Lake Placid, New York has always fascinated me. My friends have told me stories about skiing, hiking, the Olympic sites, and the quaint downtown. My husband and I purchased a Groupon Getaway to the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid, New York for January 2017. I injured my back, and the hotel allowed us to reschedule our 4 night, 5 days stay for May 2017. We were thrilled. We stayed on the fifth floor Marcy Specialty room, which had a jetted tub, fireplace, and private balcony.

Here’s why I would strongly recommend staying at the Golden Arrow:

• Beach access, right on Mirror Lake
  • Canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, docks, plenty of water toys
• Indoor pool with two hot tubs, a wet sauna, and a dry sauna
• Fitness Center with locker room and dry sauna
  • Insider tip: use the sauna in the fitness center instead of the indoor pool area
• Generations Restaurant
  • Happy hour all day when you show your room key
    • $5 house wine, $3 well drinks, $4 select draft beers
  • Free breakfast included with your stay
    • This was delicious!
• Alpine Mall Shopping attached to hotel
  • Restaurants, shopping, and liquor/wine store
• Location of hotel
  • Right in the center of Lake Placid, convenient to shops and restaurants

There are two issues with Golden Arrow: parking for a full size truck (even though they have a lot across the street, the parking is terrible during peak season) and the layout of the hotel (could only access the fifth floor from certain elevators & the elevator signage is confusing and varied in each elevator).

We would absolutely stay at the Golden Arrow again. This was an incredible resort and we not only enjoyed our room but took full advantage of the amenities.

Where to Eat

Smoke Signals

If you love BBQ, put this on your list. Smoke Signals has indoor and outdoor seating and a fabulous menu that will make your mouth water. We had not one complaint about eating at Smoke Signals. The food was really delicious after a long drive up to Lake Placid.

What we ordered: 

• Perpetual Pig BBQ Wings
• Jason: Brisket and Macaroni & Cheese
• Danielle: 1/2 rack of ribs and Macaroni & Cheese
• Two local draft beers

Big Mountain Deli & Creperie

After a long day seeing the sites, we stopped here for delicious sandwiches.

What we ordered:

• Jason: Table Top with chicken and a bag of Kettle Chips
• Danielle: Algonquin sandwich with a side of potato salad

Big Mountain Deli and Creperie has 46 sandwiches to represent the 46 High Peaks. They also have soups, salads, and crepes. The sandwiches are very filling, great after a hike!

Lisa G’s

Lisa G’s was another fantastic restaurant that had indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating overlooked a scenic waterfall. Everything on the menu is homemade and the drink I ordered, Salty Rikki, was strong.

What we ordered:

• Jason: Chicken Parmesan
• Danielle: Crispy Goat Cheese Salad with Chicken
• Drink: Salty Rikki

Honorable mentions:

• Generations Restaurant (adjacent to our hotel)
  • We ate breakfast here every day as it was included in our stay. The blueberry pancakes were incredible, as well as the special egg concoctions. The Sunny Cove ($2 upcharge) was my favorite. We never had a bad breakfast here!
• Emma’s Lake Placid Creamery
  • Dairy makes me sick to my stomach but I couldn’t help myself. I got a small maple ice cream. Jason had a scoop each of cookies and cream and double fudge ice cream. Incredible.
• The Lake Plaid Pub & Brewery
  • Besides the long wait, this had three floors of fun and a store to purchase pint glasses and other keepsakes. Jason enjoyed the Ubu Ale while I imbibed the Golden Ale. The food was hot and delicious. I ordered the Josh’s Fire Fish for dinner while Jason enjoyed the Schulzy Burger.

Final Thoughts

Have you visited Lake Placid? Where did you stay? What was your favorite restaurant?

If you haven’t, what restaurant would you want to try?

Stay tuned for Lake Placid, NY Part 2: What to Do!