The front desk staff were quite friendly and helpful. The bar and food service staff were also personable and helpful. We chose this hotel because my wife stayed here as a child years ago. We were told by others around town that the Athenaeum was last refurbished in 1984. The lobby was refreshed more recently. As other reviewers have stated, if you want to stay at a historic hotel, you'll appreciate the Atheneum, but if you want a pristine room, updated technologies and services, and a diverse menus I'd recommend staying elsewhere. The common spaces at this hotel were in better condition than our room, which had a sloping floor, chipping paint, a stained armchair, and mildew growing on the ceiling in the bathroom. The bed seemed to be memory foam style and a tad soft, but we slept decently. The in-room TV was quite small and did not carry true HD TV. The Wifi was password secured which is so important but very rate in hotels. We had solid connection in the lobby, but it was good to marginal in our room. There was an excessive quantity of spiders and webs on the exterior of the hotel. Not sure why they don't treat for them and remove webs.

Crisp clean sheets and nice breakfast.

It was a good place for fall colors viewing. Quiet time of the year.

Very disappointing. Restaurant was not open, parking for overnight is ridiculously far and ending up walking in the rain in morning to retrieve.

It was like going back in time to a simpler but elegant era in history. Great staff.

We were glad to be in the annex because there was a wedding reception in the main stay. Clean. Only problem was that some of the wedding guests did stay in the annex and were loud in the hallways after midndight.

The Athenaeum is a Grand Hotel in preventable decline; it badly needs TLC and more investment to repair its rotting infrastructure. On a positive note, the staff was courteous, friendly and efficient.

We enjoyed staying at the historical hotel. I think parking could be better explained and assistance should be available to get you back to your car with all of your bags. We got a ride to the front gate - but ended up walking with all of our bags to our car in the very back parking lot. RIDICULOUS!

The hotel was wonderful--staff was so helpful and the environment was quite clean. The only disappointment is that too much plastic was being used by the hotel, e.g., in the morning all utensils at breakfast were plastic. yet on the institute grounds, there are signs and sculptures urging the reduction of plastic because of its damage to the environment. The hotel is not following this vision by throwing away so much plastic. I would encourage the hotel to use china plates (would this not be in keeping with one of the visions of the institute and, be in keeping with the style of the Hotel--classy. You are not the red roof in :-) I hope our next stay at the hotel shows an improvement in this area. Thank you.

In spite of being 150 years old, the bldg was in great shape and the staff was attentive

Had a really nice stay at this historic hotel by the lake despite it being quite run down. Had a beautiful view from the balcony of our room but didn't want to sit in any of the furniture. Wicker furniture was in bad shape and the seat cushions were all very dirty. Should be replaced with more durable outdoor furniture that doesn't need cushions and could easily be wiped down.The whole hotel is in need of some tlc. Could be so beautiful but money definitely needs to be spent for restoring both the interior and exterior.

Property had lots of character. Exceptionally clean. Nice continental breakfast. Beautiful location. Will stay again.

Beautiful

Very unique stay! Built in 1880, so old but charming. The area surrounding hotel is picturesque! Continental breakfast was delicious.

Porches and windows dirty from bugs etc. Staff was wonderful. Inside was very clean.

The scenery and decor of the hotel was absolutely beautiful. Such a relaxing environment and various areas to sit and take in the beauty. Staff was awesome and available to help at any given moment. Plan on having a yearly visit.

The room was nice, though the bathroom was incredibly small/tight space, and the bed was too hard. The staff was very helpful and cheerful.

The public spaces of this hotel have not been modernized but are true to their original plan which I liked. The bedrooms were small but adequate. There was a nice buffet breakfast which you could take to the sprawling porches and eat while looking at the lake.

We enjoyed our stay!! The staff was nice, rooms were clean. Obviously in a hotel built in 1861 it’s not perfect but has historical charm. Would stay again 😊

Lovely old hotel with a great view of Chautauqua Lake. The staff was friendly and helpful. Our room was small but more than adequate. We had a great time and found lots to do and places to see.

The hotel’s location was beautiful. The staff was amazing. Our complaint is we paid for a deluxe room and what we got was less than stellar. We had one small, not a comfortable chair. our view was of a dead tree and other guests' room windows. Our mattress/bed was horrible. The only nice thing about the room was the bathroom. We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary and the room was nothing I would ever want to stay in again. We had friends staying at the hotel and their room was gorgeous. Very underwhelming experience. Again, the staff was great. The hotel had a very nostalgic vibe. I wish our room would have been a real deluxe.......

Dining room was closed.

The Athenaeum is a stately building. The public areas are furnished nicely as is the annex. What the Athenaeum offers is easy access to the Chautauqua amphitheater.

Needs to be updated. Expensive for what you get.

This place was a historical gem! Incredible views, gorgeous property, timeless charm and fabulous staff. Set in the middle of the quaintest area for walking. Definitely go for the valet parking, you won't be sorry!

Wonderful historic hotel

Wonderful historic hotel

This was a fantastic experience. A step back in time. Great porch on which to relax and watch the lake. Loved it!

Liked the openness and history. They need to clean up the exterior of building by painting and power washing

Loved location and view of the lake. Staff excellent. Hotel in desperate need of a renovation. Old, shabby and the rooms not so clean. Dead bugs, dirty windows, old bathrooms.

It’s beautiful!! The location and view are incredible and the staff is the BEST Can’t wait to return

Everything was fine. It's an old and historic hotel so of course, you expect the quirks. It was odd that there was no information in the room (room service, checkout time, fire escape plan, etc.). When you book using 3rd party bookers you expect a less than stellar room / view. That was all fine until you wake up at 6am because your room smells like...I'm gonna say, fried Canadian bacon? and the A/C unit is blowing it in from the hotel kitchen venting below. Funnily enough, when I checked out, neither of the two people who processed it asked me how my stay was.