Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes

Aurora · Inn

Five restored 19th-century buildings on the east shore of Cayuga Lake in Aurora, bought and renovated by Pleasant Rowland, founder of American Girl, starting in 2001. More than 60 rooms are spread across the Aurora Inn, E.B. Morgan House, Rowland House, Wallcourt Hall, Zabriskie House and Orchard Cottage, each with its own room layouts. Aurora is a small village, where Wells College operated until 2024, and sees less traffic than the Seneca Lake wine corridor.

Five historic buildings and 60+ rooms, restored by Pleasant Rowland. On Cayuga Lake's east shore, away from the busier Seneca wine trail.

Watkins Glen · Hotel

A 107-room hotel at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, next to Glen Harbor Marina, where many rooms have private balconies facing the lake. Blue Pointe Grille and Coldwater Bar are on site, with outdoor seating on The Patio around a firepit. There is an indoor pool and a hot tub. Watkins Glen State Park, with its gorge trail and 19 waterfalls, is within walking distance.

Hammondsport · B&B

Six rooms in the T.M. Younglove Octagon House, an 1859 Italianate stucco-and-stone building on the National Register of Historic Places and a well-preserved example of the mid-19th-century octagon-house movement. It sits on 3 acres in Hammondsport with an on-site spa. Full English and Irish breakfast is included, with vegan and gluten-free options. Keuka Lake wineries are a short drive.

Bluff Point · Inn

Built in 1838 by John Nicholas Rose as a wedding gift for his bride, a 2.5-story Greek Revival mansion with four Ionic columns and 6,000 square feet on a bluff overlooking Keuka Lake. The property later operated as Chateau Esperanza Winery (1979), and reopened as lodging in 2003 as The Mansion at Keuka Lake. Twenty-nine rooms are split between the historic mansion (8 rooms) and a newer inn building (21 rooms).

Watkins Glen · B&B

An 1892 Victorian mansion on 2.5 acres overlooking Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen. Fifteen rooms, including a turret room, plus sunrooms and a grand staircase. Breakfast is included and uses seasonal local ingredients. Downtown, the Watkins Glen State Park gorge trail and Watkins Glen International are all a short walk. EV charging on site.

Geneva · Resort

A Romanesque Revival castle on Seneca Lake in Geneva, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guests choose between the historic Castle, a newer inn building and private cottages. Edgar's Restaurant is in the Castle and Stonecutter's Tavern serves casual meals. The estate makes its own wine, plus beer and hard cider under the Mabel's label, and the Isabella Spa-Salon offers treatments.

A Romanesque Revival castle on Seneca Lake, listed on the National Register, with its own winery and brewery. Rooms in the Castle, a newer inn and cottages.

Canandaigua · Lodge

Three suites on a wooded property near Canandaigua Lake, with a private pond and walking trails. Each suite has a soaking tub, fireplace and private bath, and a three-course breakfast and evening desserts are included. A Select Registry member, and ranked in TripAdvisor's top 25 US B&Bs for six consecutive years.

Ithaca · Inn

A 10-room inn in Ithaca's former Mayor's Mansion, which later served as the headquarters of Duncan Hines before standing vacant. Avi Smith spent four years restoring it and opened the Argos Inn in 2013, with LEED certification, geothermal heating and heated stone floors. Original works by Dalí and Miró hang alongside locally commissioned art. Bar Argos has a zinc bar and a patio hung with Moroccan lanterns.

Skaneateles · B&B

A turn-of-the-century Colonial Revival farmhouse at 3061 West Lake Road, across from Skaneateles Lake. The 6 guest rooms have gas fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and enclosed porches, and look out over meadows, vineyards and the farm's barn and stables. A full country breakfast is included, and the village of Skaneateles is a short drive north.

Fayetteville · Inn

A 90-room hotel and conference center in Fayetteville, east of Syracuse, with every room furnished with pieces from Stickley, the Arts and Crafts furniture maker based in upstate New York. The Wood Grille and Tap House cooks over a 96-inch grill fired with maple from a local farm. Breakfast is included, and Green Lakes State Park is nearby.

Ithaca · B&B

An 1880 Chateauesque mansion in Ithaca designed by William Henry Miller, the first architecture student to graduate from Cornell, who went on to design several of the university's buildings. The B&B has 9 rooms with carved chestnut woodwork, stained glass and fireplaces. Breakfast is made daily with local ingredients. It sits at the edge of downtown, a short walk from the Commons.

