La Tourelle Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Town of Ithaca

While all the staff that I interacted with were great (reason for 2 rather than 1 rating), the physical property was extremely disappointing. ||We booked just a double room (rather than a suite) since we weren’t planning to stay in our room that much. Unfortunately, due to it raining every day, we spent more time at the hotel than planned. It seems like the room had not been used in a very long time. I’ve never seen this much cobwebs in a hotel room. Not to mention more spiders and small cockroaches than I’ve ever encountered in a hotel. The whole facility is in dire need of a renovation, even the plumbing. The furniture was not sturdy and the chair upholstery was coming apart. We were shown a second double room when we checked in which was an updated room (to be ADA compliant) but other than the bathroom being updated, the rest of the room didn’t look updated at all. Plus there was no closet area…just a few wall hooks by the door. Our room was not worth the price and was comparable more to a motel room. ||The lack of indoor seating areas/lounges in the hotel is also surprising since this has a spa. The exterior could also use an overhaul.||This facility doesn’t even live up to how nice regular hotels are, let alone spa hotels. Spa hotels I’ve stated in previously are Mohonk Mountain House (also an older building but had multiple restaurants and indoor lounge areas), Miraval in Arizona and The Lodge at Woodloch. ||The so called continental breakfast was also disappointing. (It was comparable to what I’ve had at some motels.) Not only was it not free ($7/person), it was just a bunch of cold items (bagels, muffins, some apples/oranges, juice and couple cereals). ||There is a restaurant on property but it’s only open on Fridays (just evening I believe) through Sunday afternoon. This meant we had to leave the hotel for every meal or get meals delivered since we stayed Sunday into the week.||The spa service was really nice and the tranquility rooms within the spa (so only available when the spa is open) was relaxing. So while I may come back for a spa treatment, I don’t think I’ll ever stay at this facility again.||Did hear some talk about how there are plans for a renovation and also possibly going under...

We were extremely underwhelmed by our visit to this hotel. The room was nice, the staff were friendly, hence the 3 rating, but the general feeling of the hotel was one of there having been better days a while ago. The grounds were only adequately kept, and shared with a camping set up. Tennis courts were being used as a parking lot. The lobby was not worth writing home about. Worst of all, one of the main reasons I booked the room, for a hefty $454 (admittedly for Saturday night), was that the hotel appeared to have a very good French-cuisine restaurant, the Bistro, and I imagined having a lovely last night of our holiday with a lovely room (more or less correct) and an equally lovely gourmet meal (as suggested by photos). A few weeks before our stay I was informed that the Bistro had turned into the Lounge, but I assumed that, allowing for a more restricted menu, the good would be at close to the same high level, as indicated by TA reviews. I was wrong, The Lounge was in an entirely different space, was in essence the bar, and the food was edible but not much more than that. The choice of soft drinks, ginger beer etc., was unavailable because the soda machine had broken down, we were told. We did not have a grand meal to finish our holiday.|I understand that the hotel is under new management and has, in effect, been rescued by a consortium of Cornell alumni. I wish them well in their endeavour, but I would suggest there is a long, long way to go, that they make sure that the posts for the Bistro that are still up on travel sites be taken down. I also suggest that Trip Advisor make sure that people who use their site are not seriously...

Wow! At first I thought, I'll never do such a boujee thing as "glamping". But it was our anniversary and I wanted the do something nice and extraordinary. And it was! Nice and extraordinary! Luxurious safari tent on a platform with an outdoor deck looking through the tree canopy. Private and beautiful. We were in the Master King electric tent with a heater. We had super-comfortable bed. Full baths located very conveniently near by. We had our own fire pit (due to covid, but I recommend they keep this as a permanent option) Lovers playing Scrabble by firelight is a sweet experience. 😊. Our foray into the local nature hiking trails revealed a surreal forest beauty that wonderful to experience. As a local, I was introduced to a part of Buttermilk Falls that I had not yet discovered. It was very nice. Breakfast was simple but pleasing with high quality fresh fruit, yogurts, eggs, granolas, pastries juice and coffee. There is a full outdoor bar with local craft beer, wine and spirits. And in non-covid times, community fire pits and bocce ball. Staff was always super helpful and courteous. They even started our campfire for us, with ample wood to take us into the might. Overall, a great experience for us. My partner was super pleased and happy, which made me very happy! Highly recommend. We are thinking of inviting friends and family in for it in the future. Thanks La Tourelle and...