White Inn, Fredonia

Since the new ownership took over near 2011 this place is turning into a real gold mine. The staff were very welcoming, helpful, and polite. It's been newly remodeled since I was there last year and its incredible seeing the difference. Its nice to see that someone cares enough to keep that historic building standing tall. I called for prices at 4 other hotels in the area and White Inn was the cheapest of all 4. A breakfast was included with that rate also. The food was all homemade and fresh, came in a timely manner and excellent prices for finer dining foods. It was very elegant, classy, comfortable and extremely clean. If I could I would make this my second home. Too bad I am so many miles away. I could only wish we had a White Inn nearby me. I will never stay anywhere else when I'm near Fredonia. What a difference! Even the ghosts were kind to us :) I just love the atmosphere and cannot wait to go back and see further improvements on such a unique place. Thank You White Inn, I'm majorly impressed!

Great architectural character, cozy bar, in close walking distance of downtown Fredonia Opera House, and a block from one of America's most beautiful old cemeteries. Great for morning walks. However, place badly needs new furnishings, especially beds, bedding, and carpet. Old grease/cooking odors from the kitchen and what may have been heating oil smells from central furnace kept me lying awake til very late. Cigarette butts on porch and sidewalk, hand prints on burnished metal and glass surfaces in lobby also a turn-off. All in all, not very comfortable stay. Lots of potential, though.

There are not a lot of good places to stay in the Dunkirk Fredonia area. The White Inn, while not perfect, is probably the best of the lot. It's not cheap (relatively speaking) but I had a very nice two room suite for about $25 more than what I would have paid for a generic room at the new, big hotel by the lake in Dunkirk (don't even consider the older motels near the lake on the west side of Dunkirk). With breakfast included that's not much of a difference. BTW, the included breakfast was both good and ample so I'm not sure what that complaint is about. Also, common sense should have told that reviewer that of course you should leave a tip with each meal. I agree the staff is young (FSU students?) but they seemed OK. The rooms are nice, cozier than a new place. If the place was very full, then there might not have been as much sound insulation as in a new place, but when I was there it was very quiet. The only other drawback I can think of is that it frequently gets booked way ahead of time.

I have recently returned from staying at this hotel and was totally disappointed. This hotel seems to be resting on its laurals because it has the reputation in the area of being one of the finest hotels...not for me. It is overated and overpriced. The room was clean and spacious...expected for the price we paid. There are no coffee making facilities in the bar...no facilities available after 9 except for the bar which was dirty and loud. Breakfast although included in the price was miniscule unless you ordered a la carte, which required extra payment...the waiting staff were young and untrained...obviously unhappy in their work not smiling whatsoever. After my first breakfast I was actually challenged by the receptionist who demanded that tips be left. Although I explained that I would be here for a week and that I would leave a tip at the end of the week she said that different staff worked different days and that I was required to leave a tip daily it was stressed that the breakfast was free. I didnt for the first day and found it difficult to get attention on subsiquent days..on one occasion I had to get my own coffee. I shall never stay there again while visiting my family in Fredonia and will advise that the reputation of this hotel is undeserved.

I always enjoy staying at the White Inn. My last experience in January was lovely. The person that left the two star review obviously has issues that go beyond the White Inn and its staff. The reviewer insulted the staff and complained about things that are irrelevant to enjoyment of a fine establishment, such as the White Inn.

The cuisine of the White Inn, in Fredonia, NY has become a pretentious mess, in my opinion. I have been there twice this summer, and was underwhelmed and annoyed both times.

The first occasion was a ladies' tea party and lecture. The Victorian lecture was lovely, the tea party was chintzy. One harried waitress attempted to minister to the whole group. The caddy of tea bags, honey, etc. was brought once to our table, and then taken away. We were offered more hot water, but not another tea bag. The "brownie sundae" tasted flat, and didn't have real whipped cream. The price was $10, which did include the lecture.

My second trip involved a ladies' luncheon, and we each ordered from the menu. Most ordered salads; I ordered French onion soup without bread as a low carb choice. To their credit the soup stock was homemade; I know this because I am allergic to prepared soup bases. It was just OK, though, not remarkable tasty. I didn't order a salad because the waiter admitted that it would contain iceberg lettuce, which to me is a waste of time for the few nutrients that it contains. The salads were very unappetizing when they appeared, and I did examine them closely over my soup. The mostly iceberg lettuce was on a very large bed of some sort of very rugged green - that stuff that people use to decorate their gardens in the fall when the flowers die. They were also over decorated with various flowers, presumably edible ones, and looked very messy in general. The salads looked like amateur attempts by a chef attempting to serve "high class" food, but not really understanding the concept. Much of these masterpieces remained uneaten on the busboy's cart. The service was thoroughly unprofessional also. The waiter took dessert orders, and then came back and whined that they had no more of an item in an ingratiating manner. If there were so few pieces of pie or whatever I don't think he should have offered it in the first place. Instead of making dumb excuses he just should have stated what was available, and served those who wanted it. Another annoying aspect of this meeting was the fact that the White Inn served milk in the cream pitchers, not even half and half.

The White Inn is located in a lovely old mansion with great ambiance. The management has gotten very sloppy with the cuisine, however. They are resting on their former reputation and pretending to still be a classy place to eat. If you are in Fredonia you would be better off to find one of the local "joints" to get an honest, hearty, inexpensive meal.