I stayed here for the NY Bar exam at Buffalo. This review revolves around a bar taker's take on the hotel.

1. Tranquility
This is in a very quiet section of town. I holed up in the room like in solitary confinement from friday till wednesday for the bar exam. I requested a third floor room and got one facing the highway. Highway noise was not audible throughout the studies. it is perfect for last minute cramming.

2. Convenience
There is a tops and walmart within walking distance 10-15min. If you drive, then its a big bonus. The ability to prepare your own food with a kitchenette is a big bonus, I just ate cup noodles and cereal in those final bleak days. There is no need to buy the expensive horrible lunches they provide. Rent a car and store your lunch, notes in the car. Plus u have a guaranteed seat at lunch away from the maddening crowds. My friend who stayed at Adam Mark's chalked up an impressive room service bill. Take the one hour break and prepare your own food and just relax.

3. Location
While it is not in downtown Buffalo, within 10 min walking distance to the convention centre, The ESA Amherst is only a 20min drive to the convention centre. As we need to reach there at 0730hrs, you would leave at around 0630hrs, reach the nearest outdoor carpark (65 lots only), and spend half an hour in your car reading and finalising your notes. I felt the drive up and down calms me. Do a recce before your actual day. Familiarise with the route down.

4. Cleanliness
Admittedly there was some reservations about the cleanliness after I read reviews of it. But there is nothing to worry about. While the furniture is dated and spartan, it is very clean. The staff work very hard to keep the place clean. Remember you are not there for a cleanliness inspection. You are there for the bar exam. There are no beg bugs or anything like that. I love the room I was in.

5. Lack of maid service
They only clean your room once a week. But who cares, you do not want to be disturbed. When I visited Adam Mark, everyone had a Do Not Disturb sign outside. Seriously you do not need to pay for frills you dont want.

You want a quiet cheap place, the ESA Amherst is it. It is clean and away from the maddening crowd. I do not remember being particularly impressed by Adam Mark when I visited. There is no mini fridge in AM, you are forced to chalk up room service bills, no place to cook or even boil water for noodles or tea. No need to pay for extras like room service that you don need.

At ESA amherst in the queen studio, there are 2 desks, compared with 1 at AM. One desk for eating with 2 chairs, the other for laptop use or something with one chair. If there are two of you sharing, then its perfect, there is no need to argue over table notes. You can have the whole sprawl of the table. AM just has a table and 1 chair.

What is important is you do not want to be feeling the tension of other people. I saw people with crazed look walking around holding Barbri books close to their chest as if they just came out of the asylum. The tension and stress there is very high and you do not need to be surrounded by the negativity.

I hope I pass the bar. If not, I will stay at the ESA again.

We just got back from ESA Amherst. Good location. Close to freeway, Boulevard Mall, many restaurants, Target, and grocery stores. We did our research before going. We knew there would be no shampoo in rooms, etc. We only stayed 1 night - so we didn't care about the "once a week maid service."
The room was clean, bathroom clean (but super small), heater/a/c were working fine. There is a full size fridge, microwave and a stove top in the room. This was great, because we were able to buy food at the grocery store and cook, instead of going out for dinner. Plus, the beer stayed nice and cold in the fridge.
The hotel was quiet at night. Just heard the water when someone used it. Bed was comfortable, not enough pillows for me, but I like a lot. :)
TV wasn't working properly, picture was blurry. We don't really care to watch tv too much though, so we didn't complain.
Lots of parking, staff @ check in and out were quite friendly.

For a short stay, expecially if you're here to shop, or just need a place to sleep this place is perfect. If you have spoiled hotel standards, and expect top notch everything... don't be cheap - and spend money to get what you want. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. $35/night on priceline is getting you a clean room at ESA.

Got this hotel cheap on Priceline and stayed with another adult and 2 babies. Room was average, not large but big enough for 2 pack n' plays. The kitchenette was handy for baby food etc, although, it would have been nice if there was some dish detergent as there are a few dishes you can use. There was nothing "wow" about the place or the service, but it served its purpose of a cheap place to stay.

Not sure why this place is called a "Hotel." 2Star? WOW, what would a 1 star look like?? The entranceway was FILTHY. We were not even in the door and already were disappointed. No newspapers, not even a newspaper box. No ice machines, just dirty ice cube trays in the dirty freezer full of crumbs and hair. 19" tube tv with few channels. A pubic hair stuck to the shower wall. Worst bed ever, very thin sheets and blanket. Most "Hotels have some kind of continental breakfast if they do not have a restaurant, not here. Maid service is once a week unless you pay more. Internet service is $5/day. No stationary in room, not even a pen. No little shampoos, just a bar of soap. The towels felt like SOS pads. The outside looks okay from afar, but the inside looks like 1980. The one parking lot around the back is FULL of junk. Quite poorly lit parking lot at the end of a dead end street. I could go on and on, but you get the idea now I am sure.

Thankfully we checked in at 8pm and were gone by 4 the next morning. Don't be so cheap, go somewhere else for $20 more.