A long way from Sandals: Inside my first all-inclusive experience at this super-luxe upstate New York resort

I’ve never been one to dip my toe in the all-inclusive resort waters. It’s not that I’m a travel snob — hey, stop rolling your eyes, people! (Okay, fine. I’m a little bit of a travel snob.)

While I do enjoy eating at Chili’s far more than the average person, I draw a line at wristbands for poolside Jell-O shots amid deafening music at a massive resort in the Caribbean. But thanks to the expert on-the-field reporting of my colleague Tanner Saunders, my tune has been changing lately around the concept of all-inclusive resorts.

Although I’m still waiting to go to my first traditional all-inclusive resort, I more than jumped at the chance to try an over-the-top, Rockefeller-rooted all-inclusive experience in Saranac Lake, New York, late this summer. My husband and my dog were also invited, so it became a full family affair to go all-inclusive at a property with ties to the Gilded Age.

Here’s my take on what it’s like to stay at The Point in upstate New York.

Getting to The Point

Air travel isn’t the easiest way to get to The Point, especially if you’re used to flying a major airline. However, Cape Air flies into Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), twice daily from each location. It’s then just under a 20-minute drive from Adirondack Regional Airport to The Point.

Albany International Airport (ALB) is the nearest major airport, and it’s a little more than a 2 1/2-hour drive to The Point from Albany. It’s about 5 1/2 hours to The Point if you’re driving from New York City or Boston on various interstate highways and back roads.

What it’s like at The Point

The Point was originally one of the Great Camps of the Adirondack Mountains — compounds built by some of the wealthiest families of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yes, you could expect to find Astors, Roosevelts, Guggenheims and Vanderbilts enjoying country weekends in the region. These “getaways in the wilderness” weren’t exactly seen as roughing it back then, and they shouldn’t be seen as such today, either.

William Avery Rockefeller Jr., John D. Rockefeller’s grandnephew, built what is now The Point on 75 acres of Saranac Lake waterfront property. Several log and stone mansions gave the family plenty of elbow room, and the Rockefeller retreat has since been transformed into a spacious-albeit-intimate resort with 11 guest rooms. The Point was also the first North American member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux collection of hotels and restaurants. Once you make your way through the woods of the Adirondacks and drive through the front gate at The Point, it’s easy to feel immediately disconnected. The limited cellphone and Wi-Fi coverage helps in this department, too. That’s intentional.

The property is both woodsy and expertly manicured in terms of landscaping, and guest rooms are spread out among the log mansions and a boat house. Furniture and art from the Rockefeller ownership era, along with a variety of stone wood-burning fireplaces, give the entire resort an aura of the Gilded Age meets weekend-at-the-lake. Obviously, I tried my best to channel Christine Baranski in “The Gilded Age” when I went for my morning coffee each day of our stay.

Even during our August stay, the temperature one day was perfect for reading a book by the crackling fire. Fear not: It was warm enough the next day to take a plunge in Saranac Lake and bask in the elegant surroundings. But even with all the outdoor activities, a stay at The Point also comes with glamorous expectations once the sun goes down.

Checking in

About a week prior to checking in, I got a call from the resort manager one night to see about any meal preferences, celebrations and activity requests for our stay. I noted that Pimento Cheese (also known as Pimm), our Australian shepherd, had a seventh birthday coming up, and that we were really hoping to get out on a boat to explore Saranac Lake. It was during this call that I learned the resort encourages guests to dress up for dinner — especially during black tie dinners on Wednesdays and Saturdays — and to not be shy about going all-out, from midnight meal selections to activities.

Further, the manager encouraged me to arrive in time for Friday lunch — several hours ahead of the usual check-in time — to be able to enjoy the full experience. I’m no expert on all-inclusive resorts, but this prearrival chat exceeded expectations for even “regular” ultraluxury resorts. I was already excited to check out The Point, but this really got my gears of curiosity turning.

