Look Cool
WHITEFACE LODGE & SPA RESUME
Spa Highs and Lows
High The quality of the spa therapists, particularly those giving massage and body treatments.
Low The resort's groovy Adirondack décor is missing from the fairly lacklustre spa treatment rooms.
High The rock solid Hot Stone Massage (80 minutes, US$195).
Low There's no relaxation room (chaises placed in the changing room don't quite qualify and there's not even a side table next to them on which to rest a cup of tea).
High The impromptu relaxation room: the hotel lounge, with great wines by the glass and well-attended fireplaces.
High The six-step Red Flower Japan Ritual, a choreography that wends from a ginger-grass bamboo scrub to a shiatsu-inspired massage with wild lime silk oil (80 minutes, US$170).
Location
Lake Placid, in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. It's a two-hour drive from Albany, Burlington, Vermont and Montreal, and a 5 ½-hour drive from New York and Boston.
Getting There
Amtrak (rail service) to Westport, New York, from which the resort arranges a shuttle.
Resort Forte
Providing an old-fashioned winter getaway with a sweet spa that's equally satisfying for active types and indoor layabouts.
Rooms
There are 86 rooms in the main lodge. The best ones have gas fireplaces; all have outdoor space or balconies and radiant-heat flooring in the bathrooms. The smallest is 500 square feet. Eight suites are located in the Clubhouse, including the Presidential Suite, which is the only accommodation with a wood-burning fireplace (and a fireplace butler). And because it's a residential development (94 units with both full and fractional ownership) as well as a resort, all rooms have full kitchens.
Restaurants
Kanu serves "regional American fusion cuisine," so dishes are modern yet hearty. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Service
The spa, hotel and activities staff is on their game, but the restaurant was uneven--the staff disappears for ages when traffic thins, the non-meat request that's cooked in bacon (though removed before serving). The flaws weren't fatal, just uncharacteristic for a place that otherwise runs without a hitch.
Other Activities
There's a games room, an old-fashioned soda fountain, a 54-seat cinema and a two-lane bowling alley in the basement.
Rates US$405-$1,950, 800-903-4045. Read more on SpaFinder
1st December 2008
