Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Saranac Lake / The Point
The Point
Saranac Lake, New York, United States · Independent · Grand Luxury
William Avery Rockefeller II finished this Upper Saranac Lake Great Camp in 1933 as a private Adirondack retreat. It now runs as an 11-room all-inclusive Relais & Chateaux lodge, the first North American member of that association (1983) and still the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Upstate New York. Evenings call for black-tie dinners in the Great Hall. Guests 21 and over arrive by appointment onto 75 wooded acres; there are no day visitors and almost no Wi-Fi.
- 11 rooms
- Neighborhood: Upper Saranac Lake
- Rooms from 500 sq ft (46 m²)
- Architect: William G. Distin
About The Point
- The Point was the first Relais & Chateaux hotel in North America, joining in 1983.
- Eleven rooms occupy four original log buildings on 75 acres of Upper Saranac Lake shoreline.
- It is the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in New York State outside New York City.
- The camp was built for William Avery Rockefeller II and is the only Adirondack Great Camp of that era open to the public.
- Black-tie dinners in the Great Hall remain part of the house-party service; guests must be 21 or older.
History
The Point was completed in the early 1930s as a Great Camp for William Avery Rockefeller II on Upper Saranac Lake: native timber and stone log mansions in the Adirondack 'roughing it' style. It later opened to paying guests as an all-inclusive lodge and in 1983 became the first Relais & Chateaux member in North America. Eleven rooms, adults only, still occupy the original lakeside buildings.
The setting
4 miles from Saranac Inn Golf & Country Club. 5 miles from Saint Regis Pond.
Restaurants and bars
- The Great Hall — Restaurant · Chef Executive Chef Loic Leperlier
- The Pub — Bar
Experiences
- ELCO boat cocktail and dinner cruises — Breakfast, lunch and evening cocktail cruises on the glass-enclosed electric ELCO boat, weather permitting.
- Captained boat adventures on the Ski Nautique and 1933 Hacker-Craft — Licensed boat drivers captain water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing, and leisurely rides on a 33' 1933 replica Hacker-Craft.
- Boating (canoes, kayaks, electric boats, outboard motor boats) — The Point offers canoes, kayaks, budsins (wooden electric boats) and outboard motor boats.
- Snow barbecues and communal Saturday barbecue — Snow barbecues at the point of The Point in winter and an optional communal barbecue every Saturday outdoors.
- Winter sports on property — Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice-skating, curling, ice-fishing and fat tire biking.
- Summer and fall outdoor activities — Lake swimming, tennis, badminton, croquet, fishing, hiking, fat tire biking and a fleet of E-bikes.
Amenities
- All-inclusive Relais & Châteaux
- Black-tie dinners
- Upper Saranac Lake
- Pet-friendly
- EV charging
- Adults-only
Awards
- Condé Nast Traveler Gold List (2026)
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star (2026)
Open The Point in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More hotels in Saranac Lake
- Hotel Saranac, Curio Collection by Hilton — Curio Collection · Accessible Luxury