Fast-forward a week, and after more than 1 1/2 hours of driving country roads off Interstate 87, we finally arrived at the gated entrance to The Point and were let inside. A team member guided us in the direction of the main building, where several other members of The Point staff were waiting with flutes of Champagne, and to take our bags and car. We’d reunite with the bags in our room later, but we didn’t touch our car all weekend thanks to the variety of on-property events and activities to keep us busy.

During the check-in walk-through, members of The Point team pointed out the main dining area, self-service bars and the expansive chef’s kitchen where guests can stroll in for a coffee or snack at any moment, before leading us over to Mohawk, our guest room for the weekend.

The space, formerly the private primary bedroom of the Rockefellers, was in the Main Lodge off the main dining area. Before stepping away, a member of The Point team reiterated how much they wanted to go above and beyond, from cooking for Pimm to late-night treats for my husband and me. Challenge accepted.

How much The Point costs and how to book

Our stay at The Point was complimentary, but cash rates at the resort are pricey. Our Mohawk guest room is going for $3,300 per night when it’s available on select nights this fall, and this includes all meals, inclusive of wine-paired lunches and dinners (which include seven courses on Wednesday and Saturday nights), afternoon tea, and unlimited use of sports equipment and activities.

Booking directly via The Point website is your best bet, as you won’t find the resort on any premium credit card booking platforms. Hotel policy requires a $500 deposit to be charged at the time of booking and the remaining balance to be charged 60 days prior to arrival (or immediately at booking if your stay is within 60 days). Cancellations or no-shows at the resort within 60 days of arrival are subject to a 100% penalty.

Rooms at The Point

Despite once being a Rockefeller family compound, The Point didn’t exactly feel like a home jam-packed with bedrooms, and I never felt like we were on top of other guests. Instead, you could interact with others as much or as little as you wanted outside of mealtimes.

Mohawk, our guest room off the main Great Hall, was spacious with vaulted, beamed ceilings and a plaid, canopied king-size bed as the focal point.

Several seating areas dotted the room, with our favorite being two upholstered chairs with a shared ottoman in front of the stone fireplace (perfect for midnight room service or prebreakfast coffee). There was also a desk with — gasp — a Wi-Fi connection if you needed to get online, but everyone encouraged the idea of disconnecting for the weekend, which I mainly abided by, save for sharing the occasional cute photo of Pimm enjoying his time at The Point. Yes, I occasionally did the same for Parker, my husband, but it was Pimm’s first time being invited on a trip like this; it was his time to shine!

Speaking of making the four-legged member of the family feel welcome, The Point team surprised us with a birthday basket for Pimm that included homemade treats and several dog toys. There was also a dog bed and food and water bowls left in the room for him to use during the weekend. (He made himself more at home in the very comfortable king-size bed with us for most of the time, though. Have I mentioned he’s rather spoiled?) As for the two-legged members of the family, The Point team surprised us with a chilled bottle of Pol Roger Champagne and hazelnut and berry lunettes for a decadent Friday afternoon snack.

The black-and-white-tiled bathroom featured a claw-footed tub and walk-in rainfall shower with Le Labo Santal 33 bath products, and there were robes hanging off the bathroom door to lounge in around the room. Mohawk was log-cabin-chic with its wood-paneled walls and flooring, and lighting that ranged from a chandelier to a wall-mounted exposed bulb.

There was also enough expensive-feeling fabric throughout the space to give one nightmares thinking about how much the upholstery budget must have been for just the one guest room, let alone the entire property. Windows on three sides of the guest room and into the bathroom still made it all feel airy and bright (but thank goodness for blackout shades to block the early morning sun, which The Point team cautioned us about), and there was a door to step outside and onto a private patio to enjoy a book during the day or gaze up at the stars (or surprising meteor showers) at night and enjoy a fire in the fire pit.

