Bluebird Lake Placid — Hotel in Town of North Elba

I felt the need to review after seeing some of the negative reviews which I feel are a bit unfair. We just stayed here and loved it! My family of four has been coming to lake placid for years now and were excited when we found a good deal for Bluebird on a third party site because we had seen it being built and wanted to check it out. We didn’t know the CAN/AM games were happening and might have not stayed in Placid if we’d have known, but I am glad we did because we got to check out this hotel. The lobby space is incredibly spacious and nice. Super open, two fireplaces, games, just a really really cool space to hang out which as a family is awesome because on vacations we often can go stir crazy being limited to our rooms when back in a hotel or a small lobby area. Honestly that space alone is a huge reason we would come back. Second, we got a room with a bunk bed which for our family situation we actually loved and my oldest son thought it was the coolest thing ever and my husband did too. I also really appreciated that the lower bed was low to the ground because that meant our 18 month old could sleep with me in the bottom bunk and I didn’t have to worry about him falling off the bed. We found the room to be comfortable and well set up for the four of us, plus our two small dogs. Which leads me to my third point, the owner or manager was so kind and understanding when he realized we had dogs after our stay. My husband booked on a third party website and didn’t realize you had to call ahead if you were bringing dogs and he checked us in as well and just forgot to mention it (we really weren’t trying to hide it! Just an oversight). So after check out we got back from breakfast and he courteously inquired about our dogs and let us know there was a fee. We happily obliged because that is standard operating procedure at most hotels that allow dogs and their fee is actually much more reasonable than others (one in Saranac charges like over $100 for a dog!). They also informed us that they price match so if you do find a good deal on a third party site but want to call direct to book a dog friendly room they will can match the third party rate , just remember to call ahead if you’re bringing a pet. They also have dog bags and a disposal can for dog waste in the grassy area in the middle of the parking lot which is super convenient. As for others’ critique on the construction, we did see clearly another part of the hotel that is still under construction but there was zero construction work or noise during our stay and that unfinished part wasn’t on the side we were staying. Also we didn’t even realize they eventually are having a pool open so the fact that it was closed according to others didn’t bother us at all. My only “criticisms” would be to put phones in the room because I kept having random questions pop up and it would’ve been nice to just pick up a room phone to call down to the front desk; more surfaces in the room to put belongings would be helpful but would also probably make the space more cramped so I get why there weren’t and I did actually appreciate the use of space in the room and how open it felt for it’s size. The bar operating hours are standard, for example when we’ve we’ve stayed at the Lake House next door their bar was actually never even open. Food options would be nice but I the lobby space is big enough you could get take out somewhere and bring it back and eat downstairs, and my family prefers getting out of our immediate hotel space for food when we travel anyway just to get out and walk around. I also felt the hotel did a good job managing the crowd at the hotel over the weekend - I can’t imagine that was easy for them and as a guest not there for CAN/AM we still felt taken care of and like staff/management was on top of things. Overall a great stay and I would...

Our family stayed at this hotel location while participating in a youth hockey tournament. Upon check-in, the employees were less than kind and more concerned about collecting a credit card for incidentals and providing a list of rules a mile long. We were told that a $250 hold was automatically being placed on our credit card for incidentals, I found this odd as there is no working restaurant facility, no sundry shop, and a bar that is only open a couple hours a night on weekend nights only. I asked, what would we possibly be charging to the room? This question was met with hostility from the gentleman checking me in I was told that there are damages done to the hotel regularly and that is what they were holding the $250 for and that damages were a regular occurrence. Never in my life have I heard such a crazy thing and did not think much of it at the time. Several days later, I’m still waiting for the credit back to my card. We took photos to prove our room was not damaged in any way.

The hotel staff and manager went out of their way to make sure that no one in our party enjoyed their weekend. Not only do they provide you a list of rules a mile long, they will harass you to no end if they feel you are not following those rules, one of which is not socializing in the lobby areas. Which I found incredibly strange considering, the lobby was the best thing about the entire hotel! Beautiful decor, comfortable seating areas. But they don’t want you to enjoy them that is for sure. Many of us ended up walking down the street to other local hotels and restaurants and utilizing their services instead.

As for the treatment of our children, the hotel made it almost impossible for them to relax and enjoy themselves. One of their many extensive rules was no knee hockey in their hotel. Fine, the kids respected the rules and went to another hotel that allowed knee hockey play. upon returning to the Bluebird several of our players had sticks confiscated from them so they couldn’t even go to the other location to play. The children certainly behaved themselves in the hotel and were quiet and respectful to other guests and staff. I cannot say the same for the staff. Every employee acted as if they were doing you a favor. The entitlement and the attitude from the staff members is mind blowing. They are in the hospitality industry. Maybe they should double check the meaning of hospitality because we were shown none during our stay. I would never stay here again, and I highly recommend that families stay somewhere else. This hotel does not want families or children to stay there. That much is obvious.

Furthermore, they lacked adequate parking for the number of guests they had staying at the hotel. Several people in our party ended up with expensive parking tickets, because there wasn’t enough room in their lot. When this issue was brought to their attention, the manager himself told us it was “not his jurisdiction” and there was nothing he could do. There was a construction trailer taking up about 4 to 5 spaces in the center of the lot. Maybe they should have moved that knowing that they were going to have quite a few people here for the weekend. The lack of concern for the guests experience was completely out of line at a bare minimum. An apology would have gone a long way, or even a drink voucher for the never open bar. Better yet, comping the $35 ticket back to the room would’ve been the best solution but the manager could not be bothered and was actually annoyed that it was brought to his attention. This man should not be dealing with the public.

Overall a horrible experience. Would never stay at this...

SCAM WARNING - DO NOT BOOK HERE! I am writing this review nearly 6 months after canceling my reservation, and I have yet to receive a single penny of my 50% deposit, which was explicitly promised by their cancellation policy. This is not poor customer service; it is a systemic scam run by terrible management.

I booked a 4-night stay on January 10, 2025, for a wedding in August, paying the required 50% deposit up front. The wedding was canceled, and I notified the hotel and requested a refund on May 15th—months before the scheduled stay.

Since that date, the hotel has employed a deliberate, outrageous, and exhaustive campaign of delay tactics and absurd excuses. They claimed a "system change" forced me to move from a simple credit card refund to a complex wire transfer process, and repeatedly claimed the forms I completed were incorrect. 2.I provided a direct screenshot of my banking institution's wire details to verify the form’s accuracy, to which they responded they couldn't accept an image file. 3.They later claimed they had sent the wire transfer, only for it to be "refused by the bank." (They provided zero evidence or tracking information to support this claim.) 4.I offered new wire details for a completely separate bank account with a different financial institution, which they claimed to “try” but refused to provide the tracking information needed for me to locate the allegedly "sent" wire. 5.During multiple calls, staff refused to transfer me to the Accounts Payable/Finance department. They claimed that department can only be contacted by internal staff via email and takes weeks to respond. However, when I called anonymously, I was transferred immediately to this department with no questions asked. 6.My repeated emails are ignored, and every phone follow-up ended with the insulting and empty promise: “I will look into it and call you back.” They have never called back.

The financial dishonesty and complete lack of respect for the customer are shocking. This is not incompetence—it is a clear, deliberate attempt to stall and ultimately steal deposits. Other reviews confirming this predatory behavior suggest this is standard practice. AVOID THIS HOTEL...