The redeveloped Hilltop on Route 20 is aiming to open in late November 2026, about five years after its last night of service. Part of the reason it took this long is that Woodbine Hospitality Group decided to keep the old Cedar House bowling structure instead of clearing the lot and starting fresh. The developer has said that preservation work caused delays. It also shaped what's coming back: a project that grew smaller on paper and now centers on the bowling hall. The hotel is the smallest piece of it.
Sean Mott operated Cedar House and Hilltop for almost 32 years. The property was sold to Syracuse-based Woodbine in 2021, and syracuse.com reported at the time that it expected to close around November 14 of that year. The site's history goes back to the 1960s. So almost anyone in town who bowled a birthday party or stopped in after a game knows the place.
What the Delay Was Paying For
The two halves of the old property ended up on different paths. The restaurant portion was torn down. The bowling building was kept, and that's where the schedule ran into trouble.
Woodbine President Tom Fernandez told WSYR that preserving the past required "extra engineering." The old building had no foundation, so crews had to pour a new foundation wall and do a lot of shoring. Saving the structure also saved the wooden beams. In Fernandez's words to WSYR, those are the beams "many people will remember."
Fernandez said that engineering caused project delays, and the opening date has moved more than once. In WSYR's March 10, 2026 update, Fernandez said he had hoped to open the previous fall, and he was then aiming for summer 2026. Interior walls, plumbing, and electrical were each about 90 percent finished at that point. Summer passed, and the target is now late November.
A Smaller Project Than the One Approved in 2022
When Woodbine brought the project to the Town of Skaneateles Planning Board in March 2022, the proposal called for 26 hotel rooms and a 100-seat restaurant. The board approved the special permit and site plan on April 19, 2022, with conditions. The version now being finished is smaller in both of those areas.
| 2022 Planning Board proposal | Current plan, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel rooms | 26 | 20 |
| Restaurant seats | 100 | About 60, plus a bar |
The 20-room count comes from Hilton's current listing for the hotel. The roughly 60 seats and bar for the restaurant, called Sprig, come from Fernandez in WSYR's reporting.
Twenty rooms is a small hotel by any measure. Woodbine's other recent Skaneateles opening shows the difference. Skaneateles Fields Resort & Spa opened in fall 2025 with 88 rooms. Its restaurant, Fields, was named one of the 25 best hotel restaurants in the world by Travel + Leisure in September. Hilltop is on a different scale, and the uses that have stayed in the plan match what made the old place part of local life.
Built Around the Bowling Hall
Woodbine describes Hilltop Skaneateles as "a gathering place for a new generation." According to The Citizen and WSYR, it will have four parts:
- Hilltop Coffee, serving specialty drinks and grab-and-go breakfast.
- Hilltop Social, a recreation hall with duckpin bowling, golf simulators, billiards, darts, TVs for sports, and its own food menu. It also has a taproom pouring New York State beers, wines, and ciders. WSYR reported four bowling lanes, three golf simulators, and an arcade, with the beer tasting room run by 42 North Brewing of Western New York.
- Sprig, which Woodbine calls "an elevated restaurant featuring globally inspired cuisine and a thoughtfully curated wine program." Hilton's description mentions seasonal ingredients and inventive cocktails. WSYR reported plenty of outdoor dining.
- The hotel, 20 rooms that WSYR said will be known as the Hilltop Lofts. Hilton lists it in its Outset Collection at 813 W. Genesee Street Road.
The town's 2022 approval set the outer limits on hours. Restaurant and bar service may run from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on weekdays and until 12:30 a.m. on weekends. Bowling and other indoor recreation must end by 12:30 a.m. The approval also prohibits outdoor weddings and similar outdoor gatherings. These are permit limits, not posted hours. Even so, they show what the town signed off on: an early coffee crowd and evening bowling, with no outdoor event space.
The public record from 2022 points the same way. At the March 15, 2022 hearing, support for the project included three points: a better look for the gateway into town, a place for families to gather, and more lodging. No one spoke against it, and the applicant said it had received letters of support.
The Dates, and How Firm They Are
There's one firm date so far, and it isn't the one most people will care about. Hilton is accepting hotel reservations starting December 11, 2026. That's the first night guests can book, not an announced grand opening. The late-November target in The Citizen's latest report covers the project as a whole. No separate opening dates have been published for Hilltop Coffee, Hilltop Social, or Sprig.
The kitchen also had open positions recently. A job listing posted September 9, 2026 shows Woodbine hiring an executive chef for Hilltop, with no chef named. Here's how the timeline has moved:
- November 2021: Hilltop Restaurant and Cedar House Lanes close after more than 30 years in business.
- April 19, 2022: The Planning Board approves the redevelopment.
- March 10, 2026: WSYR reports a summer 2026 target, after an earlier fall target was missed.
- September 9, 2026: The executive chef listing is posted.
- Late November 2026: Current target for the overall opening.
- December 11, 2026: First night the hotel is taking reservations.
Where It Lands on the Village's Late-Fall Calendar
If the November target holds, Hilltop will open the same week the village fills up for the holidays. The Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce lists the 33rd Dickens Christmas as opening November 27. Performances run on weekends from noon to 4 p.m., with a shorter Christmas Eve show from noon to 2:30 p.m. The Village Board also approved Skaneateles Sings at the gazebo for November 27.
Before that comes the Chamber's Fall Fest weekend, October 23 through 25. The weekend includes a 10 a.m. trick-or-treat parade on Saturday that starts in the alley at 22 Jordan Street. On Saturday afternoon there's a 2 to 5 p.m. Shop, Sip & Stroll, where a purchase at a participating shop earns a coupon for a cocktail or mocktail. Sunday brings the Howl-O-Ween dog costume contest hosted by the Skaneateles Library, followed by a pumpkin pie contest at the Skaneateles Community Center.
Those events take place downtown. Hilltop is just outside the village on Route 20. So this December, the eating, drinking, and duckpin bowling around the holiday weekends won't all be in the village center. Some of it will move back to the spot where the old Cedar House sat for decades. For more on the town around it, see our Skaneateles neighborhood page.
Changes at gateway sites like Hilltop affect how the whole Route 20 corridor looks and works. When a building gets saved instead of replaced, that's part of the story of the place. If you'd like to talk about what Hilltop's reopening could mean for your corner of Skaneateles, Robert Zaccaria is happy to share what he's following. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