Designed in 1880 by William Henry Miller, Cornell's first architecture graduate. Nine rooms with carved chestnut and stained glass. A short walk to Ithaca Commons.

Skaneateles · Resort

A 34-room inn and spa at 851 West Genesee Street Road in Skaneateles, built in the style of a French country manor and modeled on Claude Monet's garden at Giverny, with water gardens and footbridges. The spa has mineral pools, steam rooms and a full treatment menu, and the Bistro serves French country food with seasonal ingredients. The village of Skaneateles, on the north shore of the lake, is a short drive.

Canandaigua · Hotel

A 124-room hotel on the north shore of Canandaigua Lake, 26 miles southeast of Rochester and a few minutes from downtown Canandaigua. Rose Tavern and the Sand Bar serve food and drinks, and the Library is a coffee shop and cocktail lounge. The Willowbrook Spa has cedar barrel saunas facing the lake, and there is a heated lakefront pool and hot tub. Boat rentals, captained cruises, kayaks and paddleboards are available.

Hector · Inn

A restaurant on Route 414 in Hector, on the east side of Seneca Lake, open since 1999, with a guest house of 4 units in a remodeled farmhouse next door. About 80% of the ingredients come from regional farms. The units range from an apartment with a full kitchen to a room with a balcony over the vineyards, and both the cafe and the guest house are open from early April to mid-November.

Lodi · B&B

An 1885 Victorian on 2.7 acres along Route 414 in Lodi, on the east side of Seneca Lake, with a deck overlooking the water and a koi pond. The 5 rooms each have a sitting area, and one has a balcony. A full breakfast is included and served every morning, year-round. Vineyards surround the property.

Ithaca · Glamping

Canvas safari tents at the foot of South Hill in Ithaca, on the grounds of La Tourelle Inn and within walking distance of Buttermilk Falls State Park. Tents have king beds or two queens and private balconies. Standard tents have no electricity; light comes from kerosene lanterns, and guests gather at a communal fire pit.

Ithaca · Hotel

A 153-room teaching hotel on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, run with Cornell's School of Hotel Administration since the 1950s. More than 300 students work alongside the professional staff each year. TavernaBanfi is the main restaurant, with The Regent Lounge, in-room dining and a student-run restaurant as well. Renovated in 2010. Ithaca's gorges are close by.

Hammondsport · Inn

A 17-room inn on Keuka Lake in the village of Hammondsport, with more than 230 feet of lake frontage, a private boat launch and boat slips for rent. There is a fire pit at the water's edge and a gazebo, and the inn is open from early April to late October. The village square and tasting rooms are a short walk, and the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum is about a mile south.

Ithaca · Inn

The former Rose Inn in Groton, rebuilt as the John Joseph Inn and Elizabeth Restaurant after a 2004 fire destroyed the original 1851 Italianate mansion. Chef-owner John Hamilton reopened in 2006 with 6 guest rooms and a restaurant that draws from local farms and changes its menu with the seasons. The mahogany spiral staircase, built by carpenter William Houser in 1922–24, partly survived the fire and was restored. The property sits on 10 acres, 20 miles from Ithaca.

Watkins Glen · Lodge

Operating since 1948 on Route 419 above Watkins Glen, Seneca Lodge has more than 80 units, including A-frame cabins, motel rooms and chalets, spread through woods 5 minutes from the state park gorge entrance. The tavern walls display laurel wreaths from Watkins Glen Grand Prix winners going back decades. There is an Adirondack-style restaurant on site. Race weekends book up early.

Trumansburg · Inn

A Victorian inn inside Taughannock Falls State Park, overlooking Cayuga Lake and the trail to Taughannock Falls, a single drop of 215 feet. The inn's restaurant serves non-guests as well as overnight visitors. Trails and gorge views surround the property, and Ithaca is about 10 miles south. It is open year-round.

Watkins Glen · Hotel

The former Glen Motor Inn on Route 14, the first motel built in Watkins Glen, bought in 2022 and reopened in 2023 as The Hotel Laurel at Seneca after a full renovation. Every room looks out on Seneca Lake, and some are 2-room suites. The Grill at the hotel serves breakfast and dinner. Watkins Glen State Park is about 2 miles away.