. . . often, in past weeks, thoughts have been drifting to the misty waters and dusky mountains of a time spent away, [not long ago], in the adirondacks, at what must certainly be one of the most romantic places in the world, lake placid lodge, where, despite having arrived very late from the city, we [p & i] were welcomed with a crackling fire and a glass of champagne . . .
. . . before retiring for the evening to one of the seventeen luxurious and private cabins at the water’s edge, where a plate of fruits and cheeses and a bottle of red wine awaited, even at that very late hour of night, and spent our first evening in front of the stone fireplace . . .
the lavender peppermint shampoo & conditioner smelled like heaven
p’s old barbour and new waxed canvas book bag [found in brooklyn] were perfectly at home in the rustic mountain setting
. . . the original lodge was built as a family residence in 1882, and in 1946, was opened as a hotel; unfortunately, in the winter of 2005, a massive fire burned the lodge to the ground; it took a team of architects and 32 local artisans & craftsmen to restore the lodge to the luxury and splendour of days gone by and the gilded age, and also in keeping with the arts and crafts and adirondack style, tailoring everything from fireplaces to wall carvings to lamps and furniture . . .
s’mores baskets, prepared upon request, with marshmallows, graham crackers and hand-made chocolate
. . . a perfect mix of rustic & refined, the time-worn wood intermingled with gilded accents felt very vintage ralph lauren, and in fact, reminded quite a bit of the beautiful shop in chicago . . .
. . . far from the recent trips to paris, lyon & geneva, if ‘camping’ is a romantic log cabin in the mountains at a luxury resort, then there are no better ways to leave the busy-ness of the city behind, if only for a few days . . .
seared hudson valley foie gras
one of the many highlights of our stay was a ride in the beautiful hacker craft, for a tour of lake placid, from which the lodge was named
every room in the lodge was overflowing with beautiful hand-built furniture and original artwork, and it is said that the lodge now holds the largest collection of adirondack furniture in the united states
. . . our second night, was dinner reservations for two in the lodge’s fire-lit restaurant, artisans, amidst a beautiful swirl of oak leaves and pine cones of the custom carpets, the romantic glow of candlelight and pendant lamps, and chairs made entirely by hand of found twigs and without nails — solely pegs — that took over two years to complete . . .
painted hills beef strip loin & maine lobster confit, red bliss potato, pickled scallion, red wine reduction, prepared by chef nathan rich
the map room, a quiet corner to read, or daydream while gazing out at the mountains
view of the glassy waters of lake placid
berkshire pork loin, parsnip butter, wild mushroom, fennel, thyme & whiskey sauce
. . . was positively smitten with the carpets & rugs throughout the lodge, but most especially with this stunning fawn patterned carpet, a custom design by joszi meskan associates from san francisco, who also did the interior design
. . . and lavender cheesecake to finish
an intoxicating mix of worn leather and leopard print, warm wood and stone fireplaces, in the classic adirondack style
. . . and at the end of it all, such an enchanting place and a perfect way to end the busy days of new york fashion week, that we parted utterly in love with the place, already dreaming of how magical the lodge would look under softly falling snow . . .
{images: all photography by p + roséline for {this is glamorous}, late-summer 2011, more work here: one // two // three}
f u r t h e r r e a d i n g :
more about lake placid lodge:
stay | dinner | twitter | facebook
more about adirondack style:
the interior design for lake placid lodge was done by joszi meskan associates [no website]; for more about the adirondack style of decorating: adirondack style or rustic revisited, both by interior designer ann stillman o’leary, whose own home can be viewed here
