For the first time in more than four years, the Nittany Lion Inn is open to the public.
The 93-year-old building on the Penn State campus has undergone construction for the past 16 months, and officially reopened on Tuesday. (Soft openings for the hotel’s new restaurants were held last week).
The hotel closed at the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and was temporarily used as student housing for the following academic year. In 2022, after studying options for the Nittany Lion Inn and the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, the university sold the two campus hotel buildings to Scholar Hotel Group. Penn State retains ownership of the land, with Scholar holding a long-term ground lease.
Since early 2023, Scholar Hotels — which in State College also owns Scholar Hotel, Hyatt Place, Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn — has undertaken extensive renovations designed to modernize the iconic building while retaining its historic character.
Onward State’s photographers were granted a sneak peek at the new and improved hotel.
The most substantial change is found in the entryway. Multiple walls were knocked down to create an open layout as guests make their way to the front desk. Gary Brandeis, CEO and founder of the Scholar Hotel Group and a Penn State alumnus, said the goal was to make the space feel academic and welcoming.
Harpers, the long-running downtown State College clothier, opened a small satellite shop in the lobby that will feature exclusive items only available at the Nittany Lion Inn.
The courtyard located in the center of the Inn is now visible and accessible from the lobby. It was previously only visible to the guests with rooms facing it.
Four new restaurants are opening at the Nittany Lion Inn. To the right of the front desk is a new coffee shop, Dear Joe that is open from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. Dear Joe offers casual and fresh breakfast and lunch items.
Formerly known as Whisker’s, the new bar restaurant Triplett’s will serve casual food as well as cocktails. The restaurant is named in honor of the first Black student to earn a varsity letter on Penn State’s football team, Wallace (Wally) Triplett.
The soft opening menu included appetizers such as baba ghanoush, French onion soup and chicken wings; mixed greens and tuna poke salads; “small but bold” items like buffalo meatballs, garlic jumbo shrimp, crab cakes, lamb kofte and braised pork belly; burgers; a sous vide cilantro chicken breast sandwich; and desserts.
The drink menu features specialty and non-alcoholic cocktails, wines by the glass and a variety of beers, including local favorites from Robin Hood Brewing, Boal City Brewing and Axemann Brewing.
Lionne and 1855 Lounge, found toward the back of the hotel, are the fine dining restaurants. Lionne features an extensive wine list to accompany the high-end dining experience. The soft-opening menu featured entrees such as salmon filet over choucroute, scallops, linguini with morel and porcini mushroom sauce, filet mignon, chicken breast over risotto, 30-day aged 16-ounce ribeye steak, arugula gnocchi with chicken meatballs, and assorted garden vegetables over sweet corn bisque and spinach polenta.
Among several starters is lobster bisque, a longtime favorite at the Inn’s former Dining Room. Salad options include Caesar, mixed greens and the Signature Lionne Salad with Maine lobster, duck confit, butternut squash, cucumber, radish, microgreens and frisee and truffle balsamic dressing.
The room has aspects of the original 1930s construction that create an elegant atmosphere for the patrons. There is an outdoor patio attached to The Lionne for additional seating.
The 1855 Lounge is located in the space that was once the Alumni Lounge. The room is equipped with a bar specializing in bourbon and whiskey. There is a humidor in the lounge as well.
When booking a room at the Nittany Lion Inn there are two categories. Standard rooms are available with two queen beds or one king bed. There are also two styles of suites, king suites and king junior suites.
Each room has a custom Nittany Lion door knocker to greet the guests. The wallpaper found in each room is custom as well, with hidden lions in the pattern.
The Nittany Lion Inn will officially be open to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Rooms are available to book at thenittanylioninn.com and reservations for Lionne are found on OpenTable.
StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this article.
