It has been nearly three months since 30 freshmen moved into the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center, and for the most part, it's been every bit as good as it sounds.
The Quiet Lifestyle Learning Community is housed in one wing on the fourth floor of the hotel and is home to the freshman and two resident advisers.
The unique living situation comes with all the perks one would expect from a hotel, like use of its gym, pool and hot tub, a big-screen TV and a once-a-week housekeeping service for the bathroom. It even includes free HBO and room service and pay-per-view movies are available (but sorry, no charging your catered late-night snacks or porn to your Bursar account).
"If I bring somebody over here, their first reaction is 'I hate you,'" said Colin Carner, a freshman history major. "But they don't realize the other stuff that goes along with it. They just see the double bed, the nice room, the bathroom …"
For all its glamour, the hotel lifestyle is not without its downsides. The freshmen are still required to have a meal plan, so they must trek to various dining halls several times a day to eat. And while the Sheraton does have laundry facilities, some students find them sub-par and instead haul their clothes to Haven, an act that will become increasingly difficult as winter approaches.
"I'm thinking about investing in a sleigh so I can pull it up the hill, and when I'm done, I'll just ride down," said Jesika Anthony, an undecided freshman in The College of Arts and Sciences.
The floor's two RAs also spend a lot of time traveling to other dorms, as the Sheraton is still part of a complex of North Campus residence halls.
"I'm still an RA for Haven, Washington Arms and Walnut, so rounds and duty suck because you have to walk all the way around," said Danica Bryant, a junior broadcast journalism major.
And despite being a quiet living community, the floor has had its share of noise disturbances - and not just from students playing music too loudly.
"For one thing, you get a lot of drunken people walking through the halls, and I mean not drunken people living here, but random hotel guests," said Carner. "You also have to deal with happy hour every night, and every game day there's a ridiculous tailgating party outside, so there are more drunken people."
With only 30 students living in the Sheraton, residents have found it harder to meet people. However, the small-sized group has helped those living on the floor become close.
"You don't have the huge community going on, but I think the people that do live here are close," said Carner. "It is quiet life, so that means at least half the people on the floor are anti-social. But the people that are social are really close for the most part."
So despite being isolated from the rest of the university, residents of the Sheraton don't really find themselves missing the dorm life.
"In the beginning I did (feel separated), but you just have to learn to adapt," said Manila Southammovong, an undecided freshman in the College of Human Services and Health Professions. "Now I actually like it better here."
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