a cornell alum gave us a heads up to book hotels asap:
freshman orientation: aug 18-21, parents depart on aug 19
http://ccengagement.cornell.edu/new-student-programs/orientation/august-orientation
parents weekend: oct 27-29
http://ccengagement.cornell.edu/new-student-programs/families-of-new-students/first-year-parents-weekend
That’s actually a good heads-up, believe it or not.
+1 to this. Don’t use the hotel websites … call them. The Statler books very fast for both weekends (likely) full. Next best bets are Mariott Courtyard (at the airport) and Ithaca Hotel downtown (IIRC it is a Hilton?) … there are also other options, but not name brand and not as close.
We booked hotels for both last year as soon as DD was admitted and booked move-in weekend for this year when we moved DD in on the hope that DS would also choose to attend and he has (!)
FWIW we would recommend an alternate weekend to parents’ weekend … that tends to be overpriced and crowded and most of the lovely Fall foliage is already over by late Oct. Consider any other Oct weekend as a potentially reasonable (and cheaper) alternative.
Finally, if you’re flying in/out of Ithaca, HIGHLY recommend you allow yourself at least 90-120 min connection on the way out - those flights are chronically late in the colder months and in our experience, you’ll eat up a chunk of layover time waiting to leave ITH.
If you’ve got specific Cornell parent Qs, feel free to PM me … My DW is class of 91, and I am Grad School 93; we’re P 20 as well as 21.
I agree! I made reservations weeks ago at some of the local hotels (wishfully thinking), and was given the heads-up by someone at Cornell to call the Statler on decision day to get on the list for reservations (apparently they don’t take reservations prior to this). My husband made that call at 5:01 and they said they would get back to us in a few days to confirm.
Hey @Talltim, I’m class of '91 too! (DH is '89, my dad is '57 and my kids are '21 and hopefully '23!)
Echoing @TallTim’s comment about considering a weekend other than FYPW. Hotel and restaurant reservations are impossible and it can be quite cold by the end of October. Also, it is a long stretch from Aug 20th drop-off to fall break on Columbus Day weekend. To then visit two weeks later and then the students are home three weeks after FYPW for Thanksgiving. Late September might be a less harried time to visit.
Congrats to all who were admitted last night!
FYI - there is a new Marriott opening in Ithaca downtown this Nov. Not sure when they are going to open for reservations.
Great advice. Thanks!
Parent of D '19 here. You cannot book online for the Statler for move in weekend or parent’s weekend. You need to call directly because they block out the rooms for these weekends. When my D was accepted ED, we called and they asked for her name and cross checked the ED list before they would reserve a room for us.
Also, if you are flying your kid home for Thanksgiving out of Ithaca/Tompkins airport, book that flight sooner rather than later. I think I booked in June or July for Thanksgiving break. It’s more expensive, but the holiday weekend is short and it’s easier to fly in and out of Ithaca. Only thing is, the flights are small and they book up fast. This just passed Thanksgiving, my D’s flight was cancelled and they rebooked her for the next day and that was cancelled also, so she couldn’t get home at all. She ended up staying on campus for the weekend, which was such a bummer. This is the chance you take when you live far away…
^ I wouldn’t book out of ithaca airport during the colder months because that tiny airport does not have de-icing equipment. My D flies out of Syracuse. It’s also a lot less expensive if you’re flying across country.
yes, @Renomamma, but Ithaca is in some ways easier to fly out of if you just have a few short days. Either way, let’s all agree that Ithaca is hard to get in and out of!. My D is going to Syracuse to take the Amtrak tomorrow for winter break. Makes more sense since she has six weeks off.
That’s nonsense. Of course ITH has de-icing equipment: no airline would fly there in the Winter without de-icing equipment being available.
For more reasonably-priced hotel accommodations, look for award-night availability at the recently opened Holiday Inn Express in Ithaca. When available, award nights go for just 20,000 IHG Rewards points – which can be purchased from IHG for $230 all the time, and for as little as $115 when IHG runs one of their periodic 100% bonus points sales.
For visits to Ithaca between January 30 and April 30, 2017, the Ithaca Holiday Inn Express is on IHG’s PointBreaks list for that period; award nights will cost just 5,000 points – an absolute bargain for a decent hotel in Ithaca. The new PointBreaks list will be available for booking sometime on Monday, January 30.