The housekeeping staff tended to the room twice daily — expertly timed for mealtimes so as not to disturb any of us. But added service touches included one team member who swung by before turndown service to get the bed ready for a Friday afternoon nap. The hotel also offered complimentary pressing for our suits ahead of dinner. One would also notice other delightful bonuses, like the way the staff kept the ice bucket filled with ice all day and even left a complimentary bottle of port in the bar area for us to enjoy a nightcap.

We were reminded throughout the stay that the kitchen staff was willing to whip up something for Pimm to enjoy in the room, but that just seemed excessive. As for us, on the other hand, we did take The Point team’s recommendation for midnight orders of truffle french fries and grilled cheese delivered to the room.

After all, who wants to enjoy port on an empty stomach?

What to eat at The Point

All meals and drinks are included in the nightly rate at The Point, and you’ll definitely want to plan for a hike or lake swim during your stay because these meals are decadent. Our welcome lunch entailed a Caesar salad followed by New York strip steak with fingerling potatoes and an ice cream sandwich.

After lunch, we were reminded there were multiple self-service bars throughout the property, and the offerings go well beyond the basics. A colleague who had stayed here before warned of the temptation of all the top-shelf liquor, so I limited myself to one Blanton’s on ice each night.

In the tradition of the Rockefellers, guests are encouraged to arrive for dinner one hour early for cocktail hour to mingle and socialize. The cocktail hour venue rotates each night, and The Point staff delivers a printed invitation to your room daily with instructions on where to go. During our stay, cocktail hour was in the Great Hall one night (due to passing rain) and then in The Pub, a cozy bar area in a different log mansion on the property. One of The Point’s boat captains doubled as a cocktail hour pianist during our first night, while magic tricks were the main cocktail entertainment on night two. This is also the type of place where my martini order from the first night was remembered throughout the stay, just as my morning coffee preferences were — a degree of attentive service that amused me almost as much as the card tricks.

Dinner is held across two formal dining tables back in the Great Hall, a rustic space with stone fireplaces and cozy couches (along with an eclectic mix of Thai sculptures and mounted animal heads) to soak in the lake views. The dress code requirements and occasional black tie dinners might seem stuffy to some in 2024, but it was fun getting ready and mingling with other guests, a mix of posh retirees and parents on a no-kids weekend from all over. It’s clear The Point has longtime fans, one of whom was on their 12th visit to the resort and lamented to me at dinner one night about how it was feeling a little too connected these days … nothing like back when there was just a single phone in the kitchen to use to connect to the outside world, they joked.

The seven-course meal we enjoyed on the Saturday night of our stay included notable creative touches like a sweet corn “cappuccino” paired with Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose before moving onto tuna tartare, lobster and spring chicken courses, all paired with a mix of Italian and French wines. Along with an Aperol Spritz sorbet palate cleanser and chocolate cheesecake dessert, The Point team surprised us with a special early anniversary sorbet ahead of our fifth wedding anniversary later this month. If, for some reason, one was still hungry after that, guests could head over to The Pub for nightcaps and a cheese platter.

Similarly decadent spreads were offered throughout the stay, from a Saturday afternoon barbecue to a farewell lunch aboard the resort’s glass-enclosed boat. Breakfast was a multicourse experience, as a member of the team would bring over a basket of baked goods and coffee to the guest room each morning. Afterward, a full breakfast was served in the Great Hall and included highlights like fried chicken on a buttermilk biscuit and avocado toast. Between meals, the kitchen was literally always open for guests to stroll in and ask for drinks or snacks to make it through to the next serving.

While The Point is dog-friendly, nonservice animals aren’t allowed in dining areas. Based on the various nap perches we found Pimm on upon returning to our room, he didn’t seem to mind missing out on mealtime with us.

Amenities and things to do at The Point

I tried to counteract all my gluttony by going on hikes or swimming a few laps in the lake because it was hard to say “no” anytime a menu appeared or we stumbled upon a fully stocked bar in random parts of the property. My personal favorite was the one perched on an overlook — because why not enjoy a Saranac Lake vista with an afternoon Negroni?

