It depends on why and where you need to be in/near Ithaca. I am a big fan of The Statler Hotel on Cornell's campus, which is run by Cornell's Hotel School. It's basically a student-run hotel, where many of the Hotel School students gain real-hand experience by working at the hotel. I've stayed there a few times myself, very convenient location if you need to be on Cornell's campus:

http://www.statlerhotel.cornell.edu/rooms

Not sure what you like in terms of hotels, but people swear by Taughannock Farms Inn. I've only had dinner there and thought that it was lovely. It's about a 10 minute drive from Cornell's campus. It's a small B&B with a small number of rooms near the entrance to Taughannock Falls Park (very beautiful waterfall...now that I am back on the West Coast, I miss seeing the Fall leaves, which are beautiful in Ithaca). More information at:

http://www.t-farms.com/about.htm

Since this is FT and you might want to get points from a chain hotel. The Holiday Inn is right in the middle of downtown and it's a decent Holiday Inn. I stayed there a few years ago as it was going through its renovation. There are also a few other cheaper chain hotels further from campus (such as Ramada and Super 8). The map below might be helpful for you to choose a hotel:

http://www.chess.cornell.edu/aboutus...els%207105.pdf

Personally, I would go for the B&B option, as there are some great ones (I've been told) in the area. More information about other B&B's at:

http://www.bbithaca.com/

First of all, I would suggest a stroll through Cornell's campus. The waterfalls are nice and there is much to see on the campus itself. Definitely make a stop at the Dairy Bar and try Cornell's own ice cream. There's also a modern art museum on campus.

You can then grab a bagel at my favorite place in Ithaca -- Collegetown Bagels -- as you stroll through Collegetown. Walking down the fairly steep hill that I walked up and down for 2 years when I lived near the bottom of the hill, you will get to downtown Ithaca. The Commons has a bunch of smaller shops, but not much to see, IMHO. One highlight is the famous Moosewood Resturant at 215 N Cayuga in the Dewitt Building(http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com), which should be one of your required stops for a great vegetarian meal.

I've also been told that the wine tours are great, although I am not much of a wine drinker myself. I would also recommend the aforementioned tour of Taughannock Falls Park...I took my mother to dinner at Taughannock Farms Inn and just thought that it was, as they say in Ithaca, gorgeous. I am not much of an outdoors person, but there obviously are a lot of outdoorsy things that you can do. I've never been inside Ithaca College myself, but I know that there's quite a bit to see there as well.

Feel free to PM me with questions...now you got me wanting to plan a trip back.