A couple of weekends ago, my family went to Ithaca, NY for a weekend getaway. Cornell University has a well-known hospitality-management program. As part of that program, they operate an on-campus hotel, the Statler Hotel. Intrigued by the chance to experience five-star-service-in-training, I booked us for a night at the Statler. It was fun to see young students learning the ropes, the hotel is right on campus, and dinner in the restaurant was very good. On the flip side, broken elevators were quite a bummer, especially after I got some of the backstory. I’d consider staying again, but if you book this place keep in mind that the price is more reflective of the goal than the experience.
The Statler Hotel at Cornell University: Bottom line review
The Statler Hotel is, for the most part, a perfectly fine hotel in the middle of the Cornell University campus. If you want to be on campus for an event, it’s a great choice. If you want to visit Ithaca for the scenery (the saying is that “Ithaca is gorges”), you can get a decent view from some rooms and hiking at the nearby Buttermilk Falls was a short drive away. Dinner in the hotel restaurant was very tasty. Breakfast isn’t included and was pretty limited, but good quality. Wherever you stay in Ithaca, you must go to the Cornell Dairy Bar for ice cream made on-campus, which was the best I’ve ever had and second isn’t close (Cornell is also known for its agricultural science programs, which are actually part of the public State University of New York).
The Statler Hotel bills itself as “The Premier Hotel that teaches” due to its affiliation with the Cornell University hotel management program. I ultimately picked the Statler in part because I wasn’t enthusiastic about the ~$250 price tag of the nearby Hilton Garden Inn / Hampton Inn / Courtyard type properties. At around $360 all-in, the Statler was even more expensive, but since we are fortunate to travel to so many “five star” type hotels around the world, I thought it might be neat to see folks in training to end up in those places (and as we were heading to Ithaca for Mother’s Day, I thought my wife might also enjoy it). And it was kind of fun to see — every staff member with which we interacted was clearly aiming to provide excellent service, but of course the level of polish varied from one staff member to another (as would be expected). The person who checked us in was new and clearly a little nervous, repeating the same word so many times that it became very noticeable (I can’t even recall what it was, but my wife and I enjoyed a smile about it). At breakfast, the gentleman pouring coffee mentioned, “There are sugar sachets there in the center of the table. I think that’s the right word for that…”, to which I replied with surprise, “Yes, actually, I believe it is”. He didn’t miss a beat with, “It’s that Ivy League vocabulary”. TouchĂ©. We had fun.
On the flip side, the elevators went out of service about 20 minutes after we checked into our room with a view . . . on the 6th floor. That type of thing can happen, but I later heard from another employee that one of the two elevators had already been out of service for at least a month before the second elevator went out after we checked in. So, apparently, the hotel had already been working with just a single elevator for quite a while. I obviously don’t know what was wrong with the elevator, and I’m no elevator engineer, but I would think that a place charging the rates they do here would prioritize that type of maintenance (or at least expedite the fix). There was a service elevator available, but it was also quite slow and seemed like it could be on its way out also. We didn’t really want to chance getting stuck in it knowing the situation with the first two elevators, so we ended up adding 6 flights of stairs to the hiking, which wasn’t exactly what I wanted. We passed the Hampton Inn on the way out of town, which is only 3 stories and I presume had a working elevator and it made me question my decisions.
Nonetheless, I’d consider the Statler again. I’d only recommend it to someone who really wanted to be on campus and/or who would find the novelty of high-end-service-in-training fun. Just be prepared that the price you pay isn’t quite commensurate with the experience. Rooms were perfectly clean and decent, but nothing special.
- Price: $363.44 for one night (plus breakfast and plus parking if we had parked with the valet), which is definitely on the high end for the local market.
- Value: I booked this stay with existing Hotels.com credit from a price guarantee claim I made last year. There were cheaper places to stay and the Statler probably isn’t wildly better than options that cost $100 a night less, so I wouldn’t consider this a great value unless you want to be on campus for an event.
- Location: Great if you want to be on campus at Cornell, but as it is on campus rather than in town, you aren’t easily walkable to restaurants / shops / etc.
- Room: We had a Kind view room, with a view of the main older campus buildings and the surrounding landscape. The Statler sits at a relatively high vantage point, so the view was nice. The room was decent. It wasn’t luxurious, but I’d put it around the quality of a nice Marriott.
- Parking: Valet and self-parking is $25 per night. Parking at Hoy Road Parking Garage, which is a 7-minute walk from the hotel, is generally free on weekends from 5pm Friday to 7am Monday, so we parked for free. The garage was easy enough, but the walk to the hotel does involve a slight incline.
- Resort/Destination Fee: None.
- Internet: Very fast, as one might expect on an ivy league campus.
- Service: In training. The hotel is mainly staffed by students. Service was certainly well-intentioned at every step, though expect that you may need some typical patience for things like check-in similar to what you would expect at any hotel with a front desk staff person in training
- Turndown service: None.
- Dining:
- Taverna Banfi (breakfast): Breakfast was served in the morning. We were there on Mother’s Day and there was a big brunch event beginning at 10am that required advance reservations (gone by the time I decided to book this). We had breakfast around 8:30am. The buffet was simple, but the crĂŞpes were magnificent. Breakfast was not included and came to about $57 for our family of four, which honestly didn’t feel worthwhile given the pretty limited selection.
- Taverna Banfi (dinner): We ate dinner at Taverna Banfi on the night we arrived. It was very good. I would gladly go back for the Gnocchi dish I had and my wife enjoyed her chicken dish. Definitely above average.
