Friends Lake Inn

Nice tub - plenty of hot water. With prior reservations we arrived on a Tuesday evening about 5 to find the inn completely vacant. Had spoken with an employee the day before with no mention that no one would be there when we arrived. Took a chance and found the front doors open and an envelope with our name on it. Wouldn’t see an actual front desk person for two days! Internet sporadic at best, non-existent most of the time and cell coverage isn’t much better. So good luck finding what else is around for a place to eat or things to do. Local restaurant suggestion list inn provides is inaccurate. Since no staff and no vending available = no ice! Bed a giant block of foam and quite uncomfortable. A/C loud and inefficient. Shower stall dirty-moldy. Breakfast is the usual collection of stale muffins and pastries. Didn’t even have sugar available for morning coffee. Second night with 20+ rooms empty they stuck the only other guest in the room next to ours. Although sort of in the middle of nowhere there were no walking trails and no mention of lake access or kayak/canoe use. Anyway - I could go on but you get the idea and all that for $300+ a night.

Starting with the positive things. Our room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the staff were very nice. Unfortunately, the negatives far outweighed the bad. A lot of what you would expect at this price was absent or inadequate. There was no refrigerator in the room, which even inexpensive motels have. Little things were also missing: laundry bag, soap dish, reading lights, tissues. At check-in we had to ask for help with our bags. After 10 minutes, they hadn’t found anyone to help, so we carried them up two flights, plus a flight at the entrance. The pillows were awful – thick slabs of foam rubber. The shower had nice tiles, but instead of the water angled toward the drain, which was in the middle and you had to avoid standing on it, it all pooled on the half near the door. You had to use the handheld showerhead to move the soapy water toward the drain to avoid walking through it to exit. Instead of a duvet, there was an icky blanket and a sheet that was some slick and shiny material. There were a number of other smaller issues – such as a tiny night table with no drawer to put things and half the surface taken up with a large lamp, only one available outlet near the bed, etc. The worst part was the so-called Continental breakfast. The first day there were plastic-wrapped things in the shape of a croissant that were dense and dry and barely edible. I had to ask for hot water for tea and had to wait 15 minutes for it, only to get a tiny pot of hot water that filled half a cup. The second day, there were muffins, but they lost their appeal after watching a worker who was not wearing very clean clothes completely handle every muffin with his bare hands as he put it on the plate. On the third day, the muffins came plastic-wrapped, but were not good. On our last day, we did what we saw other guests do upon seeing the breakfast – we left to eat elsewhere. The hours for breakfast are very limited: 8:00 – 9:30, but given how bad it was, probably best to avoid anyway.

We spent a ski weekend at the Friends Lake Inn. We chose the inn because it was the nicest accommodations we could find that would accommodate our family of 3 within 20 minutes of GORE mountain. Also when we called the Inn the staff was so helpful that we knew even before we got there that we would have a wonderful time. We are looking forward to returning. Rooms: The rooms and Inn all have a rustic flare but the rooms are nicely renovated and very comfortable. We stayed in the Cedar room and the bed was comfortable, the bathroom was large and well maintained. We were greeted with a bottle of sparkling wine and freshly covered strawberries in our room. Breakfast: The rooms all come with a made to order breakfast served from 8 - 9:30. The breakfast menu had a good variety and the breakfast was very good. Bistro Food: We ate in the bistro twice and it was good. There is also a happy hour in the Bistro from 4 - 6 with 1/2 draft beers (they have a nice local draft beer menu) and discounted drinks and small plates. Kelly was an amazing server! Main Dining Room: We also ate in the main dining room one night and it was excellent. The menu in the main dining room is more upscale and more expensive but we had a lovely meal and would not hesitate to eat in the main dining room again. Common Areas: There are a few common areas throughout the inn with games, books and a billiards table. We also saw snow shoes at the front door for guests to use, although we did not have a chance to use them or access the trails around the hotel.

Friends Lake Inn is the best place to stay in the Adirondacks! After they took a dip during the pandemic, they’re back with excellent food and service. We stayed in one of the luxurious rooms with that cozy Adirondack décor and fireplace and enjoyed the splendid bathroom which had a steam shower and a clawfoot bathtub. Perfect after a day out on the slopes. Breakfast was delicious (banana oat pancakes) and included. We would’ve loved to stay for dinner, but since they had zero reservations for that evening, they weren’t sure if they’d open the restaurant at all that day. How sad! How can anyone not eat and stay here? We’re definitely coming back!

Beautiful Inn with attention to detail. Everything is spotless. The staff is excellent Kathy our bartender and waitress was fantastic. The front desk attendants (Betty and another I did not get her nameof the other attendant) were so accommodating . We were informed before we arrived that breakfast would not be served on the morning we were leaving. Good communication and options were made. Our room was lovely unfortunately the air conditioning wasn’t up to par which made it difficult for us to sleep. Considering the time of year and occupancy was low it would have been nice to experience a different room with a nice view and better air conditioning. Possibly when we booked some other options could have been offered. My only other issue was the shower was really nice but no place to put shampoo soap conditioner. All in all it’s a lovely place and we would definitely return

A perfect getaway! Short, sweet and longing for more time at this adorable Inn. The accommodations were all about the “Adirondack” feel. The decor was charming; rich wood, luxurious bedding, comfortable rockers by the fireplace, and an elegant, modern bath with whirlpool tub and a large tiled shower. And ohhhh, those lounging robes! We enjoyed a cocktail on our private balcony before heading to the dining room for our dinner. The staff, the food, the chef were deserving of 5 Stars. So delicious, in fact, we had breakfast there as well. I’m still dreaming of the specialty pancakes. From our welcome to our goodbye, everything was perfect. Thank you. We will be back!