Move-in weekend has come to an end. While some students are settling into their dorms, others have the chance to experience the year in hotels and luxury apartments — and they’re pleased with their choices. During the housing selection process last semester, students had the option to live in The Parkview Hotel on East Genesee Street, the Sheraton University Hotel and Conference Center and the Park Point Syracuse apartment complex.

Students who opted to live in Syracuse University’s untraditional housing options have said their new homes have lived up to expectations.

Students who live at Parkview have access to lounges, laundry, a fitness center and a café. Similar to campus dorms, it features large open doubles with bathrooms, according to the Housing, Meal Plans and I.D. Services website. This year, there are 72 beds, two resident advisers and one assistant residence director, said Sara Miller, associate director of SU News Services, in an email.

When Robert Axelrod, a sophomore acting major, chose to live in Parkview during the housing process, he kept the proximity of his classes in mind. As an acting major, many of Axelrod’s classes are at Syracuse Stage.

‘The location is perfect as far as I’m concerned,’ he said. ‘It’s about a block away from where the majority of my classes are going to be.’

Axelrod did not have many expectations because he knew this was the first year the university was including Parkview as a housing option. But the idea of a quieter environment than a traditional dorm appealed to him, he said. And the Parkview has met that expectation so far.

‘It doesn’t feel as juvenile as other dorms may feel because there’s sophistication about it due to the fact that there are hotel guests,’ he said.

Although Axelrod has no complaints about Parkview, he said others might see its distance from main campus as a negative.

Annie Wilkens, a sophomore musical theater major who is also living in Parkview, said she also chose to live there because it is closer to the theater. Another reason she chose to live there was because the cost of her meal plan wasn’t appropriate for her. Wilkens said she hopes the hotel’s restaurant will become an option for the Off Campus Meal Plan.

Wilkens doesn’t see any faults with the hotel so far, she said.

‘I’m still in shock mode,’ she said. ‘I love being close to my classes, and I love being close to the people that I work with on a daily basis. So there’s really no fault with that.’

The second housing option students had was the Sheraton, which houses 66 students on one floor, Miller said. Like the Parkview, it features large open doubles with bathrooms. Students have access to a fitness center, pool and laundry, according to the Housing, Meal Plans and I.D. Services website. Two resident advisers are located at the Sheraton.

Pat Nolan, a sophomore advertising and information technology major, said he chose to live in the Sheraton because he thought it would be a good opportunity.

‘I knew it would be more clean and more well-kept than a dorm room,’ Nolan said. He added, ‘It feels nice. It’s a professional kind of room.’

When Nolan moved into his new room, he felt lucky, he said.

‘I felt very lucky that SU provided me with this opportunity,’ Nolan said. ‘I thought it was going to be nice, but when I walked in, it was nicer than I thought it would be.’

Hotel rooms were not the only options students had to choose from during last semester’s housing selection process. Park Point was another option for students who wanted to live on campus.

The complex houses 88 students and apartments have four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Students have access to a lounge, full kitchen, fitness center and a gated courtyard, according to the Housing, Meal Plans and I.D. Services website.

Anna Holding, a junior psychology major, didn’t originally want to live in SU housing, but because she and her three roommates are going abroad next semester, it was her only option to avoid paying for a second semester.

Holding chose to live at Park Point rather than the University Village Apartments.

‘It’s like a hotel, but at the same time you live with all people your age, and it’s all upperclassmen,’ she said.

But although the apartment is nice, it isn’t the same as living off campus, Holding said. The complex has no RAs, but she said rules are stricter than they would be if someone was living on his or her own.

‘It’s completely on different ends of the spectrum,’ Holding said. ‘On Euclid, you get the fun. You get to see everybody, you can throw parties. Park Point is prettier, quieter. Definitely nicer.’

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Published on August 29, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Laurence: [email protected] | @lgleveille