4 Best Hotels in Saranac Lake, The Adirondacks and Thousand Islands

At this two-story chain property, interior corridors connect the rooms, which are big and bright and include desks. The heated indoor pool is a plus, as is an outdoor deck overlooking a placid pond The on-site restaurant, McKenzie's Grille, is open almost every day.

These owner-run lodgings include a variety of accommodations, from standard motel rooms to suites with decks and lakefront cottages with fireplaces. Motel rooms are on the large side and have wood furniture and big windows. One suite has a whirlpool tub. A small park next door has tennis and basketball courts and a nearby restaurant serves breakfast and lunch.

Originally the home of William Avery Rockefeller, this ultra-exclusive retreat evokes the spirit of the great Adirondack camps. The secluded property occupies a forested peninsula on Upper Saranac Lake. Rooms, housed in four buildings, blend rustic furniture with handsome antiques and rich fabrics. Each guest room has a stone fireplace and lake views; some have pine-lined cathedral ceilings or private decks or patios. You may play billiards or darts at the intimate pub, which shares the Eagle's Nest building with three guest rooms. Overlooking the lake is the capacious Boathouse ($2,600 a night; offered from mid-April through October only), a favorite of honeymooners. Your day starts with Continental breakfast in your room or a hot meal in the dining room. Guests gather for lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner, and menus are set, but you may opt to have a lunch to go or eat in your room. Dinner is rather formal, with jacket and tie upgraded to black tie Wednesday and Saturday evenings. The deposit alone is $500, without which you don't get directions. But that's the point of exclusivity, isn't it?

The camp, built in 1907, has hosted many prominent guests. It was known as the "summer White House" after President Calvin Coolidge vacationed here in 1926. The location, amid majestic pines on 35 acres on Lake Osgood, is a big draw. The property encompasses several cabins, most of them 100 feet away from the water. All have kitchens or kitchenettes and fireplaces or woodstoves and are fully furnished. Only six cabins are open all year. From late June through Labor Day, the minimum stay is a week; a two-night minimum is usually required the rest of the year. Because the property is of historic and architectural interest, small tours sometimes come through the camp, including the guest cabins. The camp is 12 mi northwest of Saranac Lake.