- Cornell Dairy Bar: This isn’t actually on-property, but it is on the Cornell campus and is a do-not-miss if you’re in the area. I’m not an ice cream connoisseur, but this was easily the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Cornell has a big agricultural sciences program, so I believe that they raise the cows on campus and handle every part through production of the ice cream. I am told that the extra creamy consistency has something to do with the ice cream having a very low air content, but I’m no expect. I just know that the whole family agreed that it was notably delicious and we collectively lamented that it wasn’t going to be open again the next day.
- Spa: None.
- Fitness Room: I didn’t check this out.
- Would I stay again? Maybe. I was happy enough with the hotel overall, but at the price point, especially with the elevator issues, and considering the cost of a pretty weak breakfast as well, I’d probably be just as happy with the local limited-service brand hotel options unless I were attending an event at Cornell.
Pros
- Right on campus (great if you want to be on campus)
- Novelty of being staffed by students studying hotel management
- Above-average dinner at Taverna Banfi, the on-property restaurant
- Shares a campus with Cornell Dairy Bar, which is a huge pro even if you don’t already know it.
Cons
- Not necessarily on par with its price point. Everything is in good condition (apart from the elevators) and service was decent, but not necessarily worth a premium.
- Faulty elevators that are apparently a known problem. Hopefully, this gets fixed, but disappointing to hear that this may be an ongoing issue.
- Breakfast was weak. I would have considered it fine if it were included in room rates, but for an additional charge I’d expect something more extensive. I would expect a Hilton Garden Inn to offer a more comprehensive breakfast, though I have to admit that the crĂŞpes were very good.
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Thanks for this Nick! As a Cornell alum it was as interesting to read your review. I have never stayed at the Statler. But as you say, hotel prices in Ithaca tend to be pretty high IMO. That said, the Fingers Lakes region is a must see, for anyone who has not been there and longs for natural beauty. Great Lake vistas and endless gorges with trails.
I live in Ithaca. My recommendation would be to stay at Argos Inn next time. It’s a very charming small inn in downtown. You can walk everywhere and it has a very nice bar with great drinks downstairs.
Taverna Banfi’s brunch buffets are very well known in the area and are great quality. The crepes are my favorite also.
That’s funny, I don’t remember the Cornell Dairy Bar, seems like a place I would have definitely gone to as an undergrad there – perhaps it was created after I graduated. In any case, I did take a class through the Hotel School while I was there: Wine and Spirits. It was awesome to get credits for drinking! I’m sure I must have been in the Statler Hall auditorium (Carl Sagan gave a talk which I believe was there) and the Wine & Spirits class was probably there. I never checked out the restaurant, but I’ll definitely consider the Statler if I ever go back to Ithaca.
I have a stay booked there in August. My son is moving in for his first year of law school at Cornell. I was shocked at the price but booked anyway ($500+). I appreciate your review as I’m going to look elsewhere. We stayed at the Marriott close to campus and it was ok. My hunch is most hotels in the area are just “ok”… Looking forward to trying the ice cream – thanks for the tip!
Gave me a chuckle when I saw your review of the Statler, since we are a family of five that have all graduated college in Ithaca. I’d encourage you to go back in mid-summer, where Ithaca is a glorious place and it is a little less crowded since college is not in session. Can’t fault your description of the Dairy Bar–we visit every trip.
As far as the Statler, I have stayed in hotels in Ithaca at least 50 times, and the Statler exactly once. It is expensive as you mentioned, and you stay for the proximity to campus (it is on campus) and the novelty of the hotel staff generally being between the ages of 17-21. It is a shame that you missed the Sunday brunch, which is (or at least used to be) fabulous, incredible and amazing. We enjoyed it many times (you don’t need to stay at the Statler to go there for dining). But, that’s about it.
As far as the Hoy Road parking garage, yes it is a slight incline from the hotel, but that is about the smallest incline you will find anywhere on campus. Cornell develops strong calf muscles. Also it doesn’t sound like you walked down the hill to Collegetown, which has quite a few decent restaurants and is close enough to campus that it doesn’t require a car.
We generally stay at the multiple generic Marriott’s and Hiltons, all of which are perfectly fine (nothing special but perfectly fine) with much easier access to your car and the ability to earn or spend hotel points. The Marriott and the Hilton by the airport are close to campus with less traffic than the hotels downtown. Sadly, no Hyatts anywhere even remotely close to the area (excluding MMS, which aren’t Hyatts–what a missed opportunity!).
Go Big Red! 2025 Lacrosse National Champions!
When we went to Jamaica 10 years ago, we wanted to avoid the all inclusive nonsense.
So we found places that were different. The first three nights we spent at a hospitality training hotel in Runaway Bay. The room was immaculate daily after the cleaners (with their instructor) had been there. Service in the single restaurant for any meal, was attentive and friendly.
The only issue with avoiding the endemic all inclusive was that the choice of restaurants outside our hotel was basically non existent.
/024 Cornell graduate son and we just returned yesterday from graduation for my 2025 graduate daughter. In those 5 years of visiting a few times a year we stayed at the Statler 1x (Statler-check) and I thought the rooms were Just eh. I didn’t get the hype. But sure the location can’t be beat if u need to be on campus. Next time check out the Canopy. It’s a Hilton property and much nicer than the Hilton Garden Inn and in the Commins which is very very close to campus. 🙂
Do you mean to say Cornell ice cream beats Italy gelato, or is it just best ice cream in the US?
Living in Italy, I agree that the best gelato beats the best US ice cream. But trust me. There is plenty of meh gelato if you find the wrong place.
Ithaca was my favorite weekend destination when I lived in Buffalo. But never had a chance to check out Statler, which remains on my bucket list.