I thought the hotel was great. Very new, clean, new LCD's in the rooms and warm breakfasts every morning. The rates are reasonable and I think the location is great for wine tasting. Service was also great.

We had a very nice 1 bedroom suite with 2 very comfortable queen beds in the bedroom. Because we were 3 women, I requested a rollaway instead of using the pull-out couch and got a real twin bed (on wheels) which was very comfortable (at no charge). The front desk was , very friendly and helpful with our directions to Cornell. They even furnished a map of the area, and also a map of Cornell. My only complaints: 1) I heard highway noise of traffic, but with the fan on it was minor. 2) I don't like the sink outside of the bathroom, no privacy for brushing your teeth. 3) The hot food on the breakfast buffet left much to be desired. Overall, however, it was a still a good choice because of the 2 rooms, cleanliness and good service.

I spent one night at the Ithaca Homewood Suites in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York. The purpose of my trip was to spend one week at ILR Executive Program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. I arrived alittle early to take in some of the local sights.

My trip began at Sacramento International flight into Jackson Hartfield Atlanta airport. My lay over was around 4 hours, so I left the airport and took the MARTA train to downtown Atlanta. Returned to the airport and flew to Syracuse, New York. Rented a car and drove down to Ithaca, New York. Once you leave the interstate, you take country roads to Ithaca and I must admit I took a wrong turn and got lost but staying on 13 I was able to find the Homewood Suites in Ithaca.

This property is right off highway 13 and near three malls. Two of the malls are old (Triphammer Marketplace) and then the newer Pyramid Mall is across 13, South of the property. There is old Clarion Hotel/conference Center nearby. Small Rite Aid drugstore is within the Triphammer complex.

My checkin was smooth and the Homewood Rep. was helpful. Other Homewoods Reps were not so friendly.

My room was a Studio suite, with full Kitchen, dining table, seating area, queen bed and bathroom. My room was on the 2nd floor and everything in the room worked fine. There were complementary snacks and two small bottles of water.

The bed was comfortable and I did not notice any strange smells at others had mentioned. The property was next to Highway 13 so I was concerned about vehicle noise but did not hear any significant noise. The room was clean. HVAC was working fine.

Drive to downtown Ithaca, Ithaca Commons and Cornell was quick.

Nearby is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary. Had one special event dinner at the Lab of Orinthology. The Tompkins County airport is nearby too.

Drove to Ulysses and the Village of Trumansburg and visited Taughannock Falls State Park. Due to the drought, you could walk most of the riverbed. I recommend getting a local map because it is easy to get lost, with no particular sense or meaning behind their street's layouts.

Breakfast was included in my stay and the breakfast was okay, like many Hampton Inns.

During my week at Ithaca, I ate at the following places:

Moosewood - Veggie restaurant with tasty dishes
Mahogany Grill - Steaks - good
Banfi Restaurant (inside the Statler Hotel) pricy but good
Maxies Supper club - Nola - average
Plum Tree - Japanese - better than expected
Rogans Pizza - average

For the majority of my stay in Ithaca, I stayed at Statler Hotel on the campus of Cornell. I heard from some visitors that the Hampton Inn in Ithaca is another good place to stay.

I was satisfied with my stay at the Homewood Suites in Ithaca. If you want suite type of residence with kitchen than the Homewood Suites might be the place for you. I recommend this property.

We loved our stay at this hotel. The rooms were awesome, spacious, and very clean. We loved the extra living room and kitchen space. This made it so much more comfortable for our family and kids. The sofa bed was even comfortable for the 2nd teenager. We enjoyed the breakfast and the friendly ladies and managers were very welcoming. I didn't care much for the view of the mall, but that is okay. We will definitely return to this hotel when in Ithaca again.