9 Best Hotels in The Finger Lakes, New York

Rooms at this inn, an 1880 Queen Anne downtown, are imaginatively decorated to highlight alcoves, built-in shelves, curved walls, and steeple views of the city center. Furnishings are traditional and pretty: European armoires, cherrywood sleigh beds and four-poster beds, and wood shutters. Breakfast is excellent, with treats like a homemade English muffin topped with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and asparagus, plus fresh juice and assorted muffins. A dessert buffet is offered in the evening.

Fresh flowers, lovely antiques, and touches of Portuguese lace set the mood at this Queen Anne–style beauty. Its key selling point is the location, across the street from Skaneateles Lake and Clift Park. You can easily walk to shopping, a boat ride, and dinner. The excellent breakfasts include German pancakes.

Furniture dating from the 1700s and other antiques outfit this 1852 brick inn. Most rooms have a gas or electric fireplace, and several have a whirlpool tub. The dominant feature of each of the individually decorated guest rooms tends to be the bed—a tall four-poster or a bird's-eye maple sleigh bed, perhaps. Floors are hardwood, with bedside throw rugs. The inn is a block from Skaneateles Lake and the restaurant and shopping district.

Most guest rooms in this luxurious 1833 Federal-style brick inn have balconies with lake views; some have fireplaces and whirlpool tubs. Furnishings are a rich and historically appropriate mix of antiques and reproductions. Paintings and Oriental rugs outfit the common rooms downstairs. Modern amenities include flat-screen TVs, Bose CD players, Frette linens, terry robes, and marble bathrooms. The restaurant serves elegant American fare.

All the rooms at this Adirondack lodge–style hotel have gas fireplaces, heated bathroom floors, rustic decor with wood on the walls and wool blankets on the beds, and balconies with spectacular lake views. Guests share an outdoor hot tub. The Lodge Restaurant serves contemporary American and grill fare, from burgers to maple-glazed pork tenderloin. You may cross-country ski or snowshoe on the grounds in winter (rentals available) or play the 18-hole championship golf course. Ski packages with Bristol Mountain are available.

Under the same management as the Aurora Inn and less than a half mile up the road, the E. B. Morgan House is equally as impressive and has many of the same luxurious amenities (terry robes, Frette linens). The lakefront 1858 Italianate mansion is filled with a mix of tasteful modern, reproduction, and antique pieces. Three rooms have carved-wood four-poster beds. All rooms have marble baths. A full breakfast is available at the Aurora Inn May–October; the on-site Continental breakfast includes a hot entrée and fresh muffins or scones.

An 1830s Greek Revival mansion was completely renovated to create the main building of this unconventional B&B. Accommodations are rooms, suites, and cottages, some a block away from the main inn. The design is contemporary, with custom-designed furniture by architect and co-owner Kenn Young. Suites and cottages have gas fireplaces. Kenn's wife Madeline, a chef, prepares breakfast. The owners are fairly hands-off.

The modern hotel is next to the Erie Canal, 6 mi southeast of downtown Rochester. Rooms have doorbells and traditional furnishings, while beds have luxurious sheets, specially washed to preserve softness, and down pillows and comforters. The spa offers massages, facials, body wraps, manicures, and pedicures. The Erie Grill, an intimate candelit restaurant, overlooks the canal, serves a seasonal American menu that emphasizes game meats in cooler weather.

This upscale hotel opened in 2008 in an enviable location at the south end of Seneca Lake adjacent to a marina and waterfront boardwalk. Rooms have a seaside-cottage decor, with white beadboard headboards, hardwood floors, and a blue-and-white color scheme. All rooms have flat-screen TVs and oversize walk-in showers, and suites have wine refrigerators. The Blue Pointe Grille serves American and Continental fare; in summer you can have drinks on the harborside patio. Captain Bill's boat tours and the Seneca Harbor Station restaurant are next door.