Backed by (Many!) Big Red Investors, a Famed Ithaca Inn Is Reborn

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More than two dozen alums teamed up to buy and renovate La Tourelle, a venerable boutique hotel and spa on South Hill

By Beth Saulnier

“I love doing renovations,” says Hotelie Lisa Chervinsky ’89. “I love the visionary aspect of it—to be able to walk into a space and see the potential. And there, I immediately saw the potential.”

The property that Chervinsky, who’s both a licensed architect and a lecturer at the Hotel school, found so promising? La Tourelle, the luxury inn and spa on Ithaca’s South Hill.

The hotel is familiar to generations of Cornellians—likely because their parents either stayed there during a campus visit or took them out to eat at one of the fine-dining establishments that existed there in various eras.

And in mid-2024, La Tourelle made local headlines when an investment group comprising a whopping 28 Cornellians formed a partnership to purchase it. It was led by longtime Hotelie pals Joe Lavin ’75 and Bill Minnock ’79, MBA ’83, who both have deep experience in the industry.

Yet another Hotelie—Chervinsky—was tapped to head up design for a major renovation, whose initial phase wound up in late summer 2025.

But even before the sale, Lavin had a decade-long relationship with La Tourelle as an investor in Firelight Camps, a “glamping” operation that leased land behind the inn.

“We had always said to the owners, ‘If you ever want to sell, we’d like to take a look,’” says Lavin.

In mid-2024, La Tourelle made local headlines when an investment group comprising a whopping 28 Cornellians formed a partnership to purchase it.

Adds Minnock: “Having the opportunity to operate both Firelight Camps and the hotel together—we saw tremendous potential for synergy. So from a strategy standpoint, it was easy. And from a personal one, Joe and I are lifelong friends; we’ve always talked about doing a project together, but never had the opportunity.”

Located a mile past Ithaca College from downtown, La Tourelle opened in 1986, with a later expansion bringing its capacity to more than 50 guest rooms.

But even before the inn debuted, a standalone building on the property hosted one of the region's finest eateries: L’Auberge du Cochon Rouge (the “Inn of the Red Pig”), a French restaurant in business from the early 1970s to the mid-’90s.

It was succeeded in the space by another upscale restaurant, popular with visiting family and business travelers on an expense account: John Thomas Steakhouse, which was much lamented when it never reopened following its 2020 pandemic closure.

We had always said to the owners, ‘If you ever want to sell, we’d like to take a look.’

Joe Lavin ’75

The new owners of La Tourelle may eventually lease the building to another restaurateur; in the meantime, it’s used for functions. “We did fix up the outside,” Lavin notes. “It’s repainted and re-landscaped, so your sense of entry to the property is improved.”

Of the 28 Cornellians who invested in the purchase of La Tourelle—whose name translates as “turret” or “little tower”—26 are Hotelies; the others are an Arts & Sciences alum and an MBA.

The two-story lobby got a refresh, including the addition of a large communal table—crafted from a single tree by a local artisan—meant to encourage socializing among the guests.

“La Tourelle had a solid brand and reputation,” Chervinsky observes. “You have to be careful not to change it too much. You want to update it, but you don’t want to turn off the customers who have been loyal to you all these years.”

You have to be careful not to change it too much. You want to update it, but you don’t want to turn off the customers who have been loyal to you all these years.

Lisa Chervinsky ’89

An adjacent bar area—which had been the sort of space where guests could grab a free glass of wine, but didn’t have seats for congregating—was transformed into a bona fide hotel bar.

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(Chervinsky notes that it has the potential to attract locals, especially since there are few nightlife options nearby.)

The bar now includes a 30-seat restaurant that serves not only breakfast for the inn’s guests, but elevated pub-style cuisine at dinner.

“You get a sense of the quality in the transformation, and that gives you great pride,” Minnock says of the reno.

He adds: “It’s hard work, but we like to have fun. As we’ve gone through the process, we’ve had more laughs than you could ever imagine.”

Both past presidents of the Cornell Hotel Society (the school’s alumni association) who’ve served as visiting faculty at their alma mater, Lavin and Minnock have been close friends since they worked at Marriott International in the early 1980s.

Then based in Potomac, MD, they raised their families together, including sharing Christmas Eve festivities.

You get a sense of the quality in the transformation, and that gives you great pride.

Bill Minnock ’79, MBA ’83

Each have multiple Cornellian relatives: Both of Lavin's children are Hotelies, while Minnock’s Big Red clan is more than a dozen strong, including dad William Minnock Jr. ’44, wife Debra Kearl Minnock ’81, and four of their five kids.

Minnock—who lives near Ithaca part of the year—spent decades at Marriott in various leadership roles, while Lavin is a consultant and entrepreneur who owns Vermont’s Norwich Inn, located about a mile from another Ivy: Dartmouth.

“We have deep roots into the Cornell community, and I’ve always wanted to have a business in this town,” Lavin says, noting that he first tried to develop a hotel in Ithaca—on Inlet Island, next to the Boatyard Grill—two decades ago, but it languished in the municipal planning process.

And while the number of hotel rooms in the Ithaca area is now at an all-time high, both Lavin and Minnock point out that La Tourelle has some attributes that set it apart.

It’s situated in a bucolic spot, on 15 acres of land adjacent to Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park. It’s got a full-service spa, complete with treatment rooms, relaxation spaces, and locally sourced products and gifts.

It offers both conventional hotel rooms and—for glamping fans—luxury furnished tents. And location-wise, it’s three miles to downtown, four to the Cornell campus.

“Ithaca has incredible natural beauty, the gorges, the connection with the two universities, such a great history,” Chervinsky observes. “And in hospitality, a boutique hotel should always have a strong sense of place.”

Top: Part of the renovated lobby. (Provided)

Published October 7, 2025

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Comments

1. 

   Linda L Feuz

   8 Oct, 2025

   We three cousins SO enjoyed our stay at the Yellow Barn in July…such a beautiful setting to stroll around! Plenty of places on the grounds to sit and bask in the quiet. The gorgeous bar area had us thoroughly enjoying simple, but tasty supper fare. Friendly, helpful staff from “Welcome” to “Come back again”! Hope to do just that, LaTourelle!!

   Reply

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