Chautauqua Hotels

By Contributing Writer

Located on the western shore of Chautauqua Lake, Chautauqua, New York is a small community if gauged by its year-round residency, but a large community in its celebration of the arts, culture and sheer number of visitors it lures each year for workshops and events centered around writing, music, philosophy and wellness.

The town's most famous resident is actually a place, the Chautauqua Institute, where, since 1874, noted speakers have expounded on social and cultural topics and where lectures, plays, summer theater and workshops continue on 135 years later. Over the decades, the Institute has hosted speakers as varied as Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Thurgood Marshall, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Margaret Meade.

On the grounds of the Institute is a golf course dating back to the 1800s, the Chautauqua Golf Club, and with nearly two dozen golf courses to choose from within an hour's drive, golfers will have difficulty choosing between a wide variety of courses.

Athenaeum Hotel

Built in 1881 and located on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institute, the historic Athenaeum Hotel is listed on the National Historic Register. Because many of the hotel's guests are attending the Institute, rooms are priced for single and double occupancy, and pricing will vary depending on location, view and size. All rooms in the Victorian hotel feature antique decor and have private baths and air conditioning. The hotel follows the "American Plan" of bygone years; all guests receive three meals a day in the formal dining room as part of their reservation.

Athenaeum Hotel
One Ames Avenue
Chautauqua, NY 14722
(800) 821-1881
chautauqua.squarespace.com/athenaeum-home

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center

Located on a marina in nearby Dunkirk, the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center offers guests 127 rooms, both smoking and non-smoking, that include standard, King and whirlpool suites. All offer air conditioning, cable television and high-speed Internet access, and some rooms feature refrigerators. The hotel features both an indoor and outdoor pool, a sauna, fitness center and small business center. There are two restaurants on site and guest parking is free.

Clarion Hotel and Conference Center
30 Lakeshore Drive East
Dunkirk, NY 14048
(716) 366-8350
clariondunkirk.com

The Spencer Hotel

Exquisitely decorated, the literary-themed Spencer Hotel is renowned for its hand-painted murals in each room and public area. The standard, junior suites, suites and apartment are all themed and named for famous authors and characters and come complete with selections of work. Although most of the rooms feature antiques and Victorian decor, all come complete with the modern amenities of air conditioning, cable television, VCRs, wireless Internet and luxury linens. There is a full service spa on the premises and guests can book tee times at the adjacent 36-hole Chautauqua Golf Club through the hotel.

The Spencer Hotel
25 Palestine
Chautauqua, NY 14722
(716) 357-3785
thespencer.com