The Point — Hotel in Town of Santa Clara

There's nothing you can say that would aptly capture what a stay at The Point offers. But I will try.

I could go on about amenities; Access to miles of hiking trails, croquet, tennis, bikes, boats, lake tours, darts, pool, board games, puzzles, books...but all of that is overshadowed, rightfully so, by the real reason to stay at the point; The Service, and The Food.

The Food; I couldn't tell you, before my 4 day excursion to the point, if I had ever tasted true, world class food. Maybe some excellent meals, sure, but world class? I wouldn't have been able to say for sure. The moment I saw, smelled, and tasted what was offered from that kitchen, it really set the stage for what was in store.

When I say World Class. I mean absolutely, unequivocally, without exaggeration, undoubtedly, the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life. There's such a sense of clarity in the flavors. Each course was as much a meal for the eyes as it was for the taste buds. Perfectly placed, prepared, and proportioned plates, where somehow, everything is a highlight. There may have been 4 to 5 ingredients in each dish, but they played amazingly off of each other. The important flavors were obvious, and the subtle 'caper berry' here, or 'hon shimeji' there, was just a welcome tour down a flavorful side-street while on your dinner journey.

The Service; I do not even know what to say, or type here. The service at The Point is what makes that place special. Period. With just the food, or just the recreation, it is a wonderful place to stay. But the hard-working individuals that run that place make The Point a resort.

Ryan, Emily, Jeff, Justin, Jack, and Holly; Thank you so much for making our honeymoon special. Thank you for being so kind, and like old friends. From the moment Ryan served us that first glass of champagne we felt like we were being taken care of by friends, and I hope you guys felt as comfortable around us.

Perhaps our favorite moments from the entire stay include;

Walking off our lunch boat tour with Jack, only to see Ryan with a carafe, walking toward the boat house. I had assumed he was taking coffee to the residents of the boathouse suite, but he was actually bringing me a request I had made earlier; Mulled Wine. I had expected to ring him when I got back to ask if it was ready, but he must have seen the boat coming back, and timed it so that we had warm mugs in our hands the second we landed on shore.

Every night for dinner, we had a mix between the wonderful Emily, or Ryan as well. Emily was our excursion back to reality. Always confiding in her; Having a chuckle each time she walked by. "What the heck are all of these forks for?" and "Can I have ketchup for my steak?".

The amazing Jeff. Our morning guy. Punctual, pointed, eagle-eyed. Jeff would call me sir every day, and I never once felt I deserved it from this man. Each morning at breakfast, or for morning drop off, he was just so pleasant. Always an 'of course' or 'absolutely'. He would thank me for moving my glass over to the side of the table where he was standing so he didn't have to walk around. He's got the kind of voice that makes waking up with a hangover not-so-bad. Jeff is the kind of person that makes you feel comfortable asking for whatever you want, and not feel guilty about it. An important step in a place as luxurious as The Point.

Justin, the bartender. This guy could be cast in a Bond movie to make the Martinis; Cool, calm, collected, with an infectious smile. He has a repertoire fit for The Point, and the personality to help you get comfortable there. It's easy to get intimidated by the men in tuxes, and the woman in floor length gowns. But Justin puts on a master class of keeping the conversation going, across the entire bar, between all the groups.

Thank you to each one of you, we hope to see you all when we...

