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JDMcQ's hotel reviews

Discussion in 'Travel' started by JDMcQ, Feb 22, 2011.

  1. Feb 22, 2011 at 6:56 PM
    #1
    JDMcQ

    JDMcQ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The Mushroom Capital of the World
    As i am traveling this week, Chris suggested that i start a thread reviewing some of the hotels (and their associated bars) which I stayed at. This would be a good place for others to post some honest reviews of places at which they had stayed. I think that it would be best if we kept this relatively serious so tha others could get a good opinion of some establishments.

    Radisson Hotel, Rochester Airport
    175 Jefferson Road, Rochester, NY
    585-485-1910

    I found this hotel through the Priceline Negotiator app on my Droid. The negotiated price was $45.00 per night plus tax. The normal rate was $149.00.

    The hotel is located close to the Rochester Airport (as the name indicates) and a rather large Town Center type shopping area. The hotel has a small fitness area and pool area. There is a restaurant and bar directly off of the lobby.

    I had the chicken Marsala at the restaurant and it was fairly good, the sauce may have been a bit thick and pedestrian, but typos nonetheless. The restaurant offers a breakfast buffet in the morning at a reasonable cost. The entire menu is also available for room service.

    The bar is good sized and has a pool table, a few video games and a juke box. The entire menu of the restaurant is available at the bar as well. Moe, the bartender, was friendly and kept my beer full for the evening. The drink prices were reasonable ($2.75 for a domestic pint). There was a group in town for some class at RIT so the crowd was lively and it did get a little loud.

    The hotel itself is an older property and is slightly dated, clean and nice , just slightly dated. The property has Sleep Number beds in the room and while mine would not adjust ,was very comfortable. The bathroom was stocked with plenty of towels and a typical selection of toiletries. One point of note was the exhaust fan in the bathroom ,a feature often overlooked in hotels. The room is also equipped with a small refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave.
     
  2. Feb 22, 2011 at 6:57 PM
    #2
    Max-4_Yota

    Max-4_Yota The Welfare Cadilac

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    Michael
    South Carolina
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    Chicken lights, chrome and smoke tunes.
    Great idea. :thumbsup:
     
  3. Feb 22, 2011 at 7:01 PM
    #3
    JDMcQ

    JDMcQ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The Mushroom Capital of the World
    This evening, aim staying at the Marriott, Downtown Springfield, MA.

    Marriott Springfield
    2 Boland Way, Springfield, MA
    483-781-7111

    Another Priceline Negotiator find, i got the room for $75.00 per night (regular rate, $199.00)

    This hotel is located in downtown Springfiled, MA. It offers a fitness area, indoor pool and whirlpool. There are two restaurant/bars on the property. from the get go ,the hotel impressed me. It is in down town and is a high rise building and therefore has a parking garage. Not normally an issue, but I was driving a box truck ,which try as i might ,would not fit. I explained my issue to the desk and they called security for assistance. The security person allowed me to park at the loading dock, explaining that they had two docks and they would just use the other until I left. Big points for that ,especially since i was staying at a discounted rate. The hotel is beautiful worth way more than what I paid, although they added $14.00 for parking and $12.95 for internet access, which I think is a bit excessive.

    I had dinner in Currents restaurant/bar. I ordered the applewood smoked chicken, which arrived fresh and well prepared. The ingredients were fresh and the chicken was awesome. A great meal at the end of a long day on the road. I also checked out Champions Sports bar which is also part of the hotel. The bar is fairly large by hotel standards with plenty of televisions to catch a (although Bruins) hockey game. Domestic pints were $3.75 and the staff was friendly and attentive, although the place was empty so he really didn't have an excuse to not be attentive.

    The rooms are very nice and spacious. The bathroom is a bit small and I fear that I might step in the toilet getting out of the shower. There are plenty of towels and the toiletries are by Bath & Body Works, which were at least manned up a bit by being in brown bottles. The bed was very comfortable and I slept well.
     
