The Point was the first named Relais & Châteaux in North America, some 39 years ago.   It was built by William A. Rockefeller II (John D’s grandnephew) in 1929 as a retreat in the Adirondacks.  It is 75 acres of waterfront property on the Saranac Lake.  There are 11 guest rooms, 4 in the main lodge and several log houses including one over the large boat house.  All the rooms have stone wood-burning fireplaces and include 3 meals a day, cocktail hour, morning coffee and pastries, snacks and unlimited beverages including wines, spirits, beers, espresso and on and on.  Wed and Sat are black tie dinners whereas other dinners in the Great Hall require coat and tie for men with similar fancy dress for women.  It’s a beautiful property that is well maintained with a staff ready to make your stay the best it can be.  In the large modern kitchen was Executive Chef D’Anthony who was on site every day to prepare the meals.  He is from Texas so he got points for that too.   The pastry chef  (sorry I forgot her name) was also in the kitchen and she did a fabulous job on the morning pastries that come to your room with coffee.  We enjoyed the set menus for meals but also appreciate their flexibility if you want something different.  The food was all nicely done and beautifully presented.  Part of the experience was getting to chat with other like minded people over dinner and cocktails which was very well done.  I decided to break my write up into 2 parts as there were a number of meals to report on.  Bottom line is that if it works in your budget you should go.  It’s a fabulous property and a lovely experience.

Place

We were welcomed with champagne as we left the car and bags to the staff to deal with and got a short tour of the property.  Our room was set with a meat, cheese and fruit plate and some ginger/spice cake that was really delicious.

 

Dinner 10/5/25

 

Dinner started with a celery root au gratin topped with sourdough black truffle and egg yolk.  This one had lots of layers of tender celery root and the garnishes added more texture to the crispy edges.  It was good.

 

Passed breads were a local cheddar roll and Vadouvan shokupan (curry flavored Japanese milk bread) with Maître d’ and honey garlic butters.  Both were fine.

 

Scottish Salmon was plated with cauliflower, raisins, Napa cabbage and a Vadouvan emulsion.  The fish had very crispy skin with a mild salmon flavor.  I liked it with the creamy sauce and raisins.  Another good one.

 

Wagyu short rib was plated with carrots, lobster mushrooms and root beer jus.  The beef was very tender with a rich sauce and tasty mushrooms.  It was a bit dark for easy photos of the plate but it had good flavor.

 

Dessert was a deconstructed Baklava with rosewater and pistachio ice cream.  This one had good flavors and nice textures but didn’t really remind me of Baklava.   I did like the pistachio ice cream.

 

Last treats were a chocolate tart which was rich and a flavored marshmallow that was light.

 

Breakfast 10/6/25

 

Everyone starts with fresh fruit which today included strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and long grapes.  All were fine, none outstanding in flavor.

 

Breakfast is chosen off a menu and the first morning I tried the Shakshuka made with eggs, tomatoes, and feta cheese with avocado and sourdough toast on the side.  I also added some North Country bacon and tater tots.  The Shakshuka was fine but better when mixed with the ripe avocado and cilantro topping.  The tater tots were fried to a great crisp on all sides of the cube.  I loved the texture but they were fairly greasy.   The bacon missed the photo but it was too crisp and tasteless.  The toast was also quite crisp and dry.

 

My husband had the Chorizo and potato waffle topped with poached egg, chili oil, cherry tomatoes  and hollandaise.  It had a little, and I mean little spice.  The taste I had was fine but I didn’t want to order it the next morning.

 

Lunch 10/6/25

 

Lunch was on a boat on Monday which was just for the 2 of us.  It was the regular lunch being served in the Great Hall but we had a tour of the lake while we ate.  They brought iced white wine and water also to the boat.  It was a lovely way to enjoy the cruise.  Lunch started with a sunchoke soup topped with crispy sunchoke pieces and bread slices.  The soup was quite thick but with nice flavor and the bread slices were way too dry.

 

Shrimp and grits had 4 large shrimp on top of creamy grits.  It was tasty but could have used some spices.

 

Dessert was a housemade Woopie Pie.  It had 2 soft chocolate cookies sandwiched around cream and extra cream and chocolate sauce on the side.  A few large blackberries made a garnish.  It wasn’t overly sweet and not having eaten a woopie pie in a package I wasn’t sure what to look for.   This didn’t make me want to go out and buy one though.  The flavor profile wasn’t sharp or sweet enough for me.  No problem cause there’s lots to eat here and they’ll make anything you desire 24/7 if at all possible.