Hotel Saranac

This place is terrible. Absolutely terrible. I have traveled 3 — 5 nights a week for the past thirty years, and I HAVE NEVER SEEN A WORSE HOTEL THAN THIS ONE!!!
It is a filthy, dilapidated dump!
Insist in getting your money back, every penny of it, if you paid for a reservation.
If you live in, or near, the Saranac area, do everything in your power to shut this hell hole down — it is killing the local tourism economy.
Otherwise, it’s okay.

I stayed at this hotel overnight for a business trip. When I booked the trip, I thought I was getting a great deal after looking at the few pictures on the website and the rate was so low. I thought it was just because it wasn’t high season. When I arrived the place was desolate and a little creepy. The Front desk said because it was Sunday night and all of their weekend guests had all checked out. When i got to my room, they stench was horrible. When I complained, he said it was from an air freshener used to air out the room after a prior guest had smoked in the room. But since the only window had an in window air conditioner the room couldn’t actually be aired out. I was offered an upgrade which I accepted since it was late and I didn’t have much option. The other room was damaged from a previous guest tearing down one of the curtains over the windows which luckily overlooked the back side of the hotel with no view into the room. The ice maker was on the floor with the picture of the bar. The bar has been closed for years and going to the ice maker was like a scene from the Shining and super creepy!
All of the pictures on their website must be from 50 years ago. The hotel is run down and should be avoided at all costs!

I was hoping for so much better. When I was a teenager I stayed here and was impressed. Not this time though.
Paint on the carpets, moldy shower, scary electrical, dirty rooms. We got up and left without bothering to shower. Too scary in the morning light.
Both restaurants and the gift shop are closed.
Don’t go.
This place is horribly run down. It is dirty and poorly maintained.

I hate writing bad reviews. But this was the worst place I’ve ever stayed in. I ended up there after my boyfriend booked a surprise getaway for us without letting me do my «hotel homework» (he obviously doesn’t read reviews!) Anyway, here are my complaints. And no, I’m not mad at him. Lol.
Before I even got to the room– I was holding my breath in the elevator. There was a strong odor or urine.horrible. The room was just. dirty. Not to mention SMALL. The carpet looked like it hadnt been vacuumed. The blankets stunk like mildew, and the bathroom was by far the worst I’ve ever seen. The toilet seat has urine all over it and there was mold in every corner. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I don’t care if the place is outdated– so long as its clean! Sadly, we ended up staying the night regardless, we booked 2 nights but left the very next morning.
Only plus– they allow Pets. Stay away from this place!

Poor, ice cold rooms, dirty walls, dirty sheets, te light in the bathroom was a gooseneck desk lamp clamped to the towel rack. The medicine cabinet opens into the crawl space.
Cheap yes, comfortable no, cheap yes, clean no. I would rather have slept in my car.
Avoid at all cost.

When it was run by Paul Smiths college it was better. Its old, was never great though the restaraunt was fairly good. But since it was sold they appear to have cut lots of corners. Now the place is a dump. Friends stayed in winter and had to leave because there was no heat.

It is a really sad hotel. Please don’t stay here. You are better off at a motel outside of town and taking a cab in. Or maybe just taking your vacation to a different town all together. Management doesn’t seem to know what they are doing. If it was $ 50 per night I could forgive some of the bad things listed below. But I paid over $ 150 per night. At that price none of these problems are acceptable.
The bad:
–Cold showers. (I’m not kidding. Each morning there was no hot water and the excuse was that too many other people were taking showers. Really? Hotel guests taking showers in the morning? Who would have thought? Their suggestion was to run the water for 30 minutes which only served to dilute what little hot water may have been available to the other rooms. If you wanted to take a shower at night you could get pretty hot water, but not in the morning)
–Cold rooms. Our room was «heated» by a window air-​conditioning unit. It did make a little heat but it took two hours to warm the room. I was tempted to leave some hair dryers running in order to stay warm. The hotel gave my friend an electric space heater to help with his room.
–No view at all. The small window in the room had its lower half occupied by the window air conditioning unit. If you wanted to look out the window you had to stand on a chair!
–Holes in the walls. Where the plumbing went into the walls it was just a big hole you could see into.
–Filthy rooms and halls. Dust and grime in the corners. Stains on the walls. Shockingly dirty all around.
–Cheap towels, like at an hourly rates motel. If you must stay here, bring your own towels.
–The hall smelled like cigarettes
–The rooms were quite small. Forgivable but still disappointing.
–Snow in the lobby. The entire town had shovelled sidewalks except for in front of this hotel. They just let it pile up all around the entrance and then everyone dragged snow in as they entered the lobby. By the end of the weekend, the lobby carpet was soggy with melted snow. You could hear it squishing around under your boots as you walked by. How hard would it be to shovel the sidewalk?
–Loud noise. There was a band playing in the second floor «ball room» until late into the night. The sound of this band was audible in the rooms all the way up to the fifth floor — maybe even higher.
The good:
Friendly staff, considering all the complaints they must be getting.
Firm, comfortable mattress.
Central location. This is the only hotel option in central Saranac Lake.

It is sad, truly sad. This place used to be the hub of Saranac Lake. From dining to entertainment to a place to stay.
It is not the place any longer

I’m not a diva or anything but I paid $ 130 for this room. Least they could do is buy 2-​ply paper. The towels are the same as at a motel 6. Stains all over the room and bathroom fixtures like a dorm. It’s certainly good enough to get by and a beautiful area, but for the price it’s a rip-​off.

I stayed here on an overnight trip. The history of the place is amazing, but the place in lacking in luster. Paint is peeling, repairs to the rooms are 3^rd if not forth rate, and well can I say cheesy? i.e. drywall screws to hang the falling shelves in the room. I really loved the place with the old mail box slot and such but there seems to be a management issue. Restaurant was closed and so was the gift shop. Locals told us to avoid but it was convenient to downtown… It was clean, I thought the rate was a little high since the place was empty… discount rate was 90 dollars off season

This is a historic hotel located in the small town just 5 miles W of Lake Placid. The hotel is very near all of the downtown stores, businesses and restaurants, public library, and the lakeside park. It has been restored, but unfortunately, not quite to the standard deserved. Every amenity is available in season, restaurants and gift shop are closed off-​season.
My room was clean and comfortable enough. There was a dated TV which I didn’t even turn on. I appreciate the soft towels and toiletries. The bargain rate offset the need for updating in décor and general maintenance. Good for a quick stay, but I’d be disappointed if I was here for longer than just one night.