Friends Lake Inn

Great atmosphere, nice bar area, professional servers especially bartenders. Nice outdoor area , weather permitting. Parking area around back can get crowded. Nice view of Friends Lake across street. Happy Hour. Outstanding wine list and must see wine cellar in basement. Recommend by Robert Parker ****

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.

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!