Nittany Lion Inn

This is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at in the State College area. It has a historic feel, but has definitely been remodeled and well kept. It’s clean and gorgeous with lots of ornate details. I was scared it would be a little too upscale for my taste. But it had a variety of guests… people wearing jeans and people wearing suits. A few wedding parties were staying there, as well as a wedding reception taking place.
Our room was nice. Clean for the most part. I think they missed the coffee area, since the previous guests already opened sugar packets were laying around. But that’s not a big deal to us.
Loved that they had restaurants, a gift shop, and a bar. We had appetizers and drinks at Whiskers and took advantage of the hotel restaurant breakfast in the morning. I loved Whiskers, we had some really great appetizers there. The staff was exceptionally kind and attentive. It was a very enjoyable stay.
It was a rainy weekend so sadly we weren’t able to enjoy the gorgeous grounds, court yards, or spend much time outside. You still couldn’t help but notice the landscaping and care they take in the property. Only downside was if you chose not to valet your car you had to park in the nearby garage (free on weekends). Again, not a huge deal, but if you had a lot of luggage it might be an inconvenience.
I hope to stay here again.

I was in town with my fiancée for a wedding. I had always wanted to stay at the Nittany Lion Inn since I was a student. I raved about staying at this quintessential Penn State accommodation the whole trip into town. Our check-​in experience was fine. The room was large for a King-​sized bed room. When I called the front desk to request extra pillows I was told they would bring them right up. They never showed up. I had to find a hospitality staff member the next morning to finally get pillows.
Next, during the gap between the ceremony and reception we went to Whiskers, the bar inside the hotel. The service was slow, drinks were poor and overpriced, and food was mediocre at best. On top of that experience, upon returning to the hotel from the reception, the after-​party was intended to be at Whiskers. The bridal party had been ensured the bar would be open until at least 1am. When we arrived around 11:45, the bar was closed despite this prior arrangement and refused to reopen, even when the bride herself spoke at length with the manager. The wedding party and others decided to continue their celebration in the hotel lobby, which might not have been the best idea, but the hotel staff, instead of asking them to head to a room or an actual bar, called the cops on them!
Lastly, my fiancée and I decided to eat breakfast in the Dining Room at The Nittany Lion Inn. We were sat with no menus and was hard sold by our waiter on the buffet. We chose to order off the menu in lieu of the $ 22 buffet (that children had been poking and breathing on). Our waiter was inattentive and slow. My fiancée order tea and asked for milk. By the time he returned, her tea was cold. When our food was finally brought out to us, the plates were scalding hot. They must have been placed in broiler/​microwave and reheated. My fiancée’s eggs, that she ordered over-​medium, were now completely cooked through. My orange slice garnish was hot to the touch. When asked to replace her eggs, he failed to return to the kitchen in a timely manner, resulting in the rest of her meal becoming cold. He then disappeared; no check-​up, no coffee refill, no clearing of the table. I had to ask a separate server over to get the manager. The manager offered to pay for our meal and another the next time we were in town, which was appreciated, but not what we wanted. As we were leaving, the waiter offered a smug irrelevant apology.
This entire experience was highly disappointing, and frankly embarrassing. I have stayed and eaten at a few other comparable collegiate hotels/​restaurants. This did not live up to the reputation of the institution. I can honestly say I will not stay or eat at the Nittany Lion Inn again.
If you do need to stay at a Penn State affiliated hotel, I recommend the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. The accommodations are on par with other national chains and the restaurants are good but pricey.

Nice, elegant, and clean hotel. Convenient, free parking in a garage.
Either my room walls were too thin, or the people in the room next door were too loud. Either way, I shouldn’t be able to hear people talking for hours outside my room when it’s close to 1am. It was extremely annoying to hear the guests yapping away all night. Good thing I brought my earplugs, or I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep.
On the more plus side, the breakfast was very good and room service was also excellent.

I feel like hotels in downtown State College currently have monopoly on location, so there is no need for them to update/​change. We recently stayed at the NLI before a New Year’s Eve party. The location is walkable to downtown and, obviously, super convenient for those with an event on campus.
The hotel itself was fine, yet nothing to write home about. It was clean enough, just in need of updating. It certainly isn’t a hotel I would seek out and will only stay here if I want to be in walking distance of downtown. That being said, it’s competitors (the Atherton and the Days Inn) in regards to downtown walkability aren’t any better.
The staff was, again, fine. No one seemed excited to be working, but, in their defense, it was New Year’s Eve. The bar was, again, fine, but nothing to seek out. The bisque was, are you figuring out what’s coming yet?, fine…
If you need to be in walking distance to downtown, the Days Inn is cheaper and equally outdated. If you don’t, stay at the NLI’s big sister, the Penn Stater.

