Seneca Falls, New York Historic Hotels

While Bed and Breakfasts housed in historic homes abound in the Seneca Falls area, vintage hotels are few. Chain hotels and motels dot the Finger Lakes district, offering adequate accommodations with generic ambiance. For those who want to soak up the history of this locale, hotels with a past are the place to stay.

* The Aurora Inn has been offering visitors comfort and superb views since 1833. Built by a native of Aurora, Colonel E. B. Morgan, the Inn became known as a place of rest and comfort for stagecoach and rail travelers and for the Erie Canal traffic. Students from area colleges and universities have long favored the Inn as a place to hang out. Originally named Aurora House, the Inn has changed hands several times and is now owned by The Aurora Foundation. Looking much like it did in 1833 on the outside, the Inn has had extensive renovation inside and now offers ten rooms and suites with the comforts of the past and today's high speed internet. Aurora, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is on the east bank of Cayuga Lake, 21 miles south of Seneca Falls.

* The Sherwood Inn was built in 1807 as a tavern by Isaac Sherwood to be headquarters and stagecoach stop for his booming stagecoach business. It continued to be called a tavern until 1840, when new owner, Colonel Alfred Lamb, renamed it Lamb's Hotel. The Inn has changed hands and names many times over it's nearly 200 year history, being known as Packwood House, Breslin House, the unlikely Kan-Ya-To, and back to the original Sherwood Inn. In 1918, the Inn was used as a temporary hospital to house patients of the deadly influenza epidemic. Sherwood Inn has seen some hard times and has been closed for a few years here and there but today twenty-four beautifully decorated rooms and suites are available and children are welcome. The Sherwood Inn can be found on the north shore of Skaneateles Lake in the village of Skaneateles, 22 miles west of Seneca Falls.

* Belhurst Castle was built on land that had been home to the Seneca Indians and the Council of the Six Nations of Iroquois. Bought, divided, and sold several times, Carrie M. Young Harron became the owner of the property in the spring of 1885 and had the existing rundown house demolished. It took four years to build the four story castle that exists today as a luxurious hotel. After her death in 1926, the property passed to her grandson who sold it to Cornelius J. Dwyer in 1932. In 1933, Dwyer opened a gambling hall and speakeasy with liquor brought down from Canada. This was a successful venture until the Kefauver Commission brought it to a halt in 1952. Belhurst continued as a restaurant until owners who purchased it in 1975 converted the second and third floors to guest rooms. Fourteen rooms are available in the castle itself, each with unique names such as The Tower Room, The Billiard Room, The Butler's Suite, and The Garrett. Two other building on the property, Vinifera Inn and a 1900's Georgian mansion, White Springs Manor, bring the number of rooms to 47. Belhurst Castle is located in Geneva, about 11 miles from Seneca Falls. Belhurst Castle is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Room rates for Sherwood Inn are $130-$225 a night, continental breakfast included. Aurora Inn rates are $150-375 a night. Morning coffee and muffins will be brought to your room as part of the room rate. Belhurst Castle asks that you phone for rates. There are specials posted on the web site that indicate room rates. A one night special that includes room in any of the three Castle units, dinner and breakfast for two, and shopping certificates totaling $75 starts at $360.

Both the Aurora Inn and Sherwood Inn are smoke free. Belhurst Castle's web site makes no statement about smoking but it should be assumed that it is smoke free.

Children are welcome at Aurora Inn and Sherwood Inn but, again, nothing is stated on any of Belhurst Castle's web pages.

Traveling and seeing new places is supposed to be fun but finding a bit of a history lesson is a bonus. Imagine stagecoaches and ships captains and bootleggers walking the same grounds and sleeping in the same, if less modern, room where you'll sleep. Put away the cell phone and laptop and step back in time.

Detailed histories can be found at the web sites of each hotel.

http://www.aurora-inn.com/home.html
http://www.belhurst.com/
http://www.thesherwoodinn.com/index.html