The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center

I recently stayed here for a training, it was wonderful! It was extremely hospitable, the conference rooms were spacey, and the food was decent. I wish the pool had been bigger, but the upside is that there was a pool/​hot tub period, and small gym. The design is a very antique style, which made it all much more distinct.
The restaurant was nice and the bar area was definitely awesome, as the lounge area with the TV’s in the bar was great. The bartender was awesome, however, I must say that each time I went, there was only one bartender during times that more were needed.
Overall, awesome place, I would stay again.
Oh! – and not to mention, there is also a complimentary shuttle upon request that will transport you to and from destinations!

Excellent conference space for large groups! Arrived with students and at staff and the checking was smooth and the rooms were older. But well maintained and very clean. Staff was extremely hospitable. The conference food was average to good but the ice cream Sunday’s and snacks were amazing! Conference rooms were perfect for the numerous workshops and activities. Highly recommend this space!!!

Just checked in. It’s dated here but with some charm. The rooms need a full update. Beds are supposed to be queens but they’re small queens. 32inch tv’s are not normal anymore and should be upgraded. The koi pond is nice but when I booked this there was no update stating that the pool and hot tub would be closed for servicing. Plus they advised me no hot water around 10am tomorrow so thank goodness I’m leaving by 8am. Probably won’t return here on my next business trip. The front desk personnel are nice and helpful but the bar and restaurants are dead. A clear sign that they’re cuisine is not a destination even for the locals to frequent.

Neat décor. Small kidney shaped pool needs work. The hot tub was nice. Newer equipment in the workout room. Room was ok carpets were horrible. Lots of stains could use some updating.

We have been staying at the Desmond for many years but we just spent our last night there
We recently booked a room at the last moment to be near the airport before a winter storm arrived. Big mistake. We have never had such a terrible time dealing with the front desk of any hotel in our life. It was a learning experience and we have learned to stay somewhere else.
Good news & Bad news
Good news: If you want to get the best rate for a room at the Desmond, go to Expedia. You can get the best one night deal there. «J» at the front desk told us this numerous times.
Bad news: The front desk staff is completely unable (and unwilling) to deal with any problem with an Expedia reservation. Actually it is your fault for using Expedia and there is nothing they can do to help. We do not know if they are this challenged with the other online reservations sites but it would not surprise us.
The Saga:
We made my reservation for a night through
. We goofed up the dates and immediately called their 800 number. They promptly changed the dates and found us a better deal. Good customer service and we saved money. Too bad the Desmond did not have our updated reservation when we arrived. No problem. We had the confirmation email on our phone. We showed the confirmation to «J» at the front desk. We expected to have a room in minutes. So much for expectations. There was a problem. «J» said we had made our reservation through Expedia. No, we made my reservation through
. Here is the confirmation. After some research, it appears
made our reservation through Expedia. No big deal, right? Just give us a room at the price that we already paid. Nope! We were forced to listen to a long story about the Desmond’s contract with Expedia (As a customer, we did not care when Expedia pays the Desmond.). «J» claimed to not know what we paid for the room because it was through Expedia. Again, we showed «J» our confirmation email showing what we paid. Nice try but not good enough. Finally we had to forward the confirmation email to her. Although «J» was not a happy little camper, we did get a room at the price we had already paid for. We were welcomed like guests.
I returned the rental car to the airport and called the Desmond to have the shuttle pick me up. My new friend «J» answered the phone, «Desmond can you hold thanks» click. A few minutes later «J» was back on the line. «J» was going to send me to voicemail to leave my name and number. «J» would get back to me when «J» could. «J» stated there was one person already on the phone and only one person at the front desk. I managed to yell over «J» that I just needed a shuttle at the airport. She was not happy to be interrupted but she said ok. I felt like a guest.
We decided we needed a drink after the warm welcome. So we went to the bar only to find we could not charge to our room because the room had a negative credit. Whatever that is. We suspect our credit card was not added to our room. We felt like guests.
Since winter storms and airlines do not mix, we could not get out the next day. So we went to the front desk. We asked if we could extend our stay for two more days. No problem. Could we get the same room rate? We were told that the manager would have to approve it, but they would use the same rate for now. Good. We asked to be called if there was a problem with getting the same room rate.
We did some shopping and returned to find our room keys did not work. No problem. Maybe they expired with our old reservation. Customer service maven «J» was behind the counter. We asked for new keys since we were staying 2 more days. «J» checked in the system. There was a problem. Noooooooooo!!. They were going to have charge a normal rate for the room. The «E» word (Expedia) was mentioned again. Finally, «J» stated we should just go to Expedia and re-​book the room. «J» would look for the reservation to come in. We pointed out there was one small problem. We were at the front desk because my room key does not work. Our computer along with the rest of our luggage was in the room. «J» said «Ok just give me your credit card and I’ll give you new keys». So we gave into the extortion demand. We really felt like guests this time.
The situation was resolved when we worked with an assistant manager to come to an agreement on a room rate. We got our original room rate. Oh, the dreaded «E» word came up in that conversation also. We felt like guests.
Bottom line: The Desmond is not worth the poor treatment. It is time be guests somewhere else.

