Buffalo's newest hotel celebrated its official grand opening Wednesday. After extensive renovations, one of the city's historic mansions is now a boutique inn.
Following a soft opening in the spring, an official ribbon cutting was held outside the "Inn Buffalo off Elmwood" at 619 Lafayette Avenue Thursday. The hotel features nine upscale suites with modern amenities in an historic 1898 mansion
Proprietor Joseph Lettieri says as of September, it was rated the number one hotel in Buffalo on TripAdvisor.
"We have upscale luxurious hotel-style suites, call it a boutique if you will, but we're situated in an historic mansion with the intimacy of a private residence," Lettieri said.
The Lettieris purchased the former mansion of entrepreneur H.H. Hewitt at a city auction three years ago for $183,000 and invested substantially in restoring the property. Lettieri calls it a "preservation in progress."