The Point has something for all energy levels, from leisurely boat rides to hikes in the woods to just kicking back with a book on a hammock or near a fire pit. Guests can arrange for waterskiing, tubing and paddleboarding on Saranac Lake, or enjoy a guided tour aboard a vintage Hacker-Craft and learn about the history of all the surrounding Great Camps. You can even take an electric Elco launch to scoot around nearby coves of the lake. Yes, the boats are dog-friendly.

On the land, The Point offers activities like bocce ball, tennis, croquet and badminton. During a hike, we noticed added touches like bottles of water and snacks enclosed in boxes dotting the trail (again, you really have to try hard to go hungry here). You’ll also find guests debating whether The Point is better in the summer or the winter. While I haven’t experienced winter at The Point, I’m told the team erects tubing slides onto the frozen lake so guests can come down from the thrill of shooting a few hundred feet across the icy surface by turning to a fully stocked ice bar. There’s also curling, ice fishing and skating on the lake in the winter.

The Point team repeatedly offers to go above and beyond all year, so odds are if there’s an activity — within reason — that you’re looking to do, they’re likely to be able to arrange it.

Insider tips for staying at The Point

Here are a few additional tips and things to know before planning your trip to The Point:

• If you’re heading for a weekend getaway, try to make it at least a long weekend to account for travel time to and from The Point. It’s secluded, and you’ll want to stop off in cute towns along the way. Plus, the Lake Placid Olympic Center is just 40 minutes up the road.
• Did I mention the need to disconnect? Press send on any lingering emails and then put the phone and laptop away until Monday. This is a place to decompress and recharge — the doom scrolling can wait.
• While it’s highly encouraged to enjoy dinner with the broader group, I noticed a few guests seemed to stick to their rooms instead. Try to make it to the Great Hall to get the full experience, but don’t feel pressured, either.

• Group dinners mean conversations have the chance to get spicy with those who don’t see things the same way you do. A team member is usually seated at the table to guide the conversation away from politics or anything controversial, so don’t try and bring up the latest presidential election poll as an ice breaker.
• Ask a member of the staff to point you in the direction of The Point’s secluded swimming dock, down a small, rocky hill and left on a winding trail if you walk out of the Great Hall toward the lake. It was a favorite spot we kept returning to with Pimm for afternoon swims in the sun and to read.
• Despite the high cost, rooms at The Point book up fast and well in advance — and people are territorial over their favorites. Be flexible with your dates if you have a specific guest room in mind. I’m already saving my pennies for a return someday for a stay in the Boat House.

Accessibility

The Point is an accessible property and features 32-inch-wide openings to common areas, accessible routes to fire exits and accessible guest rooms. Designated guest rooms with accessibility features include lower-level shelving, accessible power outlets and accessible paths of travel around beds. Bathrooms in these rooms include handheld shower wands, low-level towel hooks and racks, lower mirrors, shower seats, and toilet grab bars.

The Great Hall dining area and The Pub are at ground level, but some areas of the property are inaccessible via wheelchair. The Point staff can provide rides to these areas via car or golf cart. Some activities like boating and hiking are inaccessible.

Bottom line

It’s probably a little insulting to call The Point “just” an all-inclusive resort, but I’m elated it was my first foray into the world of all-inclusive experiences. Both the resort itself and the staff working at The Point made this a stellar getaway from the August heat back in Boston. Yes, there are many, many all-inclusive resorts that are far less expensive than The Point, but I don’t see those places offering the Gilded Age history, highly attentive service, feasts upon feasts and limitless activities like what I experienced on Saranac Lake.

Plus, my dog got to enjoy his first ultraluxury hotel experience. He’ll never be able to go back to his usual Holiday Inn Express lifestyle after this!

Save money by using points redemptions elsewhere so you can splurge on a stay at The Point for the most special of occasions. I’m already using this strategy myself.

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