The Inns of Aurora
Parlours, porches & paddles
Lakefront on Cayuga
'Regularity, neatness and order everywhere' is how the Inns of Aurora was reviewed upon opening in 1833 – though we’re sure you’ll find opportunities for mischief today. This upscale stay in the Finger Lakes, the former home of the co-founder of the New York Times, presents the option of five storied turn-of-the-century lake houses with almost as many restaurants and a headline-stealing spa. Some come with private swimming areas on the lake; others picturesque porches and fire pits – all come with a hearty upstate welcome.
Facilities
Chambres
55, including two suites.
Checkout
11am; earliest check-in, 3pm.
Plus de détails
Rates exclude breakfast, but coffee, tea and granola bars are complimentary. An à la carte breakfast is available at 1833 Kitchen & Bar (or in-room) for between $12 to $30 a person.
Also
In each inn there’s a wheelchair-accessible room and ensuite and all but EB Morgan House are fitted with an elevator.
Centre de fitness
Accès internet gratuit
Restaurant sur place
Service d’étage
Spa
At the Hotel
Activities center with bikes, kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards to borrow during the summer; nature trail, gym, demo kitchen, casual pub, general store, cocktail hour tent, private dining (with private rental). In rooms: free WiFi, TV, mini fridge, free bottled water.
Our Favourite Rooms
Rowland House wins our heart with sophisticated old-meets-new interiors, a Grecian temple and two-storey boathouse: opt for a top-floor Whimsy Deluxe room for a wild ride of pattern-rich MacKenzie-Childs décor. Aurora Inn rooms have the biggest footprints and shared balconies: the two top-floor suites are wallpapered winners, each with a generous lounge and ensuite with an egg-shaped tub. Many of the rooms at EB Morgan House come with working fireplaces. All rooms at Zabriskie House are an oasis of calm blue hues.
Poolside
You’re on the shores of Cayuga Lake here with private swimming areas and lakeside docks for guests at EB Morgan House and Rowland House. At the spa there are hydrotherapy circuits featuring indoor and outdoor pools.
Spa
In a peaceful pastoral spot, the spa is a campus of four buildings set around a pond on a hill overlooking Aurora. Check in for hydrotherapy circuits using sauna, steam room, warm pools and cold plunge baths. Treatments range from massage and body therapies, via energy work, to facials, skincare rituals and salon extras such as manicures and pedicures. You could even opt for a retreat package, bundling a handful of soothing and restorative rituals into a full day of pampering. As a spa guest, you’re free to snack on the salads, soups and seasonal vegetables on offer at the cafés grazing table. Coffees, wine, beer and kombucha are available to buy, too. Take a plate to the courtyard, heated porch or bench-flanked fire pit, or grab a table indoors by the fire.
Packing Tips
Casual clobber for messing about on the lake – shawls or wraps to provide staying power for evenings on the porch or beside the fire pit.
Also
Morning coffee, homemade granola bars and s’mores kits for by the fire are (free) daily rituals.
Enfants
Over 12s are welcome and some rooms take an extra bed.
Galerie
Food & Drink
Top Table
On the terrace at 1833 Kitchen & Bar or fireside at Fargo. Just being at Aurora Cooks for dinner qualifies you as having secured top table.
Code vestimentaire
Finery and jewellery for 1833 Kitchen & Bar; country casual for Fargo Bar & Grill and a dinner party dress code for kitchen dinners at Aurora Cooks.
Hotel Restaurant
1833 Kitchen & Bar, a dining room and lakeside terrace housed in historic hotel Aurora Inn. Polished wooden floors, working fireplaces and rustic candelabra bring yesteryear charm to this farm-to-table restaurant, where executive chef Eric Lamphere shines an international light on local and seasonal ingredients with dishes. Down Main Street, Fargo Bar & Grill has casual pub vibes with plaid wallpaper and wooden floors indoors – parasol-shaded tables on the terrace out back: beers on tap, stacked burgers, turkey melts and firecracker mac ’n’ cheese are the main draws here – plus we love the sound of a black bean naanwich. There’s a culinary calendar of events at demonstration kitchen Aurora Cooks: book in for skills workshops, signature demonstrations, Sunday brunch or one of the restaurant’s exclusive kitchen dinners. Privy to just six (lucky) diners, this intimate affair involves a weekly changing prix-fixe menu of three courses, with wine pairings on offer.
Hotel Bar
1833’s bar is a pre-dinner affair for wines by the glass or bottle: as you’d expect there’s many a tipple from the local terroir, complemented by Cali bottles, French, Spanish and Italian vintages. Fargo is an all-day all-rounder with local wines, beer on tap and a cocktail list to enjoy either in the low-lit bar or at parasol-shaded tables on the deck.
Last Orders
Breakfast is served from 8am to 11am. Brunch is served 10am–2pm; dinner, 5pm–9pm. Fargo is open 11am–9pm (until 11pm at weekends).
Planes
Ithaca Tompkins (35 minutes by road), Syracuse (an hour’s drive) and Rochester (75 minutes away by road) are the nearest regional airports with good connections between them to international hubs including NYC’s JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports, as well as Chicago, Orlando, Denver and more.
Trains
Syracuse Regional Transportation Center is a little over an hour by road from the hotel and travels south via Utica and Schenectady to Penn Station, NYC.
Automobiles
At each residence there’s a dedicated free parking area.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
A spa with its own campus and café, a lakefront address and activities center that puts equipment and instruction at your disposal, bikes to borrow, lawn games and art materials to enjoy, bird guides and binoculars – even a telescope for stargazing – there’s not much impetus to venture beyond the Inns of Aurora. In Aurora itself, the Morgan Opera House is a Tudor Revival building that houses Aurora’s free library too: check the opera house calendar to catch one of its occasional concerts. Go fishing or hiking in Long Point State Park, just south of Aurora. Finger Lakes wineries on your doorstep include Long Point, Heart and Hands Estate and Bright Leaf vineyards. Or perhaps the Finger Lakes Beer Trail collating local craft breweries can quench your thirst for adventure.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