High expectations for Christmas dinner but was very disappointing… mediocre food, so, so service and over priced

I had a dinner here in a group setting (with PSU) so I didn’t have to pay. However, from my understanding the dinner we had would have been around $ 40 a person.
We had bread. It was fine. We had soup. It was pretty good. Better than canned.
The salad and dressing options were probably my favorite part. Delicious.
We had chicken still on the bone. It was average. Spaghetti with red sauce was nothing special. Broccoli was fine.
The dessert was like a cream cheese mousse? It was decent but not amazing.
I even had lunch here about a year ago… it was a buffet and from what I remember it was good, but average as well.
All in all, it was pretty decent. Not bad at all, but not worth $$$$.

THE place to stay in State College. Good facilities. The restaurant is top-​notch. And it’s a great learning experience for students in the highly-​ranked Hotel & Restaurant Mgmt program who will soon join the hospitality industry full-​time.
Two draw-​backs (both minor): the in-​room wifi could be a little stronger, and the rooms do not have safes. These should not nearly be enough to discourage you.

Outstanding place to go for dinner at Penn State university. Upscale environment… Very cozy… outstanding professional courteous service. Food was outstanding especially the braised short ribs and the pan seared scallops. I would highly recommend the Nittany lion inn. the dining room is a must do.

If you want old time high class non chain hotels with character, the INN is the way to go. This hotel has been around since 1931 and had a wonderful reputation with it completely upholds. This is a true 4 star hotel that caters to the people who stay there like no other. The food is also excellent too. The rooms have old world charm with modern conveniences. Its a must stay if you are ever in State college pa.

We ate in the pub and the wait staff was very nice, not their fault that the food was miserable, we had burgers and fish and chips. The burgers were a 6 oz hockey pucks and the fish and chips had skin on it. I thought this place was papering penn state kids for the food service business. What a huge disappointment we should have stayed down town and got Five Guys burgers. Over priced and not good. During our last visit we ate at the restaurant and had a full priced dinner, my son was in the mood for a steak and he ordered what they called on the menu a aged steak, what a joke and at NY prices, really a disgrace. I ordered the baked ½ chicken and it was mushy like it had been boiled. So when we finished my wife said we should have eaten in the pub and as you from what I said above the pub was just as bad. Come on guys you should be better than this, a very disappointed parent.

Stayed here recently for a conference. The furniture was adequate. It wasn’t fabulous and it wasn’t bad, just decent. The rooms were nice. The restaurants were ok. The staff was very friendly and the location was great!

My daughters quinceañera party was there. I arranged everything very nicely. My friend, Bertica Garcia, a formidable interior decorator, came to arrange the flowers bouquets and the center pieces. The catering manager assigned to our party was Vincent-​killian, Joy. He couldn’t be more helpful. If once you need someone, he is the person. Chuck Fong took the pictures and Dj Try Breon made that party alive!
The place was majestic. The food was very very good. The menu was Italian and they gave us a chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmelos. It was just one detail I didnt like. We invited 55 people and just 35 showed up, so there was ½ menu left. They didn’t let us take anything to go. I felt it was my right because I paid for it and they said NO! I was so disappointed about it!

I recently stayed here with my family when my son visited Penn State for a visiting day. All the hotel staff was super nice and helpful, and the dining in the hotel is superb. The rooms are clean, very well decorated, and the hotel was a very enjoyable experience all together. This will definitely be the place that I say the next time I visit.

As a Penn State alum, I had naturally dreamed as a poor college student that I would one day return to campus and bring my family to stay at the Nittany Lion Inn for a football game. That fantasy finally came true last weekend when I brought my three teenaged boys and husband to PSU for homecoming. And boy was it a disappointment. The whole experience left me feeling that we weren’t special and that we should be grateful for being able to stay there rather than that they valued our business. The worst part is that our rooms cost over $ 400 per night, no breakfast included. We have had better rooms in NYC, LA and Sydney, AUS for less!
Parking is a bit of a mess upon arrival. There is valet but few valet drivers so it’s not clear where to leave our car upon arrival and no one or signage to explain. Throughout the weekend, this continued to be true and we were never able to leave our car with the valet because of lack of drivers, though free self parking in a nearby garage was available.
Check in took a while as they had to sort out our two rooms. The young clerk at the front desk was very sweet. Kids filled up in free apples.
We got to our two rooms and it was like going back in time to the Reagan-​era. Floral bedspread, dark wood furniture, dated bathroom, furniture crowding the awkwardly shaped room. One sink in the bathroom. Shower inside a giant jacuzzi tub with shower head in a fixed and unusable position. Like going to your parents house if they had never updated their record in 20 years. There were two bottles of water in the room, but no extras to justify the sky high price.
We walked downtown for the parade and dinner and when we were ready to head back to the hotel I noticed a Nittany Lion Inn van dropping off some people along college avenue. Pooped, I thought a ride back to the hotel would be welcome and asked the driver how we could get a ride in the shuttle. Since it was empty, I assumed he would tell us to hop in. Instead he said in a haughty tone that any rides had to be arranged in advance and were subject to availability of driver and van. And off he drove in his empty van to the very place we now had to traipse uphill to get to.
Given the Four Seasons-​level price, I expected to be treated like a Four Seasons guest. Instead I felt unwelcome. Don’t see us staying here again. So disappointed.

