The Autoport Motel

Let’s get something out of the way, the best thing about the Autoport is the BBQ (which is amazing). I took the risk and stayed here after the black light heard round the world Hotel Impossible episode aired and should have stayed away. The room was cramped but, for the price, not so bad. The hotel was also pet friendly with no surcharge, which was a huge plus. That’s what I thought anyways! After being strangely accosted by the «head» of housekeeping, who kept asking me if I had a dog (yes, of course, its not like I’m hiding her), when I checked out I was informed that there was in fact a pet fee and I was being charged retroactively for every night I stayed. Are you kidding me?
I of course told them I had informed whoever I had spoken to previously but the management of this place is haphazard. No one knows what kind of deals or conversations anyone else at the front desk has. They are all very nice but combined seem to be quite clueless. All in all, sadly, there is a reason this place is in foreclosure and it will be evident all around you if you choose to stay here. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt after they looked horrible on TV because the price was right but this was a truly forgettable experience. Actually, I wish I could forget about it but it has been over a month and I’m still pretty angry. 2 circles, would not stay again.

We thought this place had some real potential, UNTIL our dining experience tonight. Please note the 1 Star is strictly for how this situation was handled, not the food or our waiter. Our waiter was great and our food was good.
My husband and I went to The Autoport for dinner tonight and expected a nice, relaxing dinner. Instead we had to sit in the bar area and listen to some white trash, red neck asshole arguing about football and screaming the N-​word at the top of his drunk lungs! To make matters worse he was not asked to leave or to at the very least quiet down. What if there would have been children in that room?!? His behavior drove the only other nice customer away (only after said customer made a comment about how obnoxious he was). We quickly ate, paid our bill and left.
I am not sure if the staff at The Autoport just did not care or thought what the man was saying was completely acceptable. Either way, as a diner I believe that it is reasonable for me to go out to dinner and not have to be subjected to offensive speech.
So the next time you see The Autoport on such television shows as Restaurant Makeover and Hotel Impossible this may contribute to that.

This is not a place you want to eat at. You may get sick off of the food because it is undercooked. I used to be an employee. I witnessed the cooks walking around with the utensils in their pockets and then using them on the food. I also watched them drop food on the floor and then pick it up and put it back on the grill and serve it.

I went to the Autoport about two weeks ago, after Hotel Impossible had been there but before the show aired. I have been to the bar and restaurant countless times over many years. The best times were the past few years in the outside dining area. The food and drinks were consistently good and the atmosphere was very pleasant. The indoor dining room was always a bit odd and is even more so now. But the real disappointment was the food. I have had Clem’s at his various outposts in Blairsville and State College but I have never had anything resembling what was served at the Autoport. At the server’s suggestion, I ordered ribs and brisket with the dry rub which were to be served with a caddy of all the available sauces. Big mistake. The dry rub was not actually rubbed into the meat. It was sprinkled on the surface, creating a most unpleasant and tasteless grainy texture. The ribs arrived cold. The promised caddy of sauces had to be requested and they were unremarkable. The brisket was just some thinly sliced roast beef with the aforementioned grainy sprinkles. The plus side was that the fries were good and served hot, but the benefit was negated because the ribs had to be returned since they were cold. The accompanying baguette had to be requested so it arrived a bit later as well. And, no drink menu, which has always been a highlight. The server said it was being developed. What happened to the perfectly good menu they had? The server was quite apologetic and blamed the kitchen staff. To atone, she didn’t charge my companion for his second beer. Which was nice, but he was not the one who had the problems. And his Chef salad was just fine.

I am a little confused. We are reviewing the The Autoport Motel and yet 95% of the reviews seem to be a restaurant named Clem’s. Are we doing a disservice to the motel? If we don’t like Clem’s, then lets go to their Unilocal page under restaurants and write our Clem’s reviews where they belong. I know Unilocal reviewer are better than this. Therefore, I have given The Airport Motel an average 3 stars since I really don’t know what to give the Motel versus Clem’s Restaurant.

The Autoport has been a State College staple for many, many years — when I was young, I was quite fascinated about how they got a Cadillac in the main lobby.
This place has been put under new ownership and has joined with the delish Clems BBQ joint. The space certainly looks a bit more modern but the venue is still very casual and tends to cater to the «less than posh» crowd and the elderly.
I use to come here when I was younger because my friends father use to own the place. The rooms were always kept clean and the outdoor pool is awesome.
The BBQ is pretty awesome and my mom claims Henry makes a great margarita.
TBH, the reason I came here was to annoying my sister who works here: P

Living so close to this place, I really hoped it would be a nice local hangout… but no. The food is not very good (I havent been since Clem started cooking). The service is not very good. The drinks are over priced and hardly any variety of craft beer. There is a super weird vibe in the bar/​restaurant area that makes for a really awkward evening that i cant quite explain. This place seems to have a serious identity crisis that manifests in its inferior product.