nice rooms

Had lunch which was OK. didn’t stay nice looking service was OK nothing to note worry.

The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center reminds of an inn because of it’s homey feel. The hotel room is decorated with framed ship, floral, historians, and nature photographs, wallpaper, and floral curtains. I like how the room is very spacious and beds are comfortable. The bathroom looks fairly new with granite countertops and clean tan colored bath tub /​shower. The only thing I’d complain about the room is they make beds with stained bed sheets.
This hotel has multiple options for food — The Restaurant, The Tavern, and Simpson’s. They also have a pool hall with two pool tables. I’m not sure whether there’s a fee to play but the pool tables look worn. They have two indoor courtyards — one with a large pond with swimming koi and two lit fountains and another with a fountain with angel statue. They have several ballrooms but I couldn’t peak inside because there were at least two separate wedding parties and I didn’t want to crash a wedding.

Zero stars if I could. Let me keep this short and simple, I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. When it came time to charge our tab to the room miraculously the computer system went down. What a con. And the room… please! Tub doesn’t hold water, Internet doesn’t work, room key wouldn’t work, maintenance just walked right in without knocking first!

For the holidays that are for the mothers and father’s I take them out for brunch or get bbq, so I decided to take my mom out for brunch. Desmond had a good menu, but alas the price you pay is not what you get. It was a limited choice, they ran out of turkey when my father decided to go up for more Nad the price I paid for three people was more then if I went to a fine restaurants in the area. So remember brunch is good if your over 500 lbs and have al day to eat.

This conference center is extremely dated, the beds are very uncomfortable, the food is mundane and what is by far the worst is this odd indoor faux village courtyard creates. Giant echo effect for all sounds. Because of the large amount of conferences, I had to put up with noises as late as 11 pm and was woken up at 5 am. We switched hotels. Only plus was staff was gracious.

Three day conference. Smelled damp. Temperature inconsistent throughout space. Food was edible, which is not an accolade. Overpriced and outdated.

This hotel is a great place to stay with wonderful staff! It’s got a lot of character, and you feel like you are outside, walking through gardens, but you never have to step outside!
Food was also consistenly very good and a great place to hold a convention.
We would defintely stay here again!

Stayed again recently, things still need work. The carpets are still dingy, it’s still pretty dusty, and they still don’t have an actual comforter on the bed; it’s a scratchy fleece blanket set between two sheets. Not kidding a fleece blanket and 2 sheets make a comforter here.
No sink bugs this time *yay*. However the water still smells funny.
House staff is still great, Celsa was on again and fantastic as ever with any late in the day requests I had.
I called to ask if I could check in early because I would be getting into town early and the guy on the phone was obviously bothered. Said something along the lines of «if we even have your reservation check in time is 4, if you used one of those booking sites we probably don’t even have it yet». No I didn’t use a booking site, I used yours and knowing there are 4 of the style suites I booked and that 4 are available I know my room is empty. He told me to check after 1 or 2 but could not give me a set time.
I know, why did I come back here? It was a last minute thing. The two other places I prefer were fully booked.

We were in town for a weekend convention with the Desmond being the host hotel. It’s an intriguing place. Rooms surrounding inner courtyards. Two restaurants and a bar. Lots of banquet space. (They host weddings on weddings on weddings.). Right next to Albany Intl airport which obviously is very convenient. I think it’s best described as quaint. The whole place could use an overhaul but maybe the charm is in the antiqueness… in that case, maybe just a good cleaning that will leave the place smelling nice & not requiring febreeze like our room did. Restaurant were both nice as was the bar… all were quiet because this place really isn’t a destination.

