When I first visited The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, NY some nine summers ago, I found myself in awe — so much so when I sat down to write a review, I didn’t know where to start. Upon digging through my files, and um, the Internet, I found my lede. It was me talking about sitting out on the lodge suite balcony with my then-three-year-old son starring out at the lake as we rocked on our respective Adirondack chairs. As he told me there gazing out, “look at how many water, daddy!” I tell him about that every year we visit Lake George. Last week, my now family of five, wrapped up our tenth summer at this magical place. And, it’s funny there’s still this sense of awe. Oddly enough, I feel drawn to open this review with a conversation I had with my five-year-old daughter. We’re sitting on the balcony — almost identical to the one I sat out with my older son — and she says to me, “look at the sparkles.” She’s referring to the sun’s reflection off the water. That’s some serious Déjà vu. That’s the comfort of coming back here. There’s always the feeling that we’ve been here, but it unlocks new memories every time. So, every trip is the same but so completely different.
Once again, as mentioned, we stayed in the spacious lodge suite, overlooking the lake. The room easily fits our family with a full-service kitchen with countertops, stainless steel appliances, and plenty of cabinet space. There’s also a microwave, full-size refrigerator, and stovetop. And yes, for this excessive coffee drinker, there’s even a Nespresso machine in the room. So, on days and nights we didn’t dine out (more on that later), we had no problem bringing food in and eating inside. Off topic about the room, the walls are still a big hit for my kids. They love the respective moose, deer and fox pics on the wall. Speaking of deer, we saw a trio of them strolling from below our deck one morning. We watched them for a solid five minutes, which for three kids ranging in age from 5-12, is an eternity. What a tranquil moment for all of us. That’s why you go on vacation, right? To escape the noise.
The weather was hot all week so we all took advantage of the zero-edge pool, which is, as the kids from the 1980s and this dad in the 2020s says, quite simply dope. Not too hot, and not too cold — the temp is refreshing. The pool overlooks the lake, and the poolside bar service where you can order drinks and/or take lunch to your seats (they come around to your seats as well) is awesome. Speaking of which, the food – which comes from The Lake House within steps of the pool area — is solid. My lobster roll, though small like most lobster rolls sadly are, was on point. The kids loved the pizza, because, of course, they did. Downstairs from the pool is the magic AKA “the lake.” To the left, is a blocked off area of the lake where you can veg out on tubes. We spent hours — literally hours — there each day. To the right is an area where you can swim and jump right in. Each year, I take a yearly plunge in there. It’s become “a thing.” No one jumps in the lake before daddy takes his first plunge of the year. For someone who tries desperately to live in the moment and often fails (and works and plays on his phone for what seems like 24/7), this is something that is deeply meaningful and personal for me. A jump into cold water is the most delightful gut-punch and reality check. It wakes me up and realize where I am. It sets the tone for the rest of my trip, and almost forces me to relax and enjoy all that The Sagmore and the wonderful Bolton Landing town offer. It sounds silly I’m sure but this is my tenth summer, and I can say this initial jump has rejuvenated me each year. There’s a reason it’s become a “thing.”
Expanding on the lake itself, it seemed more meaningful this year as a family. In year’s past, we spent so much of the time at the pool. Rightfully so. The pool is amazing. This year, all of us seemed drawn to the lake. My younger son navigated us through the tubes so we wouldn’t go over the blocked off rope area. He told us he wants to work at The Sagamore one day and from then on, he took his job seriously of making sure our tubes never crossed that rope. My older son, who doesn’t love the fish in the water, put a towel over his tube and joined the action. My daughter used her own tube for the first time instead of riding shotgun on one of her mom or dad’s. So, see what I mean? Same thing, different thing each year. New memories.
Keeping with that theme, The Rec Center, a spot for mini-golf, video games, indoor movie screenings, billiards, ping pong, and a indoor “home-run” derby, once again elevated the vacation. My boys are now at the age where they could go there on their own, which was a cool “first.” We played mini-golf as a family as usual, but the cool thing for me was playing pool for the very first time with my older son. As our kids get older it becomes harder and harder to bond with them, right? Video games are king. Well, I played three games of pool with my son and it was amazing. Teaching him the game and talking with him during it was something I’ll remember just as much as the chill lake tube rides.
I’ll end this review by simply saying The Sagamore really does seem like a home away from home for my family. I could go on and tell you that The Pavilion restaurant has amazing food and La Bella Vita does as well (their breakfast buffet is a slam dunk BTW) but I’d rather wrap it up with a story about Smores. My family and I are sitting around the fire pit making them. They do this each night by a bonfire. It’s cool. The kids eat way too much chocolate and marshmallows while local musician Chip plays songs ranging from the Grateful Dead to Bob Marley, but as my daughter found out, not Taylor Swift. Anyway, every year, we see Chip play and ask him to play “Take Me Home Country Roads” and “Stir It Up” by Bob Marley. The first request is because we heard him play the John Denver classic during our first vacation. The Bob Marley track is because it was a favorite of my older son when he was a baby. When I went up to Chip and asked him to play the second tune, I tapped him on the shoulder and said, “we always ask you to play this.” Without missing a beat, he said, “hey, I thought you guys looked familiar.” We’ll take familiar any day.
