visiting colleges in Ithaca, NY - where to stay?
 

Can anyone make recommendations for a moderately priced hotel in Ithaca, NY near Cornell or Ithaca College? Somewhere around $100-125. We won't be spending much time there. We'd love a hotel with breakfast included, but it's not required.

Also, what are some fun places to eat in that area - I'll be there with my 17 year old son.

Thanks to all.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn for about $100/night a year ago when my son did the college visit - that includes a limited bkfst in the lobby as I recall- there are a few of the low-end chain motels along that strip that are 10 minutes away from both schools. Can't give you any restaurant recommendations as we were in and out to the next town/next school - you should consider eating in the school's cafeteria - not "fun" but gives you a little better feel for the school

DS attends Ithaca Colege and been there many times over the last 4 years. Lovely town!
Depends when you are going. $ 100 during the summer is hard to find. Most motels/hotels during the busy summer season require min 2 nights stay. You might want to check out http://www.visitithaca.com/lodging for more info. There are many small inns in and around the town and area. Remember "Ithaca is Gorges"

You might contact the admissions offices - sometimes they have a discount arranged with various lodgings for prospective students.

I'd definitely recommend eating on campus if your son is seriously considering those colleges. It will give you one more variable to compare when making the final decision.

thanks for all the replies and the suggestions for visitithaca. I'll check it out. Good idea to eat on campus too.

Should be an interesting trip! Appreciate your help.

We have a son at college in that area, too. We've stayed as far out as the Country Inn and Suites in Cortland, a nice place with a free breakfast and an indoor pool. It gets the top rating in Cortland on tripadvisor.com. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from Ithaca, on the way to Syracuse.

I thought I'd let you know that we ended up staying at the Best Western in Ithaca - about 2 minutes from Cornell and 10 minutes from Itahca College going the back way - not through downtown. I was pleased with the BW - under $100, pretty good breakfast (cereal, muffins, donuts, fruit, waffles, English muffins, bagels, hard boiled eggs) included, cathedral ceilings with ceiling fan in the room, updated decor with granite sink. There was also a free shuttle to the downtown area which we didn't use. The halls were a bit grungy, needing a good vacuuming, but once in the room, very nice and clean. We would stay there again.

Glad you found a pretty good place to stay. It sounds like it was well located. Did your son like the colleges?

He really loved Cornell, but is leaning more toward Ithaca College for going into music performance. That campus isn't as nice, but they have an excellent music dept while Cornell only has a very tiny music dept (which could still be good, but doesn't offer as much). We are in the process of trying to figure out which colleges have the best music programs if he decides that route is truly for him.