Long Point State Park - Finger Lakes - 5 min drive - 3.9 km
Long Point Winery - 6 min drive - 5.4 km
Thirsty Owl Wine Company - 50 min drive - 58.7 km
Getting around
Ithaca, NY (ITH-Tompkins Regional) - 44 min drive
Restaurants
Dugans Country Grill - 11 min drive
Aurora Ale & Lager Co. - 6 min drive
Knapp Winery & Restaurant - 44 min drive
Thirsty Owl Wine Company - 50 min drive
Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery - 50 min drive
About this property
Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees
Castle near Cayuga Lake
You can look forward to a firepit, a garden, and a hot tub at Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees. Adventurous travelers may like the kayaking at this castle. Stay connected with free in-room WiFi.
Other perks at this castle include:
Outdoor furniture, a billiards/pool table, and games
A music library, barbecue grills, and smoke-free premises
Books and beach towels
Room features
All guestrooms at Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees feature perks such as air conditioning, as well as amenities like free WiFi and desk chairs.
You will receive an email from the host with check-in and check-out instructions
Pets
Pets not allowed
Children and extra beds
Children are welcome
Note from host: Not suitable for infants
Important information
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Onsite parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Safety features at this property include a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, and a deadbolt lock
This property is managed through our partner, Vrbo. You will receive an email from Vrbo with a link to a Vrbo account, where you can change or cancel your reservation
We should mention
A car is required for transportation to and from this property
Property is also known as
Aura Experience Serenity Hotel Aurora
Aura Experience Serenity Hotel
Aura Experience Serenity Aurora
Aura Experience Serenity
Castle
Aura Opplev Serenity
Aura Experience Serenity
AURA- Experience Serenity Aurora
AURA- Experience Serenity Private vacation home
AURA- Experience Serenity Private vacation home Aurora
Frequently asked questions
Is Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
What time is check-out at Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees?
Check-out is at 11:00 AM.
Where is Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees located?
Situated on a lake, this castle is within a 10-minute walk of Cayuga Lake and Wells College. Long Point State Park - Finger Lakes is 2.4 mi (3.9 km) away.
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Enjoy vacationing in a historic Church! No additional fees Reviews
Reviews
9.6
Exceptional
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travelers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.
My friends and I spent the day at the spa at Inns of Aurora, highly recommend, if you get a treatment you can spend the whole day, amazing. Then 5 of us stayed overnight. The church was wonderful, clean, fully stocked. Wish we could stay another night. There are so many cool things from the massage chairs to the bean bag cloud chairs and the pool table. So recommend staying here, you won't be disappointed!!
Unusual and lovely church re-conceived as welcoming guest house for 8 people. We enjoyed the outdoor seating (although the gas grill may need a refresh) in the shade, the perfect location, the thoughtful supply of towels and dishes. The pool table was a fun activity to supplement Wells College final reunion activities and long walks around Aurora.
Once again we had an amazing time and truly enjoyed the unique experience of staying in a church. Spent the weekend with our adult children and their spouses and lots of fun was had by all. The only suggestion is to have room darkening film put on the angel and loft windows.
This place was better than the description, it was fabulous! It is a comfortable, inviting home with a jacuzzi and steam shower! It still reveals a church setting with a home setting. Our only regret was that we only had one night to enjoy this home in quiet Aurora!
Emily D.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
8/10 Good
Heather S.
10 June 2024
Liked: Check-in, communication, location
On-site manager saved the day...
We woke up to a flat tire on my son's car on check out day. The on-site manager was extremely helpful!
We stayed for a long weekend in conjunction with Cornell's graduation. The property is very unique and fun for a group. The town of Aurora is spectacular and the drive to and from Ithaca is convenient. The check in / check out process was seamless and property was clean and ready for us when we arrived. Patti responds quickly and thoroughly. We are already trying to figure out when we can stay again.
What a great place to stay with a group! Big kitchen if you feel like cooking, large play space and the perfect location. Of course you’re staying in a vintage building so there are little quirks but nothing to limit the enjoyment. Lake right across the street. Owner and property manager both available and helpful.
Having a whole church to yourself is a very unique experience. It was a bit odd but it was also relaxing and comfortable and the kids had a great time. The beauty of the stained glass windows, flooring and ceiling details was hard to beat. If you appreciate older buildings and attention to detail, this is a great place.
Minor negatives are there are a lot of stairs to get luggage in and up to the loft so we left all of our clothes downstairs. The loft doesn't have any privacy, and while I loved the windows, there was no way to open any windows up to get fresh outdoor air.
The living room was very comfy as were the downstairs bedrooms, once we figured out air conditioning. There isn't much to do in Aurora but we had a nice dinner at the Inn and did a lot of exploring around the area. A nice visit overall.