Clean and comfortable. Free ATT wifi. Parking gargae nearby or you can valet. staff friendly.

I’ve been here a week and enjoying it. The food is good but the rooms could use some updating. The staff is super friendly and the location is awesome… Especially to the tiger.
I’d stay here again and the prices are fair.

For over seven years I have been a hostage of fortune, so-​to-​speak, and am forced to stay here at least once or twice a year. And each time, I hope that I will experience what makes folks all ‘googly’ for this place. And each time… I am underwhelmed.
Location/​parking.
Directly on campus, with a narrow, tiny lot across the way, or a parking garage two blocks away. Adequate. Being on campus… Not an attraction for anyone who is not an alum, and actually, quite an annoyance.
Check in.
Seldom smooth, and even less than welcoming. Usually the staff (students?) seem less than interested in the guest and more interested in talking to each other.
The rooms.
In over 7 years of 1, 2, or even 3 visits a year I have gotten one of the renovated rooms once. The remainder of the time, gross, dated rooms that are merely average in cleanliness. At best. And good luck getting to it, you will be going through what seems to be a labyrinth of narrow hallways and twists and turns. Amenities are meh. The elevators are terrifying.
The meeting rooms.
Dank and in the basement. One we keep getting graced with has a strong mold smell, and several md/​scent sensitive folks get really sick. And mobile reception? Forget about it! Wifi? Ditto!
Food.
Nothing special, and is typical food service/​Sysco type stuff.
The Penn Stater is a much nicer experience, As is the Hilton Garden Inn or many other hotels in State College. I think the Penn State Nostalgia is what makes folks all excited about this hotel… And trust me. There is nothing exciting about it. Not the best, not the worst, but still something to simply be endured,

When I booked my reservation for the PSU Mac Admins conference this year the hotel that I wanted to stay at was completely booked up so I had to find another alternative. Fortunately the Nittany Lion was offering discounts to conference attendees, so my co-​worker and I ended up booking our stay here.
The Nittany Lion is a nice place to stay; however, to me it seemed a little «dated», especially for the price that one has to pay to stay there. I honestly felt at times like I was the youngest person staying at that hotel as it seemed like the clientele who frequented the Nittany were in their «golden years». Also, the place had that kind of vibe that further made me feel slightly out of place as far as that goes. Aside from that, the staff was nice and courteous from check-​in to check-​out.
One nice thing about the Nittany was that it was not far from the downtown area so getting out and about was not bad at all. I’d say downtown was roughly a couple of minutes down the road, so as far as location and getting around goes, this place is a good stop to stay.
I probably won’t be back to the Nittany unless there is a function or something there, but overall it wasn’t bad… just not my kinda place.

I remember the food as very good, but what stood out in my mind (and still does) is their FAMOUS Lobster Bisque! (Now I found the recipe since I don’t live in SC anymore). I dream of this soup at night… so good. I have tried many locations’ lobster bisque, and this one is still tops.
Service was attentive and staff was courteous.
Can you get that my review states you should try the Lobster Bisque? :-)

If you want to stay at a hotel in State College, and don’t want it to be swarmed with college kids, then the Nittany Lion Inn is your spot. It has it’s own private lot right on the edge of campus, which makes it convenient enough to get around campus and to the football stadium. I have not stayed at the Inn itself, but I’ve been here countless times for various events. Coming into the Nittany Lion Inn, you’re greeted by a nice staff and a very respectable front desk. This place definitely looks out of place in State College. At the Inn, there are a couple places to eat. I had the chance to eat at the restaurant, which wasn’t too bad. They either have a buffet style, or good old made to order.
Aside from the food and hotel rooms, they do have a conference/​event area on the basement floor. There are plenty of event rooms, and they tend to cater with small sandwiches and cheese.
Best hotel at PSU, but that’s not saying much either.