The Point is a beautiful, 11-room lodge located on a peninsula on the edge of Saranac Lake. The property is gorgeous and perfectly maintained with beautiful landscaping and lake-views throughout.||||We stayed in Iroquois in the Main Lodge for three nights which I suppose is the base room, but was still 500 square feet, had beautiful views and a unique dutch-door to the outside. Like all of the rooms at The Point it has a great attention to detail, wood-burning fireplace and strong sense of history.||||The food was exceptional throughout our stay and included some of the best meals I have ever had at a hotel. The quality of each meal was consistently excellent with unique ingredients and dishes featured during the week. The breakfast menu was a la carte and had plenty of options such that even if we stayed for a whole week, we would not get bored. The lunches were three courses and could be served in the main dining room as well as throughout the property (for example, one afternoon we took a boat to an island across the lake where they had set up our lunch for us on the lakeside). ||||Dinners were in many ways the “main event” of The Point. Starting with cocktails in The Pub mixed by the extraordinarily talented Justin, followed by a five-to-seven course meal with wine pairings in the Great Hall. After dinner each night we walked to the campfire where we had truffle popcorn, s’mores, more beverages and cigars while we chatted with other guests and took in the view of the stars. ||||One evening we returned to The Pub after the campfire with some other guests and called the kitchen for a snack. While fully expecting something average given that we placed the order at 2AM, we were completely delighted with what Billy had prepared -- making us pheasant flatbreads with the fresh remaining ingredients from that evening's dinner). Our 2AM "snack" rivaled dinner at a typical hotel.||||The service was excellent on an individual level -- everyone we interacted with was charming, warm and personable. There was some clear room for improvement for cross-team collaboration. We repeatedly found out after the fact about different events (e.g. cocktails on a boat, trip on the hacker craft etc.) that happened while we were there that we would have done had we known. Our lunch orders when we broke from the standard menu were done incorrectly despite placing them twice with two different people. I also found it odd that with a property this small (22 guests) I only met the general manager on our last night and he didn't know how long we had been there. Overall, there was a sense that you could ask for anything you wanted, but the team wasn't quite at the level of anticipatory service yet.||||The strengths of The Point though are second-to-none and more than compensated for the operational inconsistencies noted above.||||This is the only hotel I have been to that has a pervasive and overwhelming sense of camaraderie across all of the guests. From getting invited to join others for dinner, to our final night being punctuated by a lovely couple celebrating their 50th (!) wedding anniversary and bringing an enormous bottle of champagne to share with everyone at dinner. Over your stay at The Point you will dine, enjoy cocktails and sit around the fire with numerous fascinating individuals.||||The Point is an exceptional experience that is well worth the rates. Everything from the setting, rooms, food, beverages and service come together to create a memorable and relaxing atmosphere that will have you counting down the days until you can return to such a...

The Point is a beautiful, 11-room lodge located on a peninsula on the edge of Saranac Lake. The property is gorgeous and perfectly maintained with beautiful landscaping and lake-views throughout.||||We stayed in Iroquois in the Main Lodge for three nights which I suppose is the base room, but was still 500 square feet, had beautiful views and a unique dutch-door to the outside. Like all of the rooms at The Point it has a great attention to detail, wood-burning fireplace and strong sense of history.||||The food was exceptional throughout our stay and included some of the best meals I have ever had at a hotel. The quality of each meal was consistently excellent with unique ingredients and dishes featured during the week. The breakfast menu was a la carte and had plenty of options such that even if we stayed for a whole week, we would not get bored. The lunches were three courses and could be served in the main dining room as well as throughout the property (for example, one afternoon we took a boat to an island across the lake where they had set up our lunch for us on the lakeside). ||||Dinners were in many ways the “main event” of The Point. Starting with cocktails in The Pub mixed by the extraordinarily talented Justin, followed by a five-to-seven course meal with wine pairings in the Great Hall. After dinner each night we walked to the campfire where we had truffle popcorn, s’mores, more beverages and cigars while we chatted with other guests and took in the view of the stars. ||||One evening we returned to The Pub after the campfire with some other guests and called the kitchen for a snack. While fully expecting something average given that we placed the order at 2AM, we were completely delighted with what Billy had prepared -- making us pheasant flatbreads with the fresh remaining ingredients from that evening's dinner). Our 2AM "snack" rivaled dinner at a typical hotel.||||The service was excellent on an individual level -- everyone we interacted with was charming, warm and personable. There was some clear room for improvement for cross-team collaboration. We repeatedly found out after the fact about different events (e.g. cocktails on a boat, trip on the hacker craft etc.) that happened while we were there that we would have done had we known. Our lunch orders when we broke from the standard menu were done incorrectly despite placing them twice with two different people. I also found it odd that with a property this small (22 guests) I only met the general manager on our last night and he didn't know how long we had been there. Overall, there was a sense that you could ask for anything you wanted, but the team wasn't quite at the level of anticipatory service yet.||||The strengths of The Point though are second-to-none and more than compensated for the operational inconsistencies noted above.||||This is the only hotel I have been to that has a pervasive and overwhelming sense of camaraderie across all of the guests. From getting invited to join others for dinner, to our final night being punctuated by a lovely couple celebrating their 50th (!) wedding anniversary and bringing an enormous bottle of champagne to share with everyone at dinner. Over your stay at The Point you will dine, enjoy cocktails and sit around the fire with numerous fascinating individuals.||||The Point is an exceptional experience that is well worth the rates. Everything from the setting, rooms, food, beverages and service come together to create a memorable and relaxing atmosphere that will have you counting down the days until you can return to such a...