New hotels in Buffalo

Buffalo's recent hotel openings run through adaptive reuse: a National Historic Landmark former psychiatric hospital, a 1913 office tower, and the top three floors of a new mixed-use build in the Theater District. All three opened between 2017 and 2023, and none has a confirmed pipeline successor yet: Buffalo's next opening, if any, isn't dated as of today, leaving these three restorations as the current story for visitors choosing where to stay.

What to do

A weekend in Buffalo

Walk Elmwood Village's stretch of Elmwood Avenue for locally made shops and restaurants, then spend the afternoon at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, which reopened in 2023 at nearly double its previous size and includes the Cornelia restaurant beneath an almost 30-foot glass mosaic by artist Firelei Báez. In the evening, Canalside, built around the remains of the original 1825 terminus of the Erie Canal, offers waterfront dining, boat tours and the Buffalo Heritage Carousel a short walk from downtown's hotels.

A full week

With more time, the Darwin D. Martin House, a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie-style complex built between 1903 and 1905 and considered one of the architect's most complete surviving projects, is worth a guided tour for anyone interested in his philosophy of a home as an integrated work of art. Niagara Falls, New York is about a 25-minute drive north for a day trip covering both cities, and Buffalo's own historic districts extend well beyond Elmwood Village into neighborhoods worth a slower architectural walk.

Where to stay

Richardson Olmsted Campus, near the medical campus

The Richardson Hotel occupies the same 88 rooms that first opened as Hotel Henry in 2017, inside H.H. Richardson's landmarked former psychiatric hospital on the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed campus at 444 Forest Avenue. Developer Douglas Jemal took over the ground lease in 2022 and reopened it independently in September 2023 after Hotel Henry's 2021 closure; in July 2025 the non-profit Richardson Center Corporation, which owns the campus, brought in Buffalo Lodging Associates, the hotel division of Benderson Development, as the new operator, with the hotel continuing to operate without interruption through the change.

Downtown, inside the Curtiss Building

Curtiss Hotel opened in July 2017 at 210 Franklin Street, inside the landmarked 1913 Harlow C. Curtiss Building, designed by Buffalo architect Paul F. Mann for attorney and real-estate investor Harlow Clarke Curtiss, joining Choice Hotels' independent-leaning Ascend Hotel Collection. The 68-room boutique property, across seven room styles with Stearns & Foster bedding and Crestron touchscreen room controls, pairs its terra-cotta-clad office-tower shell with Chez Ami restaurant, the region's only revolving bar, and the rooftop VUE Lounge, near the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center and the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus.

Theater District: Aloft Buffalo Downtown

Aloft Buffalo Downtown opened in April 2019 inside 500 Pearl, a 12-story mixed-use tower built by Ellicott Development, its first hotel in the heart of downtown Buffalo, at Franklin and Tupper streets, on the northern edge of downtown's Theater District. The project also restored the site's grand ballroom and 300-seat Forbes Theater for events; the 110-room hotel occupies the building's top three floors above apartments, offices and parking, with an indoor pool, a rooftop bar and an eight-lane bowling alley shared with the rest of the tower, and rooms start from $180.

Which hotel for your trip

Travelers who want architecture as the destination

The Richardson Hotel's setting inside H.H. Richardson's landmarked campus, with grounds laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, suits travelers for whom the building itself is the main draw.

Downtown business travelers

Curtiss Hotel's Franklin Street address near the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center and Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus is the practical downtown pick.

Travelers who want nightlife and amenities in one building

Aloft Buffalo Downtown's Theater District location and shared bowling alley, pool and rooftop bar suit a livelier, amenity-heavy stay.

Frequently asked questions

What was The Richardson Hotel called before 2023?

Hotel Henry, Curio Collection by Hilton, which operated in the same building and rooms from 2017 until its closure in February 2021.

Is Curtiss Hotel new construction?

No: it occupies the landmarked 1913 Harlow C. Curtiss Building, a former office tower converted into a hotel when it opened in July 2017.

What building is Aloft Buffalo Downtown inside?

500 Pearl, a 12-story mixed-use tower combining the hotel with apartments, office space and parking at Franklin and Tupper streets.

Who designed the Richardson Olmsted Campus grounds?

Frederick Law Olmsted, whose landscape design surrounds H.H. Richardson's original 1870s asylum buildings, now home to The Richardson Hotel.

How far is Niagara Falls from Buffalo's hotels?

About a 25-minute drive north.

Has The Richardson Hotel changed operators more than once?

Yes: it opened as Hotel Henry in 2017, closed in 2021, reopened independently under developer Douglas Jemal in 2023, and changed operators again in July 2025 when the non-profit campus owner brought in Buffalo Lodging Associates, with the hotel continuing to operate throughout each transition.