Inn at Taughannock Falls — Hotel in Town of Ulysses

Disclaimer: This review reflects my personal experience and opinions only, shared in good faith. We contacted the venue before posting. Email screenshots cannot be shared here per Google’s privacy policy, but were provided to management.

The Inn at Taughannock Falls is a beautiful location, and as a hotel and restaurant, it’s fantastic. This review is not about the venue, food, or drink. But if you're planning a wedding or event here, proceed with caution. Our wedding had meaningful moments, but the planning process and post-event response were frustrating, disorganized, and, at times, dismissive.

We were passed between three planners with little continuity, forcing us to repeatedly reconfirm already-settled details. Our final planner met with us twice — one meeting was delayed, and the other, she arrived nearly an hour late. Planning management was included in these communications.

The most notable issue: we confirmed use of the Eagle Patio in April and again in May via email. On the wedding day, the staff told us there was no record of our request. After the event, we were told we didn’t show interest in the space until May 17 — a claim clearly contradicted by earlier emails we sent to management. No apology followed. Instead, we were told it was a “courtesy” that they let us use the space — even though the person denying our request post-event was the same one who had confirmed it in writing prior (evidenced by emails).

There were several other breakdowns:

*Guest gifts and glow sticks were forgotten entirely — small details, but indicative of the larger disorganization.

*Dessert was moved indoors without notice, even though our planner verbally confirmed (on the day) that it would be served on the patio. When we returned from our reception cruise and asked why it was moved, she said, “Do you see how dark it is?”— despite the availability of outdoor lighting. Later, management gave a different reason, claiming guests were “too cold” — despite warm temperatures (65 degrees) and photos showing guests in rolled-up sleeves and no jackets. Only once guests were seated did they offer to move dessert. I declined because the cake had already been served and guests were seated.

Chairs for a future event had to be cleared during ours, again due to the patio scheduling issue. When we questioned it, we were told we should be “grateful” not to be charged a labor fee — a fee that only existed because of their own coordination failure.

After the event, we asked for a reduction or waiver of the $2,500 patio fee based on the documented miscommunications. Despite providing clear email evidence, we were again blamed and told we hadn’t properly reserved the space. It felt like they were rewriting the facts and holding us responsible for their internal breakdowns — ignoring the paper trail we had shared. A simple acknowledgment of the mistake instead of blame would have gone a long way and would have been an acceptable resolution.

This wasn’t about the money — it was about trust. Instead of accountability, we were met with defensiveness, blame, and contradictory explanations. We were left feeling attacked for simply advocating for what had been promised. In the end, we chose to pay the fee as the ongoing lack of professionalism and repeated attempts to rewrite the narrative made it clear that resolution was unlikely. We simply wanted to move forward and put the experience behind us.

Some things went well, and we made sure to tip staff accordingly (including our planner). We’re grateful we still had our ceremony at the falls, even after adjusting the timeline due to weather, and appreciated getting to take family photos under the enchantment tent. This doesn't erase the other issues faced. The repeated missteps and the way concerns were handled made sharing this experience feel necessary.

We truly hope our experience was the exception. But for future couples, we recommend triple-confirming every detail in writing, keeping records, and following up often. One confirmation isn’t enough here — or in our...

Menu Popular dishes Seared Sea Scallops Seared Sea Scallops

1 Photo 1 Review Harvest Apple Crumb Pie Harvest Apple Crumb Pie

1 Photo 1 Review Cauliflower Steak Cauliflower Steak

1 Photo 1 Review Short Ribs Short Ribs

1 Photo 1 Review Profiteroles Profiteroles

1 Photo 1 Review Location & Hours Map 2030 Gorge Rd

Trumansburg, NY 14886

Mon

Closed

Tue

Closed

Wed

Closed

Closed now Thu

Closed

Fri

5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Sat

5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Sun

5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

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Amenities and More Takes Reservations No Delivery No Takeout Masks required

Help Improve Yelp Do they have great craft beer?

