Oberlin Hotel Tips by grandmaR

Oberlin Inn (7 North Main St ): Honeymoon Hotel Oberlin Inn Review

I stayed at the "new" Inn in 1959 for my graduation when my new husband and I drove out to Oberlin after our wedding and stayed in the Inn. My sister and parents drove out separately, and my sister stayed in my old dorm room.

I think my parents also stayed at the Oberlin Inn. I may also have stayed there in 1969 for my 10th reunion with my husband and 3 children.

Address: 7 North Main St

Comparison: about average

Phone: 440-775-1111

Theme: Hotel

Oberlin Inn: It's the Inn or the Next Town Oberlin Inn Review

The Oberlin Inn is the only place to stay in Oberlin other than the Shurtleff B&B or a dorm.

It is a small inn - only about 65 rooms. It is completely booked at some times of year. There are no rooms available in the fall when school starts, few rooms on weekends, and Memorial Day weekend when graduation is held was completely booked up for Memorial Day for 2004, and seems to be booked for 2005 as well.

The first time I stayed there was in the fall of 1953 in the old building (see insets). My room looked out on the Apollo Theatre.

It is obvious that I do not know what the Inn is like today 45 years later, but I cannot imagine that it would be anything but a comfortable place to stay if you could get a space.

The Inn says on their website that they retain the character of a "quaint historic hotel". I think that is a bit of hype as it is nothing like the original Inn where I stayed in 1953.

Unique Qualities: The rates vary according to the day of the week. Weekends are more expensive than weekdays. Summer is cheaper than winter when school is in session.

They have free on-site parking (no small thing during graduation week), an onsite restaurant, cable TV and phones with internet access.

If you want to attend a reunion or graduation, and you can't get a place in the Inn, you have to stay in Elyria, Amherst (8-10 miles away) or in a dorm.

Dorm rooms are not heated (in May) or air conditioned (bring a fan), there are no elevators (3 floors), no 'ensuite' bathrooms (you go down the hall to the toilets, showers and sinks) and only single beds. There is only onstreet parking so you have to tote your luggage from whereever you can manage to find a parking place. The Oberlin Inn would be a bargain at any price, if you could get a room.

Address: 7 N Main St, Oberlin, OH 44074

Comparison: about average

Directions: From Northeast: I-80 to Exit 152 North Olmsted/Cleveland; Ohio Route 10 West to Oberlin or I-90 West to Route 58 South. (Approximately 6 miles)

Other Contact: (440) 775-1111

Phone: Reservations: (800) 376-4173

Price: US$80-120

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.oberlininn.com/

Oberlin College Dorms: A College Experience

Since the only place to stay in Oberlin is the Oberlin Inn, the majority of the reunion folks are put up in dorms when school is not in session. (That's why the reunions are at graduation instead of some less traveled part of the year.) These accommodations are very inexpensive ($58 for two).

When I was a student, the men's dorms were around this pictured quadrangle on the north campus although some of the men lived in private homes. Women were housed on the south and east and all the dining halls were on the first floors of the women's dorms.

The first men's dorm was Noah Hall which was constructed in the Georgian style of architecture. The Men's Campus project, as approved by the Faculty and the Board of Trustees in 1928 and 1929, set aside for the purpose somewhat more than one-half of the block bounded by Professor, Lorain, Woodland, and Union Streets. The plans called for the erection of eleven houses of residence of various sizes, accommodating approximately five hundred men. The aim of the Men's Campus plan, as adopted, is formulated as follows: "That Oberlin shall have a Men's Campus on which the men will live together in buildings owned and operated by the College, a campus on which the life of men can be organized and developed in such a way as to stimulate scholarly ambition and to create an active masculine social atmosphere."

Now, the College's residential hall system offers 11 traditional dormitories and nine program houses. The halls are grouped into five communities, each with faculty and staff associates, who take meals with students and plan community-based activities. First-year students can choose to live in first-year-only housing, where resident academic advisors focus specifically on the needs of entering students. There are no fraternities or sororities at Oberlin.

Unique Qualities: Noah Hall was named in honor of Mr. Andrew H. Noah of Akron, Ohio. For seven years he was a member of the Board of Trustees, who contributed $100,000 towards its construction. Mr. C.W. Frank of Akron was the architect. The building was erected by Crowell and Little of Cleveland. Ground was broken for its construction February 16, 1932, and the hall was first used in the fall of 1932. The total cost, including furnishings and equipment, was $166,000.

The building is 172 feet long by 42 feet wide, three stories in height, with a basement of 10 ½ feet and a finished attic. It faces toward the east, opening on to a stone terrace. Noah Hall is divided vertically into three sections, each section with separate entrance and individual lounge. Two of the sections accommodate thirty men each, and the third one, twenty-five. Today, Noah houses ninety-seven upper class, co-ed students.

Most these dorms are three stories. They have heating during the winter but the furnaces are turned off in the spring so bring an extra blanket. There is no A/C so it is recommended that you bring a fan. Each room has a LAN connection to the college network and a phone, a single bed, a desk and chair and a window. There are built in wardrobes and dressers. Our room had only one mirror. There are no elevators.

Each section has a lounge and there are three bathrooms on each floor and a TV lounge in each dorm.

Comparison: least expensive

Directions: Andrew Hale Noah Hall is one of the dorms in this quad and it is at 167 Woodland Street

Price: US$20-40

Theme: Other

Website: http://www.oberlin.edu/campusmap/North.htm