They have Clem cooking and Clem’s food now. it is as good as it gets. Check it out. it appears to be working.

I like Autoport. They have good half-​priced appetizers (they choose one daily), cheap drinks during happy hour and the staff lets you relax/​come over when you want them to. They have a really nice drink selection and they’re always getting new craft beers. I’ve consistently liked the food that I’ve ordered whether it’s for dinner or brunch. Also, every time that I’ve been with a group, the staff has been really nice about splitting checks and moving tables. Their outdoor pool and patio is really nice in summer.

Fine

I really don’t even want to review The Autoport Restaurant because it’s one of the best kept secrets in State College.
We started off with the Duck Strips, which were served with some sort of citric sweet and sour sauce. The duck was very crispy, not greasy, and very tender on the inside. The sauce was good, but perhaps a little too sweet.
My main course was the Steel City Salad to which is added tenderloin beef. It was a bit pricey for a salad, but that beef was where it’s at. The salad comes topped with all the regular salad accoutrement, but also has FRIES. So, to recap, it’s a salad with tenderloin, fries, and ranch.
I don’t remember what my girlfriend got because my salad was so damn good.

Horrible restaurant. Manager does not know how to run a restaurant and was not helpful with issues at all. The bread was cold so we asked if they could heat it up and they charged us for the bread.
Half of the mussels that were ordered we not open and when asked for open ones they brought out 4 (much less than half that were closed), not to mention by the time that came my food finally arrived and no longer wanted the appetizer.
Went with a large party and pre ordered food in advance and took nearly 3 hours with several orders being wrong, cold, uncooked and even several food items never arriving.
Would highly reccommend taking your business someone else esp if large party for graduation, formals, or special occassions.

They had Hendricks for my gin and tonic!

We decided to come here for a light dinner and drinks with friends. We both ordered salads (a grilled chicken salad for him and an apple/​walnut salad for me) with cups of chili and french onion soup. The salads were humongous and the soup was warm and delicious (I didn’t try the chili). The bar seemed to offer a wide variety of beer and spirits which were all served to our liking. Likewise, the waitstaff were friendly and observant of our refill needs. For the over 30 adult crowd looking to have a drink away from the rowdy undergraduates, this place could be the spot for you. I only regret not checking it out sooner.

«Before you sign your registration you must agree to our rules. We have two of them». ooh kaaaay…“Number 1: Have fun. Number 2. No smoking in your room.” OK!!!, I can do that. And indeed, yes I did! After staying at The Atherton several times over the past 3 years while visiting my son at Penn State, I finally had enough of the arrogant service and dated rooms, for the price I was paying. I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave up my opinion that I had to stay right in town and tried The Autoport. I swear I will never stay elsewhere. And, btw, it’s only a mile and a half to campus.
The «motel» rooms, while dated, yes, are perfectly clean. My walls were painted a charcoal grey and had new carpet (unlike the sticky ones at The Atherton). Free internet, lots of towels and plentiful, basic toiletries (no hairdryer). I liked the fact that I could sit outside of my room on the balcony. Can’t to that at The A. It was very quiet at night, no sounds of elevators, doors banging or rattling ice machines. My room overlooked the charming Tiki Bar area that has generous seating for the restaurant. Lamb kebobs, blackened tilapia, burgers galore and good salads with homemade dressings to mention but a few of menu items. My son and I ate here every night and enjoyed the local vibe great weather. Half priced drinks, including the fabulous beer selection, and appetizers (got my lamb kebob for 5) from 5 – 7. Great breakfast too.
The night life was fun and I wasn’t even here on a weekend when they have live music. There is a smoking bar at one end of the lobby and a non smoking one at the other. Each has it’s own character. Last night was karaōke in the non smoking bar, and the talent was impressive. Then 4 graduate students from the music department came in and literally brought the house down. I stayed a lot longer than I should have and was grateful to only have to walk across the parking lot.
My sister, who lives in State College, has been touting the Autoport for years. I should have listened!

False advertisement # 1: «Drink specials.»
It’s common knowledge that «drink special» means a drink is reduced price or half off. On «Working Women’s Wednesday,» there was a huge sign by the pool saying «Drink Special: Peach Margarita.» Since we’re working women (teachers who don’t make any money), my two girl friends and I each had 2 – 3 margaritas, thinking that our drinks were half off (which is about all these would have been worth). At the end of the night, the bar tab shows these «specials» at full price. When we dispute this, the server tells us (in these exact words) that «drink special» just means its a «special drink» that they «don’t normally make» (Wait… is this not a full bar?), no discounts offered. They were jerks about it too.
Turns out that «working women’s Wednesdays» means women get ripped off with a crappy pink cocktail and an inflated bar tab?
False advertisement # 2: Half off all burgers.
I came here for dinner with friends and asked if the Black Bean burger was half off like all the other burgers. Turns out that it’s the one and only exclusion (Is it not on their burger menu?) Black beans are one of the cheapest foods on the planet. So why is the black bean burger more expensive than meat?
Conclusion: I’m pretty sure I just got shafted for being a 1) woman, and 2) a vegetarian. Well, I guess I should be used to it by now.

