Weekend Trip to Seneca Allegany (Salamanca, NY)

We went to Seneca Allegany (Salamanca, NY) recently with another couple. This is an Indian Casino with a very nice resort style hotel, kindof near the middle of nowhere but (for better or worse) not too long of a drive for us. (Surprisingly, Mrs. Q pulled up to my office building right on time Friday after work, but realistically I gotta give credit to the other couple that went with us).

Room:

The room was very comfortable, with a nice large bathroom and shower. Check-in around 7 pm on a Friday evening was fairly smooth and easy, although someone was tieing up both desk clerks for 5 minutes with a silly issue about purchasing/billing a bottle of champagne to their room. Hey here's an idea: ONE of the clerks should have dealt with that while the other attended to the line of folks waiting patiently behind us to check-in.

Buffet:

The Friday night Crab leg and Prime Rib buffet was good at ~ $ 25 per person. We had thought about going to the cafe on the 2nd floor, but all the locals told us they were known for being very slow and there was a long line even at 8 pm.

Rates:

I don't know why all the other hotel options in the area also had high prices, but they did, and I didn't see anything real close by. This Casino hotel was right in the middle of the pack. Maybe the rates between the summer and ski seasons are lower. ( Once we were back home, I was able to find an old small lodge/steakhouse, AND if we have a chance to head back, I'd check that place out).

Misc Things to improve:

1) Hey, this wouldn't be WoO if I didn't mention that they should have a couple of Video Poker games north of 99 % return !

2) Post the prices of the buffet AT the buffet so you know how much it will be before waiting in line.

3) Give the desk clerks a list of the buffet prices so they can provide the CORRECT answer when they are asked.

4) Provide some decent crab leg cracker thingies.

5) There is a resort fee of ~ $ 15 per night. For that, the plastic bottle of water in the hotel room is still $ 2. Seriously ? Doesn't the mgt there know how cheap and stingy that makes them look ? I would think they would want to avoid that reputation at a casino.

6) Put some brochures of local attractions in the lobby. We stumbled onto the train museum in Salamanca (which otherwise seemed pretty depressed downtown) and loved it.

Misc Nice Touches:

1) Coffee maker in room had decaf and regular.

2) Refrigerator in room.

3) Wi-fi in room had pretty decent speed.

4) When we checked in, there was a fun little booth set-up where you could try a small taste of some new Jack Daniels products. Nice touch.

5) Like Vegas, alcoholic drinks in the casino are complimentary. The drink service was pretty good.

6) Easy parking in the parking garage.

7) Easy to get to right off the highway, but in a nice scenic area next to a mountain.

Other things to do

We enjoyed the train museum in town.

There is also a state park nearby.

Mailer

We got our first mailer for a little bit of free slot play. It was $ 20 for Mrs. Q and $ 10 for me. Since we don't live close by, I think they coulda/shoulda been a little more generous. This wouldn't cover round trip gas money. Woulda also been nice to have a good rate on the resort hotel.

Bottom-line:

We would go back for a weekend getaway sometime. It would be nice to see the fall leaf colors, but that is a busy time for us. So, sometime.

Should've said something. I was in that park not but 8min away. Could've showed you around =p

You're right in that it's depressed with seemingly not much to do. Were you city folk (not sure if you are), I'd probably be at a loss of what to tell you. Country folk, the options are deep. You have Allegany State Park (ASP) right there, where many nature oriented activities can be found. You can fish, hike any number of 100+ trails, visit the park museum, ride the many paved bike trails, take guided tours of the wetlands, rent a canoe / paddle boat / paddle board and float the lake, spot for wildlife (very good chance to spot a black bear, plus numerous deer / fox / coon), visit Thunder Rocks, navigate some underground Bear Caves (bring a flashlight and sweatshirt, even in the dead of summer), and on and on the list goes. The Ohi:yo (Allegany River) is right there, which is great for kayaking or canoeing. Rt 86 parallels it for miles, so you can drive upstream, embark, and float back almost to the casino's front door. There's also good fishing for trout, walleye, and pike there, depending on time of year. Just down the road is Lake Perfidy, and the Kinzua Dam which creates it isn't that far off. Absolutely gorgeous drive around the resevoir for the Olds in a convertible, and just as fun for the mid-life crisis guys in a sporty car. Just on the other side of ASP is Bradford, PA, home of Zippo / Case and features the Zippo Museum. That's about a 30min drive if you go through the park (max speed 35mph) or 15min if you buzz down Rt 86 to Rt 219. And there's one hell of an ATV park in Rue, PA, which is about 30-40min away. You can ride all day and barely hit the same trail twice.

