The Sagamore Hotel

My family and I just got back from the Adirondacks, where we stayed at the Sagamore hotel. We had stayed in a sister hotel of theirs in Florida and had had a fabulous time. We were impressed by both the hotel and the graciousness of the staff. While at the Florida hotel, we saw information for the Sagamore. The hotel looked elegant and we were so excited to go there that we invited another 5 family members to come. And then another 4 showed up. Nice unexpected family reunion.

So after flying and driving for hours we arrived at the Sagamore, which is truly a grand looking hotel. It is like staying at an elegant older estate on the water. The view is absolutely spectacular. So far so good.

The Rooms

We checked in and went to our suite, which looked like an updated apartment. The size was great. There was a sitting area leading to a long hallway where there was a modern bathroom and a room with 2 queen size beds. The sitting room had a huge tv and the bedroom had a nice sized one.

Our relatives stayed in the cottages on property,near the hotel. Although they were told that all 5 would fit comfortably there was just no way that it was going to work. They had only 2 queen beds and were told a cot would fit in there with them but there was just no way. Two of the family had to physically wait outside while they attempted to put the cot in because it was just too tight. They were eventually moved to a bigger cabin.

Our First Night

The first night that we were there they had one of the worst thunderstorms of the year. It was amazing to watch. Unfortunately, since 99 percent of their restaurants require walking outside to get to, their one restaurant in the hotel was packed and so was the bar.

The bartender kept commenting that she should have told everyone that the blender was broken. She was working fairly quickly but was abrupt with customers and had an attitude if you did not know what you wanted to drink (this was before handing out a menu).

The restaurant management was unorganized and they did not take reservations. They told us the wait would be 15 minutes but it took them 45 minutes to seat us. We were seated outside on the covered patio by ourselves even though there were plenty of tables open in side which was fine except for all of the flies and the blasting music from the wedding downstairs. The wait staff, on the other hand were very friendly and efficient. That was the saving grace.

We made the most of it by singing and letting the kids dance since we had the entire patio to ourselves.

Day 2

Our second day we went to breakfast in the same restaurant. Again the front of the house staff were disorganized but the staff in the restaurant were wonderful, as was the buffet. The buffet is huge and has pretty much anything you could possibly want, including pancake stations, waffle and omelette stations.

Next came our favorite part of the trip, we all rented boats and went tubing on Lake George. It is absolutely breath taking. The hotel staff actually helps you to get the boat out and helps dock it for you as well. We must have spent 5 hours on the lakes. The kids did not want to get off the boat.

We did come back for lunch at their restaurant on the water. Most of the family enjoyed their meal. I made the mistake of ordering the oysters which were thin as pancakes and tasted a bit funky.

The kids went and ate at the pool side restaurant which they said was pretty good but had a limited menu. The pool itself is 90,000 square feet and overlooks the lake.

We then went out on the boat again and had a great time.

Dining Out

We asked the concierge for a family friendly restaurant and were sent to one where you had to walk through a condominium complex and park at the top of a hill to get to. If the restaurant had actually been good, it would have been fine. The waiter ,I will say, was great. He was very friendly and entertaining.

Unfortunately, he also gave one of the kids a steak knife for their bread which she ended up cutting her hand with. On top of that, half of the food was inedible.

Our last morning

We packed up, had the buffet again and headed to town to enjoy the day. The town of Bolton is charming. The people are nice. The shops are cute. The restaurants have friendly staff. A nice way to end this vacation.

Final Analysis

We would definitely go back to Lake George and to Bolton but unless the Sagamore ups there game there is no way that we would spend another $3000 for two nights (without food or the boat or any other amenities) at this hotel.