About the Business The gorgeous fine dining restaurant is on the first floor of a beautifully renovated Victorian inn mansion. With stunning panoramic window views of Cayuga Lake this restaurant is offers the best views for diners in town. A trendy yet classic take on Mediterranean inspired dishes. Directly adjac…

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Search within reviews Newest First Leslie S. Hoboken, NJ 01 7/20/2022 We ate at the restaurant for my twin daughters' 16th birthday. We had a 7:15 reservation that required a $25 per person deposit. There we 7 of us, so $175. We were seated in a dark, semi-private room, that had no view of the lake (which is one of the reasons we choose this restaurant). We asked to be seated somewhere else in the restaurant and were told there were no other available tables. We asked to sit outside and were told they did not have a table big enough, however, we noticed an empty table that would have accommodated us. We arrived at 7:15 and did not get our drinks until almost an hour later. There was a large party next to us that was on their second round before we even got one drink. We spoke to a woman about it (who apparently was the manager for the night) and she appeared very annoyed by us and walked away. At that point, we wanted to leave, however, they had $175. We asked to speak with another manager. She was much more apologetic and responsive and offered us 2 free desserts. We also felt misled when ordering. There was only one pasta dish left and we asked if it was shareable, the waitress implied that it was very small, so we ordered another dish for $48, and it turned out the pasta dish was very large and could have easily been shared. The waitress also asked my 12 yo if she would like veggies with her pasta and we assumed it was included with her very expensive meal, which it was not. The food itself was quite good, however, the steaks were not the correct temperatures and all of the dishes were terribly expensive. In addition, we ordered a soup, which never came, and was on the bill. When we pointed it out to the waitress, she looked at our table to double-check that there was not a soup dish on the table. We ordered coffee with dessert and it tasted like cold instant coffee. We are local Ithacans, who have been to the restaurant before and had good experiences, but this was such an utter disappointment. I called to speak with someone in charge the next day and was never contacted by anyone. All in all, it was a...

we came to this inn for an event and had several people in our group. we were able to book a house so that was nice that we would all be near each other. at check in, three of the people we came in contact with did not know how to check us in which was strange because there weren't many people there overall so we thought with booking such a big event at least someone would know about our group. we had to wait for a while and each time another person came, he or she still didn't know what to do or where our keys were. eventually we had to contact one of our people to help us figure it out which was not as easy since most of us didn't have good signal in that area.

after our check-in snafu, we were able to finally get into our rooms. the rooms were nice. some of the rooms were a bit dusty near the corners which led to one of us sneezing quite a lot due to a dust allergy. the bathroom fans never seemed to turn off and the switch (or what we thought should be the switch) did not work so the noise was a bit annoying but mostly a waste of energy. it was odd though that we booked as a large group but the towels and shampoo and conditioner were not enough. in the master bedroom there wasn't even shampoo and conditioner....

overall the rooms were nice and cozy and the bathroom was newly done (which made the fan issue odd). the place was spacious and the breakfast food was good. we had a dinner in their inn and that was delicious. the dining rooms are very nice. but it was odd that they didn't offer chairs or tables when it started raining and we had to move inside. they didn't set up anything as a backup for me indoors so we had to use a piano as our table and only six people or so had chairs to sit.

there was a huge issue with the bill where what was agreed upon in the beginning was not what they ended up charging. they said their paper and computer bill weren't reconciled properly which again isn't our fault but we were told a certain price which was why we booked there and now after it's too late to find another venue they were trying to charge more which was extremely frustrating and unfair. there were many hassles and issues (so many things were not done to our agreement and we had to chase people down just to get the bare minimum of what was agreed upon for the event). there was construction that they said would be completed by the time of our event so it wouldn't look unsightly and we would be able to enjoy it.... that was a lie. only after much back and forth, they agreed to cover it up so it wouldn't be in our pictures. overall it was a migraine dealing with issues here - they were highly unprofessional and disorganized.

if you are just staying for a night for relaxation without coordinating for an event, this place is ok. however, if you are having an event here, you might end up dealing with incompetent and clueless people who go back...