This property is a converted church (obviously) so that comes with its quirkiness as well as charm. Very nicely remodeled but the location has its limitations. Property was clean and well maintained. There were 5 of us - two couples and a single - using 3 of 4 bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms had conveniently located bathrooms. The third did not. Only 2 baths had showers. The third had tub only. If we’d had another person in the 4th bedroom they’d be sharing an inconveniently located bath (with only a tub, no shower) with that same third bedroom. Towel racks for downstairs bath were located outside the bath - could have been more convenient. No closets in the bedrooms as they were all carved out of the former church. There were wall hooks and hangers. A/c cooling was done by individual wall units in different zones so you had to be aware of what to turn on where. Lighting situation was similar. Very dimly lit main area. Loading and unloading had challenges as you’ve got to carry everything from street level up the many steps to the front entrance. Pack light! It served its purpose (we were all in town for a reunion) and was comfortable but a bit pricey. The amenities were nice but I did not think of it as an indulgent retreat
Great space for entertaining guests and family from out of town. Kept our boat at Long Point for the week 5 minutes down the road for quick easy access to the lake.
Our host Patti never contacted us. I had to ask for the passcode from Sara Cowell.
Beautiful building and location. It was a disadvantage to us as it was the route 90 garage sale so traffic was slow. The tub on the bottom floor lacks a plug.
Our family, consisting of two grandparents, two parents, one teen, and two nine-year-olds, had a great time staying here. It was not only unique, but there was a pool table, lots of games, Wii, TV, and bluetooth.
The Finger Lakes have many activities and places to visit and we had a great time hiking and visiting places of historic interest. We were looking for a memorable place to meet for our first gathering after COVID, and this was perfect.
Criticisms? They fixed some of the previous complaints like cleanliness and outlets; the furniture is not pristine, but I would not criticize it, but for this price, they should have mowed the lawn and improved the air conditioning (set to 78, temperature read 83).
This was truly an amazing place to stay. The church was just like the photos. Loved it❤️
Amazing and lots of fun was had by all. House had everything you could need and Sara the tenant was very nice and helpful. Would highly recommend to all.
We had a lovely stay here! The house was interesting because of the history and it was a stone's throw from the lake and the town. Kids were excited there was a Wii to play with and adults loved the steam shower...everyone loved playing pool! The weather was not great but there were lots of games in the house so we had something to do. I would highly recommend this house.
cool ,kitchy place to stay while touring the fingerlakes.
Great stay with just a couple of minor exceptions.
We stayed there in October and found the church very chilly and took a long time to heat up. Kitchen was clean and well stocked with good basic cooking utensils and tools. However, parts of the church were dusty. ]The sofa in the main common space was very old and cushions kept sliding off the frame.
We were looking for a special place to celebrate my parents’ 60th anniversary and my mom’s 82nd birthday. When I read the 5 star reviews for this property I was excited that I found the perfect place for our special family occasion. My intent here is not to leave a bad review but rather to paint an accurate picture of what people can expect so that they can make an informed decision. If we had these facts we would have looked for another property. Here is are the positives and negatives:
Positives:
- Patti is a very responsive host and there was excellent communication before and during our stay. Her intent is to provide a positive experience.
- The property is very unique/one-of-a-kind
- Great location, walk to restaurants, lake access via public doc right across the street, short drive to beautiful state park with beach and playgrounds.
Negatives:
- Lack of thorough cleanliness. This was a big issue since cleanliness is important at any time, but especially during COVID times and especially since we had elderly people with us. We wiped down main surfaces with disinfectant widows and cleaned the stove top prior to cooking. There was dust everywhere and you could tell that the floors in the bathrooms were not cleaned since there were cobwebs around one of the garbage cans, indicating it hasn’t been moved in a long time. The air conditioning filters were full of dirt both inside and out. I do want to note that there was a changeover of property maintenance people in the beginning of our stay, so it is possible that the old property manage dropped the ball - either way there were things that haven’t been properly maintained in some time.
- Many things are due for an update - top oven not working, bottom oven working but door latch broken so door does not close, dishwasher door springs broken so door does not stay opened. Toaster, microwave, and coffee maker all on one surge protector so can only use one appliance at a time otherwise blow a fuse. Not note/warning about that, so we learned the hard way. I also didn’t see any smoke detectors, which was concerning. Property description indicated there is a washer/dryer, but there wasn’t one, so that needs to be updated.
Again, Patti was responsive and tried to make our stay comfortable, so we appreciate that. I would suggest that the layout is not conducive for the very old or very young. The property is beautiful but needs some attention.
Great property, on line pics don’t do it justice, might want to shoot new ones in better lighting.
The only one negative note is the dust. Too many areas that could have been dusted and were not, for example the display bottles on the window still, the wooden molding on the stairs going to the loft...
Would go back though