May as well jump right in because I don’t want to bury the lede: the Desmond gave me used soap, complete with a stranger’s little hairs. Revolting!
I lived in Albany for nearly a decade and always dreamed about staying at the Desmond. The property is so charming and always struck me as very sophisticated. Which makes this all the more disappointing. I know that superlatives are tricky, but I’m pretty sure that my Columbus Day weekend stay at the Desmond was my worst hotel experience ever. (And, like Agent Cooper, all I require is a clean room, reasonably priced).
1. I checked in late, around 10 p.m. When I got to my room, it was like an ice box. So I cranked the heat, bundled up, and went to bed. Except the heat was broken, so I was in for a very uncomfortable night.
2. The next morning, I got up early for a friend’s wedding. Hopped in the shower, opened the box of soap, and. .. well, we’ve already covered what happened with the soap.
3. Came back from the wedding and reception 9 hours later and discovered that the heat was still broken. When I called the front desk, I was told that it might take a long time to get maintenance up there because there were so many other issues to address. (To their credit, maintenance came pretty quickly and was able to get the heat working).
4. Ordered room service that night. They only brought ½ my meal. They also only charged me for what they delivered so I’m kind of being nitpicky here, but by this point I wasn’t feeling particularly magnanimous.
5. The next morning, I went to one of the onsite restaurants and ordered the «light fare» egg white omelet. It was served in its own little swimming pool of grease. Enough grease that it dripped off the fork as I lifted it. I tossed my cookies about 20 minutes after breakfast and, while I can’t prove it was a result of the food, I have my suspicions.
To their credit, the manager was apologetic when I spoke to her about the problems I encountered. She gagged when I showed her the infamous soap. But I was less than enchanted when the offer was a few bucks off my tab. Perhaps I’m being greedy, but I think that greeting a guest with a stranger’s short and curlies is worth at least a comped night.
So to summarize my impression of the Desmond based on my two-​night stay: no.

My husband is so sweet! Thanks Andrew W.
Yes this place was a little difficult to stay at for 10 days. The humid room made things all feel wet all the time. The long walk was only a positive in that our son LOVED seeing the Koi pond… Sadly the koi pond was in some major need of cleaning.
I will say that the housekeepers were very friendly and entertained my sons obsession with wet floor signs and the vacuum cleaners.
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I can see this place being great for big groups, conferences, weddings etc but just a place to stay? Probably not.

I think my wife and child deserve a medal for putting up with 10+ nights in this place to help satisfy group I was with. We were going to stay at a relatively newly built Residence Inn or similar a few miles away, and I regret we didn’t.
The room is wet at all times. Turn on the heat or AC, not much of anything comes out and it’s still WET.
Food at the restaurant is awful.
It takes an eternity to walk from our room to the lobby.
Nothing has been fixed or replaced meaning the wood is all chipped and worn, the wallpaper is peeling, the drains are clogged or leak or both, there are tree branches banging into the windows and potholes in the parking lot. The list could go on forever the point is no one is paying attention and this place will be literally crumbling in another 10 – 20 years.
I completely forgive the style as that’s the thing they’re going for. Suits some people I’m sure. They do have weddings here all the time if that tells you something.

Went here due to a cancelled flight, so it was an involuntary stay. The hotel is close to the Albany airport (~1 mile) and it is very convenient for early departures.
The style of the hotel is ~1950 farm house. The facilities are modern and well maintained by it is a particular style. The hallways are narrow. The room I stayed in was roomy and had to very comfortable queen beds.
The bathrooms are moderately up-​to-​date but relatively small.
The interior rooms face two large courtyards. The night I was here there was a big Christmas celebration in the courtyard and it was LOUD. So be prepared that the room could be noisy or make sure you get a room that is outward facing ;-)
The check-​in was slow and not nearly as convenient as most hotels I have visited. The check-​out was fast. The hotel has ²⁴⁄₇ free shuttle service to the airport. In addition the internet access is free (it is not very fast, but OK).

This is a unique hotel. It caters, well, to both the individual traveler and the conference groups. They balance the different needs very well.
Located near the airport and major highways, its easy access from many angles.
Its three stories, built in a sort of rectangle with a space in the middle, which is where there is open space for the conference meetings, pool and areas to sit.
The rooms here are nice. They are not huge, but not tiny either. You may have to walk some ways if you are not near an elevator, just as in any hotel. What’s nice here is there are lots of staircases, so you can use those too, and they are fast. Windows open. Nice staff. Comfy beds. Great showers.
They have a few different restaurants here, a nice bar, and an upscale dining room.
Reasonably priced, terrifically located, great for fall leaf viewing season.
Parking here is ok.