The Spencer Hotel & Spa

Just spent the night here and we loved it. It was very quiet and comfortable. It’s an older house with a lot of charm. Even though the winter is this areas down time it is still worth the visit if you are looking for some quiet and relaxing time. I would recommend this hotel for couples more than families. I’d be afraid that my kids would be too loud.
Bob, the general manager of the hotel, is an excellent host. He’s a super nice guy and can help you with almost anything. The waffles he made in the morning were to die for and I also really enjoyed the coffee.
Overall this is a great place to go for a couple looking for a quiet get away during the winter months.

A wonderful find in the heart of Chatauqua.
The charming rooms each have a literary theme, we booked the Agatha Christie suite (aka the honeymoon suite) for a romantic getaway. Everything was perfect, and the staff went out of there way to arrange everything from champagne and flowers in our suite at arrival to a very relaxing massage for both of us after a nice sauna.
Have to give an A+ on service, location and beauty. We went in April, so the rates were well below what they would be peak season.
I’ve stayed at another larger hotel here, and it simply doesn’t compare to this one.
Looking forward to coming back for the wine trail!

Ok let’s start w the good… We love the front desk person Meg! She was awesome!
We didn’t know when we made the reservation that each member of our group would have to pay $ 56 to enter the Chautaugua Institute to get to our hotel room. There were 4 of us so that adds up quick!!! Meg made good on the lack of communication and gave us complimentary wine, cheese, crackers & shrimp. She also discounted the room.
Thank God for the discount because this room isn’t worth the $ 375! There was no AC (it was broken) and it’s freaking hot here in the summer, there’s carpet in the bathroom & we can’t open the windows.
Not the most fancy place, needs some updating. At least there’s good customer service & great location for the Chautauqua Institute.

I have to admit that I stayed here with a bit of trepidation. I travel a lot for business, and am fairly squeamish about hotels that I don’t know much about — cleanliness and modern amenities are essential. A very few negative reviews about The Spencer didn’t help any. And I’m not the biggest fan of quaint — modern and efficient are more my style. However, I am very pleased to report that not only did The Spencer Hotel exceed my expectations, but that I very much look forward to staying here in the future.
We stayed in the Charles Dickens room on opening night of the Chautauqua Institute. The rate was $ 275/​night — not cheap, but comparable to other equivalent properties on the grounds at Chautauqua, and much less expensive than the Anthanaeum. The Dickens was an apartment/​suite on the second (of four) floor — a living room, a galley kitchen, a tiny bathroom with a stand-​up shower, and a bedroom. The space was cozy — but our family of 4 slept well. The room was very clean, with nice carpet and furniture.
The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Everyone we talked to was very welcoming, flexible with check-​in and check-​out, and helpful with our luggage. The (included) breakfast was simple but excellent — fresh fruit, a strata, and blueberry muffins (cereal was also available).
Oh – and of course that amenity that I consider absolutely essential no matter the location — The Spencer Hotel provides free WiFi!
In any case, consider our family converted — we look forward to our stay next year at Chautauqua!

Never thought I’d be quoting Beatrix Potter in a Unilocal review, but… for everything there is a first time.
The Great Bea once wrote:
«Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.»
«Nevermind the rest» can very easily sum up what this hotel was saying to us… and it’s what became our hotel migraine at this quaint, dare I say too quaint, B&B in the heart of Chautauqua, N.Y. — where a constantly changing spirituality is supposed to be the pinnacle of personal development — hotel hospitality, at least at this location, doesn’t associate itself with that ideal.
Our booking through
, the last time I will ever book there (as of this writing, no word back from customer care), was «lost in translation» between the actual confirmation on the
server and the Spencer Hotel’s. which wouldn’t be a big deal except the hotel was full and they had one tiny room available, The Beatrix Potter room — a full bed for two 6′+ guys, in a postage-​stamp, afterthought room built for one person.
It gets worse. You’d think that the hotel management would fall over themselves to rectify, apologize, compensate, endeavor to solve… none of that happened. In fact, the manager saw us as a captive audience and tried to charge us $ 250/​night instead of the normal (according to their rate sheet) $ 225/​night. They eventually came down when I and my observant companion brought it to the attention of another manager.
Our bathroom had no shower, and the «jacuzzi» they had was a retrofitted antique claw-​foot tub that spewed more black tar into the water than the Deepwater Horizon. The bathroom itself was so teeny you couldn’t swing the door without shifting your person around strategically.
The walls are paper thin and, with über creaky floors, you hear just about everything going on in the hotel. Walking up stairs, conversations — even people from the street below. not good.
The broader point for me is: this hotel took NO responsibility for this lost reservation. We were SOL, even though by their admission they switched their third-​party reservation system and that was the likely reason it got lost. (Hindsight: call to confirm first, always, no matter how much confidence you have.) We went from a junior suite to a shit hole in a matter of minutes — and it just didn’t matter to them.
This hotel is not ready for primetime, and failed their customer in this case. Both
and The Spencer blamed each other, even though the latter was on the phone with their booking provider trying to figure out what the problem is.
Bottom line: if you’re not ready to accept reservations online (they don’t provide it on their website, but DO appear in
searches), then don’t do it. period. I suspect the room was never available in the first place and the inventory was incorrect. I doubt I’ll ever get to the bottom of it.
As with all of my poor reviews, I leave it up to the hotel to do a make-​good and I’ll update this review. for now, though, stay away from this location and find something else.
and pray that they never get haunted by the ghost of Beatrix.