Meh. I have experienced better… just not sure which time I experienced it. The first, second, or third time I ate here. That should give you a clue: it’s inconsistent. Under the new (ish) owners, I think they’re still trying to find their culinary feet. Some meals I’ve had were ok, one was gross, and one was really good. Plenty of variety in the American dishes. Good bar atmosphere.
Too funny that some reviewers mentioned the swinger’s night rumor. I heard the same thing from older co-​workers at the University. Huh. Whatever – I just review the food. It wasn’t enough to make me keep coming back.

Reviewing the restaurant/​bar, not the hotel (although I’ve heard good things from two people I know who’ve stayed there…)
Lately I have decided the Autoport is seriously underrated. I saw no point in going there for a while because people told me Friday night was «swinger’s night» and when I first moved here someone pointed it out to me as «the place where old people go to hook up.» Well, a. I’ve now been there on a few Friday nights and I don’t think swinger’s night exists and b. whatevs. It’s within walking distance to my house and the patio is super dog-​friendly (my boyfriend has a really awesome and well-​behaved dog that likes to sit on the patio with us while we drink, and the waitstaff always seem to love him and bring him dishes of water… this is a huge gold star for any bar or restaurant!).
I had appetizers there once during a football game while I was a little tipsy and I remember them being really good, but that’s the extent of my experience with their food. Basically I really like the patio atmosphere and now that I found out you can drink by the pool (!!!) I can’t wait to try that!

As with the other reviewers, I am commenting on the restaurant.
The happy hour specials (5 – 7) are some of the best in town: half price draught, half price appetizers, and daily specials (e.g., burgers and flatbread pizza). The patio is the place to be the weather is nice. The interior is… different. If you like low seats that make eating nearly impossible, you can certainly give the upper deck a try. Of course, if you are imbibing spirits, then the low seats are great… They do have some more traditional tables if you can get one. The Sunday brunch was a low point in terms of food quality. Fortunately, they have some of the best burgers in town if you like a very high quality of ground beef (mostly from local farms). The truly winning capstone for me can be summed up in one brand/​word: Franziskaner!

** Review of the Restaurant, not the Hotel **
I feel that the Autoport is one of most underappreciated restaurants in the area. I guess unless you’re a local, you’d never go there. And what’s with the name, seriously?
There are two dining areas. One is more formal, with white tablecloth and widely spread tables. That’s where the Sunday brunch occurs. The other is a restaurant/​bar, with comfortable leather couches and several TVs for sports, and many tables with leather chairs. The walls have a small amount of «exotic» beer related memorabilia, like a Hoegaarden sign with writing in French and other neon signs. Don’t worry though, it’s not tacky. It’s also in some kind of sun-​room, so plenty of light for a good atmosphere. You won’t feel like rushing out.
I had the 10oz NY Strip Steak, which was a little more done than what I had asked, with McCain frozen fries and peas cooked in butter. My girlfriend had the Cavatappi with Vodka Sauce, and I must say that the sauce was excellent. Thick and flavorful. I just wish they had better pasta, it felt/​looked like it was some «Great Value White-​Grain» Walmart stuff.
They also have a nice desert menu (although about ¹⁄₃ of the items weren’t actually available last night) that is reasonably price at all around $ 5. The Hazelnut Chocolate Torte was so rich and dense I couldn’t have more than 2 bites. Im not a chocolate lover though, and let me tell you that she loved (although she still couldn’t finish it).
Otherwise, it’s worth mentioning that they have one of the freshest Sunday brunch breakfast in the area ($ 8 or so if I recall correctly). Still gets pretty crowded though.
Overall I’d say that it’s better than most of the chains in the area, but still lacking the special something that makes a place a rare 5 star. We’ll still definitely go back, as the food was good and we felt very comfortable there.
Notable specials:
Everyday: $ 2 Yuengling
M: $ 5 nachos
W: ½ burgers,
Th: ½ off pizzas (try the veggie lover, on flat bread),
Su: All you can eat pasta (12−8PM)
Note:
certificates DO NOT combine with daily specials. Still, you can probably manage to get a $ 25 certificate for $ 3 (minimum spending of $ 35 excluding alchool) and it’s still a great deal.