  4. Feb 23, 2011 at 6:27 PM
    #4
    JDMcQ

    JDMcQ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I tried to finish up my trip tonight, but got hung up. I have to stay away from home one more night.

    Doubletree Norwalk
    789 Connecticut ave
    Norwalk, CT 06854
    203- 853-3477

    I got this room for $65.00 per night, regular rate of $209.00.

    The hotel offers a 24 hour fitness area, a pool (closed at the time of my visit) an upscale restaurant and a bar/lounge. As is customary at Doubletree properties, i was offered a warm cookie at the time of check in. Parking was ample, even for my box truck. The Internet connection was free and fairly quick.

    I had dinner at the bar and enjoyed a nice New York strip for $22.00. It was slightly overcooked for my tastes and perhaps a bit dry, still tasty though. The domestic bottles cost $5.00. The bar Is very nice with ample seating including several tables, and a few couches for, well, I suppose lounging.

    The room was very nice with a flat screen TV, a small desk and a comfortable looking chair. The bathroom was decent sized with a marble walled shower. One bit of annoyance was that the shower head was mounted slightly less that 6 feet off of the shower floor, which means that at 6'3", I had to squat down a good bit to get my head under the water. I have experienced this before and it annoys the hell out of me every time. The toiletries were by Neutrogena. The bed was very comfortable, as all Doubletree beds are. I got a good nights sleep and was greeted with a complimentary copy of USA Today slipped under my door. A copy of my bill was also under the door, as a testament to the deal I got, or maybe to the ridiculous price of beer, my bar tab (including dinner) was higher than my room charge.
     
  5. Feb 24, 2011 at 4:57 PM
    #5
    JDMcQ

    JDMcQ [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The Mushroom Capital of the World
    That was the end of my trip for this quarter. I willl likely make this trip again in a few months and will post up reviews of the places that I stay.

    In the mean time, I would like to see some other reviews of hotels across the country. Feel free to post your experiences here fr all of us to use and experience.
     
  6. Feb 24, 2011 at 5:27 PM
    #6
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    My Wife and I stayed at the J W Marriot last weekend, and it was a fantastic Resort! Had Shatner do the deal, and we paid $100.00 for a room that normally goes for $369.00 a night. Internet was $12.95 a day per computer, but they gave Us both computers hooked up for the $12.95 all weekend. First impressions:
    Parking is far, unless you have the vallet park. Being as the Vallet guys are used to parking Rolls Rocye, Bently, Ferrari, etc., I figured I would just park the Tacoma myself. I didnt want to get them confused when they got inside and said "Car....PARK!" just to find my Tacoma didnt want to listen to them. The entry is very majestic. Its a pretty posh place. Our room was very nice, with a couch, table, and a 42" HD TV. The bed was a King, with about 10 pilloows on it. The pillows were either very firm, or too dam soft. No middle ground. The patio was nice, and offered a nice view of the golf course. The bathroom was simply HUGE. Granite shower, huge bath tub, secluded toilet, and a very large sink area. Their shampoo, soaps, conditioners, lotions, were all provided by a local spa. The room has a HUGE sliding door/window. Room service was prompt, and very friendly. Coffee maker with gourmet coffee was supplied, and re filled every day. The TV channel selection (I found) was fine. 5 different ESPN HD Channels, but Julie wasnt happy with that. Evidently, there was only 1 channel she liked. Movies ranged from $12.99 to 18.99. The Bar was very noisey, and there was a lady down there with a guy playing the piano, and guitar (yes, at the same time), trying to do their best Micheal Jackson "Billy Jean" impersonation. The lady was stuck on "OOOo.....OOO......OOOO..." the entire time we were getting our drinks. We ordered some Foo Foo drinks, I got 2, and Julie got 1, and the total was about $32.00. They were very large, and quite strong. There are a couple jaquzis, and they have some weird "mood lighting" thing going on with them, as the lights change color randomly. From pink, to purple, to green, to yellow, etc. There is also a "River" that you can tube down, that runs thru the back of the Resort. VERY entertaining! The food that we eat at the resort was splendid, though the prices are on the high side ( as to be expected).
     
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