Hotel Review: McCorn Winery Lodging

I’m not a huge B&B fan – the floral wallpaper, the communal breakfast table, the general grandma’s house feel – but I love a good inn – personalized service, comfortable rooms, general boutiquey feel – so when I learned about McCorn Winery Lodging in Hammondsport, New York, I was intrigued. It’s really the best of both worlds with just the right amount of personalized service, comfortable rooms & some really darn good freshly baked goods.

Jeff & Sandra bought the old winery building in 1995. The winery, which was closed by Prohibition (like many wineries in the Finger Lakes region), sat empty for over 70 years. A simple 10 year restoration project turned into an 18 year undertaking & McCorn Winery Lodging was born. While the inn doesn’t start accepting regular guests until July, we were lucky enough to spend a night there during our swing through the Finger Lakes earlier this month.

We stayed in the River Room, which is located under the porch & actually has a stream running under it. The room was very large & has beautiful wood paneling. The room was definitely funky: a bedspread with embroidered palm trees, a headboard made of giant faux marble columns, a gorgeous natural stone wall & (my favorite part) a secret hatch up to the porch above. The attached bathroom had a claw foot tub with a sit down shower (definitely something Americans aren’t used to!), but everything was shiny & new & what wasn’t new was very well kept. The bathroom could have been a bit more private – there was a small window between the room & bathroom that would really benefit from a simple set of mini-blinds – but other than that the set up works well.

Just off the room was a kitchenette with an industrial sized Keurig for guests to use. We were greeted by a plate of Sandra’s oatmeal raisin cookies when we arrived & a basket of warm muffins in the morning. Unlike a traditional B&B, there’s no hot breakfast served around a communal table (thank goodness!), but a continental breakfast of muffins, fruit & yogurt, which you can have in your room or on the porch over looking Keuka Lake. In the cooler winter months, the communal Barrel Room would be the ideal place to enjoy breakfast or a glass of local wine.

There were two really awesome things about the Inn: the private porch, which can only be accessed from the River Room or Jeff & Sandra’s house. It was so peaceful to sit in a comfy chair & look out over Keuka Lake – exactly what lake lodging should be. The second is the location – it’s an easy walk into town, but just on the edge of town, so you feel a little more secluded from the “traffic” & “noise” from the Hammondsport restaurants.

Jeff & Sandra were the perfect hosts: chatty, but not overly chatty. Informative, but not overbearing. When we arrived, we had a glass of wine on the porch & talked about the area, the winery building & their history with it. Hammondsport doesn’t have a lot of lodging options – most everyone stays in a vacation rental when they come visit – so the McCorn Winery Lodging is a welcomed addition to this great little town.

Know if you go… 

– McCorn Winery Lodging is officially taking reservations for dates after July 1.

– The inn has three rooms: the River Room where we stayed, the Riesling Room & the Seyval Room.

– The inn has cable TV, wifi & all the technology you could want. Although the wifi service was a little spotty while we were there, it’s really hard to care because you’re obviously not in the Finger Lakes to hang out in your room online.

– Parking is a little tricky if you’re not used to parallel parking & three-point turns. Jeff is more than happy to help you navigate the driveway though.

– The Village Tavern on the town square has live music most nights – pull up a barstool, chat with the locals (including the bartender, whose sister just got back from Afghanistan!) & enjoy a pint & some great music.

Our stay at McCorn Winery Lodging was provided courtesy of Corning & the Finger Lakes Tourism Board.
As always, all rants, raves & gushing about the view are my own opinion.