William Seward Inn - Westfield

This place has been closed for 4 years! It shouldn't even be listed here. Don't bother wasting time on this joint.

We frequent Chautauqua Institution during the summer, but live just far away enough to require accommodations for one or more nights per visit. In the past, we've tried several different options (ranging from an on-grounds guest house to two local hotels), but I've had my eye on the William Seward for quite some time and decided to book a room there this July.

We frequent Chautauqua Institution during the summer, but live just far away enough to require accommodations for one or more nights per visit. In the past, we 've tried several different options ranging from an on-grounds guest house to two local hotels , but I 've had my eye on the William Seward for quite some time and decided to book a room there this July. The Inn 's website portrays it as a classy bed and breakfast with lovely old-fashioned rooms. However, the first thing I noticed when we arrived was a for sale sign and the second thing was that there were no other guests around--most definitely NOT the norm for any desirable property in the middle of the Chautauqua season! Although this seemed odd, I tried not to let it concern me because it was still fairly early around 6:30 PM when we arrived. We were greeted by a young Latino guy presumably the same person mentioned by other reviewers . He was pleasant enough, but it appeared that he was the only staff person around and he seemed somehow out of place in the setting. He told us that the room we had booked in the main inn was not available due to renovations and that we were being upgraded to a different room in the carriage house at no additional charge. I found this very strange considering the fact that we had requested a reservation less than a week before and the original room had been marked as available at that point. Most property owners plan renovations more than a few days in advance! When we opened the door to our re-assigned carriage house accommodation the Wagner Room on the first floor , we immediately noticed a strong mildew smell. The lighting in the room was unusually dim because all of the lamps had very low-wattage bulbs in them. Also, the “sitting area” of this “upgrade” consisted of two chairs just inches away from the bed. I felt very disappointed that this pricier room didn’t even seem to be as nice as the website photos of our original choice. We left the air conditioner running and went to our concert, hoping the a/c would clear up the odor. When we returned, the mildew smell was almost unbearable. The drippy old window air conditioner might have actually been the source of the odor. However, by that time it was so late that all we could do was spray some Lysol and go to bed. We had trouble sleeping and I woke up in the morning coughing and with a scratchy throat. Breakfast was quite good with two prepared-to-order options either pancakes or scrambled eggs, both served with fresh fruit, juice, coffee, and two slices of turkey bacon . I told the server the same young man who greeted us the night before about the mildew issue and he said he would talk to the owner apparently on the phone . The owner told him that the problem could either be coming from the crawl space under the room or the hot tub. The young man promised to check it out for us that morning. I asked him if the inn had a dehumidifier that could be placed in the room, but he said the only two they had were in use in the basement. I then asked if we could move to another room, but was told the inn was already booked solid for that evening and there were no open rooms ??? . At that point, we were fortunate enough to find other accommodations, so we checked out of the William Seward. In the meantime, I had noticed a number of signs that seemed to indicate the owner was having trouble maintaining the inn. It had a “worn” appearance beyond what would normally be expected for a well-maintained historic building..Projects such as replacing and painting a set of porch supports were incomplete, and there seemed to be far too much work around the property for the sole visible employee. Bottom line: The William Seward Inn was probably once a nice place to stay, but it appears that it has recently been allowed to run down. You may be taking a chance by booking a room there.

Beautiful, historic B&B on a peaceful setting. Our room was comfortable (the bed was nothing short of luxurious) and breakfast was good. If you're coming to the area for a wine tour, I highly recommend this place.

Comfortable, clean rooms. The owners Sam and Kay are kind gentle people who are both great cooks. The were very accommodating to my work schedule even placing a small refrigerator in my room for my connivence! Their care for the guests extends to this historic building- always working hard to restore and improve a beautiful B&B.