Sorry for the wall of text. Just figured I'd list some stuff, as out-of-towners who just wing it probably just see a sleepy town with nothing to do.

Quote: JohnnyQ

We went to Seneca Allegany (Salamanca, NY) recently with another couple. This is an Indian Casino with a very nice resort style hotel, kindof near the middle of nowhere but (for better or worse) not too long of a drive for us.

"Lots of editing here for space" by 2F

The room was very comfortable, with a nice large bathroom and shower.

The Friday night Crab leg and Prime Rib buffet was good at ~ $ 25 per person.

I don't know why all the other hotel options in the area also had high prices, but they did, and I didn't see anything real close by. This Casino hotel was right in the middle of the pack.

7) Easy to get to right off the highway, but in a nice scenic area next to a mountain.

Other things to do

We enjoyed the train museum in town.

There is also a state park nearby.

Mailer

We got our first mailer for a little bit of free slot play. It was $ 20 for Mrs. Q and $ 10 for me. Since we don't live close by, I think they coulda/shoulda been a little more generous. This wouldn't cover round trip gas money.

We would go back for a weekend getaway sometime. It would be nice to see the fall leaf colors, but that is a busy time for us. So, sometime.

Nice write-up.
Since you didn't mention (tax reasons?) I assume you walked away a winner. Fine job.

If you like craft brews, Southern Tier Brewing is on the way near Jamestown NY and the little town of Ellicottville, about 10 miles north of Salamanca, also is a nice little village with a good brewery called Ellicottville Brewing

Quote: zoobrew

If you like craft brews, Southern Tier Brewing is on the way near Jamestown NY and the little town of Ellicottville, about 10 miles north of Salamanca, also is a nice little village with a good brewery called Ellicottville Brewing

OMG, get the Sweet Child O' Swine (Southern Tier). Best pulled pork sandwich you'll ever have. They also run frequent tours; I'd suggest tagging along. It's very cool to see the process. I've been a number of times (it's one of our stops during hockey tournaments) and that place has grown immensely. Owner just sold it for $XX0,000,000, but the beer and food are still just as good.

Pretty good skiing and golf in Ellicottville as well, depending on time of year of your visit. They've also added stuff to the slopes (Holiday Valley) to open it to summer events, though I have not been. Zip lines and whatnot, I believe. It's not like out west, but it's probably the best skiing in all of the Great Lakes region. ~$50 for a day pass, cheaper on weekdays.

Quote: TwoFeathersATL

Since you didn't mention (tax reasons?) I assume you walked away a winner. Fine job.

Please don't tell me they are taxing losing sessions now !

ALSO to everyone, thanks for the tips on other things to see and do ! Kayaking did occur to me, I haven't dragged out the old "Perception" from behind the shed for quite some time now.

I thought we did pretty good stumbling across the Maple St cafe for breakfast, and the little Train Museum. Both of which I can recommend.

Quote: JohnnyQ

Please don't tell me they are taxing losing sessions now !

ALSO to everyone, thanks for the tips on other things to see and do ! Kayaking did occur to me, I haven't dragged out the old "Perception" from behind the shed for quite some time now.

I thought we did pretty good stumbling across the Maple St cafe for breakfast, and the little Train Museum. Both of which I can recommend.

No taxes on losing sessions, not unless dem Dems win agin. Buy gun now, for later, lots of ammo.

Warning*: Possibly politically incorrect, BUT yet I feel compelled to say:

Yo 2FATL:

Good advice, if the DONALD wins I guess 1 gun and 1 bullet ought to do it. Peace, out.

Pretty sure they have some video poker north of 99 you might have missed it

Thanks, I just checked VPFREE2 again, and saw;

99.07% DJW

...which I don't know much about, strategy-wise.