The Whiteface Lodge

These days Lake Placid is perhaps better known as a Winter Olympics venue (and as the site of a certain Cold War–era hockey game) than as a holiday destination. Which is unfortunate — the same sublime geography that makes it so well-suited to winter sports means it’s none too shabby in the summer either. Not to mention that they’ve got a certain body of water there that’s, well, none too rough apparently. And now they’ve got the Whiteface Lodge.

It’s owned by carpenter-turned-luger-turned-developer Joe Barile, a man who’s clearly no stranger to timbers, snow sports or real estate. Here they all come together in a contemporary version of the Great Camps of the Adirondacks, the upstate wilderness retreats that were the height of luxury in the days before air travel.

Suites at Whiteface are equipped with a bit more than the typical hotel room. Many are privately owned, as is the custom with so many new hotel developments — which means owners’-quality amenities, like fireplaces, jacuzzi tubs and in many cases full kitchens. In this bracket a spa is all but required, and the Whiteface doesn’t disappoint there — and the dining, naturally, is at the same high level, in the Kanu restaurant, one of Lake Placid’s top tables.