks
by TripAdvisor Member Electronicmail
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" should be the motto for this Hotel. I give it a 3 out of 5 because there is no 2.5 out of 5. I travel to Syracuse every year for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. I picked this hotel because, frankly, Hotel Syracuse was closed and this is the closest you can stay to Armory Square for a reasonable price. Finding the Marx wasn’t all that difficult. There are not too many buildings in downtown Syracuse that resemble a Farm Silo, so just look for a tubular building. The sign in front of building was a bit shabby, looked as if the Radisson just put up a plastic sign that was more appropriate for a J.C. Penny Sale. Parking was easy, available, free, and I did not need to put any sort of tag in my window. Cost per night for my 2-night stay on a weekend was a frugal $79 per night. The confusion starts when first entering the door from the parking garage. Um, where’s the front desk? There’s a desk that looks like a front desk, but I assure you it is not the real front desk. In fact, if the terrorists in the movie Die Hard invaded the Marx instead of the Nakatomi building, they would have gotten so frustrated they would have left the Marx and moved on to another building. After walking further and finding the front desk, friendly and attractive faces welcomed my party of three. As I always do, I asked the Hotel Clerk where the nearest greasy spoon was located. The young naive girl said “Oh, we don’t have those here”, like greasy spoon was a chain restaurant. Total time for check in: 2.5 minutes. Our room was clean with adequate space, but had a little musty scent to it. The circle layout of the hotel creates a Pie-shaped layout where the bathroom is awkwardly place in a wedge. Not all that roomy to use the toilet if you are wheelchair-bound. The shower was straight out of the Jetsons Cartoon. It’s a walk-in without a door or curtain. Looked cool, but not practical. Water everywhere. The showerhead had decent power, but came straight from the ceiling. Unless you are a master contortionist, you can’t get the water to hit those hidden areas. Closet Space was average, and the room came with many amenities. In fact, I’m still using the Marx hand lotion that came with the room. The bed was nice and the pillows were comfortable. The Air Conditioner/Fan/Heater was a big disappointment. It was a nice unit with a digital thermostat, but for goodness sakes the thing wouldn’t stop making a clicking sound. Drove me bonkers hearing what sounded like a stick in spokes of a child’s bicycle. Good thing I had a healthy dose of an Irish liquid to help me sleep, otherwise it would have been in trouble. As for the elevators – wow. They might be the slowest elevators ever made. If you’re anywhere other than the lobby, count on a four to five minute wait. I’m not joking. These things were slow. I had to get ice from another floor and I was worried that by the time I got back to my room the ice would be melted. Ok, that’s a stretch. Lobby bar was very nice and cozy. If your in a pinch for food, try Marcos Pizza, they deliver to the Hotel at all hours of the night. As for the Marx, I’ll be there again in March of 2006. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or comments at electronicmail@nyc.com
Pleasant Surprise
by A TripAdvisor Member
I ended up here due to a booking error at a hotel on the east side of Syracuse. The staff of that hotel were kind enough to contact the Radisson and get me a king, NS for at the same rate I was paying for them.
While the exterior wasn't much to get too excited about, the interior (recently refurbished) was very nice. The room was clean and the HVAC worked well by maintaing the selected temperature setting without a lot of blower or other mechanical noise. The bed and pillows were comfortable. The shower was done in black tile and brushed chrome fixtures and looked very stylish. My only complaint is that the size of the toilet/shower room was a bit small so I had to either step into the shower or off to the side of the toilet to open and close the door, but then I am a bit larger than the average person (XXL t-shirts if that helps give you an idea). From the front desk to the house keeping and maintenence people we encountered in the hallways and lobbys, they were were all polite and pleasant.
I would stay there again.
Cool Room!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Staying here with my son for one night after dropping my daughter off at Cornell University. We were at the Genessey last night (noisy air conditioner), but moved here and I'm glad we did. The bedding is very comfortable. We love the urban style decor and furniture. Black tiled shower. We asked for feather pillows and got them in five minutes. My son is in heaven because he can plug his PS2 into the TV (a lot of hotels block this feature). Based on reviews, we will probably dine in the hotel as well. Nice big window (light). Only drawback is no valet service, but still the parking deck is conveniently behind the hotel with a second lobby entrance. We would stay here again for sure. No reason to look further in my opinion. Hawthorne Suites would be good if you wish to stay walking distance to the night clubs, restaurants and bars in Armory Square. Not sure if I can recommend Genessey. Here you actually don't feel like you are in a hotel room. Now that's a design achievement!
Cramped!
by TripAdvisor Member Barbie63
My husband and I stayed at The Marx while in town for the New York State Blues Festival in July. The room was very small. We were there for three nights and we found ourselves tripping over each other due to lack of space. There was absolutely no place to hang up clothing, only little shelves. It was awful. The bathroom was small as well. The elevators took an inordinate amount of time. The restaurant was good. I would recommend the Sunday Brunch, it was very good. Also, the staff was very friendly and helpful. A van was available to shuttle us to the festival. Overall our main complaint was the size of the room. The bed itself was comfortable.
No longer a Radisson
by TripAdvisor Member lolabarney
When I booked in Oct. it was Radisson, now it's a "nothing"! We chose this hotel based on other reviews, and I was not disappointed, even without the chain representation, I really enjoyed my stay and would defintely stay again. But can they stay open? who knows.
THE GOOD: newly renovated lobby and bar area. Well maintained, clean and modern. Well lit parking garage (free), but you have to walk outside to it. Cool, funky room, apparently re-done only two years ago. Lots of desk space, loved the lights and the curved padded headboard. I loved the bathroom, with the walk in shower and black granite tiles. Stood under the rainshower for 1/2 hour. it was great. Lovely bar and a very efficient and friendly bartender on the Sat. night we stayed. Nice selection of small meals, nicely presented and not too pricey for a hotel bar. The attached restaurant "Redfields" looked beautiful and was really busy.
THE BAD: location wise, it's in the middle of nowhere, even though it's in the city. you can't really walk anywhere, and there are no vending machines or store, so bring your soda and munchies with you. I don't even think there are any restaurants nearby. The hotel is also really ugly, but don't let that discourage you, inside, it's lovely. More conservative people may be put off by the funky decor, they appear to be going for the trendy type. The bathroom is very small. My 6'4" husband could not move in there. Noisy airconditioner, and the windows don't open and drip with condensation. There is absolutely no where to hang towels, (we hung ours off the light fixture in the hall) and really, really small closet. This is a hotel that's good for a couple of nights, anything more than that and the lack of closet space would probably get annoying. I could also hear the traffic outside, even though we had a room away from the highway.
Overall, I guess it remains to be seen what will happen with this place, but I liked it, and would stay again.
Excellent Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
I travel regularly for business and pleasure and am extremely happy with my stay at The Marx. First and foremost, the hotel staff is very pleasant and accomodating. Parking is free and the hotel is convenient to everything in Syracuse. Free hotel shuttle will take you anywhere in the city. (The hotel bar in the lobby is a relaxing place to eat dinner while traveling alone.) Lastly, the rooms were modern and nice. I would definitely recommend this hotel and stay here on all future visits to Syracuse.
