A Birthday Celebrating all of the Senses

By: Stephanie Y.
Macedon, NY

What began as a surprise to celebrate my husband’s 40th birthday quickly became a luxurious treat for us both – celebrating all of the senses (including a ‘sixth sense’)!

I didn’t even tell my husband where we were going, and to try and throw him off and keep him guessing, I had him dress in a Hawaiian shirt for the trip. In the meantime, I had packed an extra bag with winter gear, along with our XC skis (all of which I covered under a large blanket in the back of the car). He didn’t know where we were headed until we turned north – towards the Adirondacks. To celebrate a winter birthday, I planned to embrace winter fully, going for an elegant Adirondack-style winter getaway. Well, to say that Mirror Lake Inn was THE place to achieve that is an understatement.

Mirror Lake Inn indulged all of our senses. From the first step inside the main building, the hint of evergreen in the air and the gentle aromas wafting up from the spa immediately relaxed us. We were welcomed by everyone with genuine warmth – including a “Happy Birthday” from everyone to my husband. Our room in the Lake Cottage greeted us with classical music when we opened the door. Our room was gorgeous-deep wood tones, luxurious bedding, and yummy chocolates! We couldn’t wait to try out the cozy robes!

To quickly get us in vacation mode, we started our visit with spa services on the day of our arrival. The spa staff even surprised my husband with an unexpected birthday gift from the spa! Later that evening we enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the Cottage, topped off by an after dinner coffee drink enjoyed on the patio next to the outdoor fireplace. How relaxing to warm our fingers with the drink and our toes by the crackling fire in the crisp refreshing air and wonderful aromas of the real fire!

That was the day of our arrival. The following day was my husband’s 40th - how’s this for a birthday (or any day for that matter!):

I planned to let him sleep in, but the views from our room were breathtaking over the lake – we awakened with a hot pink sunrise that colored both the sky and the frozen lake – breathtaking and worth getting up early for! Even though Lake Placid was experiencing record warm temperatures, we hit the XC trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, immediately followed by a heart-pumping and ride of a lifetime down the Olympic bobsled track! Back at Mirror Lake Inn in the afternoon…we easily fell into a routine of tea and homemade cookies by the roaring fire alongside the playful moose, followed by a swim at the Adirondack-decorated pool.

Dinner in The View was thoroughly relaxing and tasty. We enjoyed reading the wine list, and trying a new vintage to accompany our meal. I had promised my husband anything he wanted to eat during his birthday celebration, so it was hard to keep him from the dessert menu when I had already coordinated with the staff to have a specially-made birthday cake & champagne delivered to our room while we dined! [I wish I had a camera ready for the look of surprise on his face when we got back to our room] And the weather was comfortable enough for us to enjoy the champagne and views of the lake and decorations from our balcony in our robes!

The rest of our stay we continued to feel equally spoiled – the hearty but healthy breakfasts, afternoon tea, Scrabble, DVDs to watch in our room, hot tub & swimming, crackling fires, turn-down service and amazingly attentive staff. The short walks to Main Street, the views, and more spa services kept us relaxed. Several times we commented to each other what wonderful accommodations and service Mirror Lake Inn provided, better than any other place we have visited, domestically or internationally. We kept trying to figure out how you were able to anticipate and go beyond our expectations! Mirror Lake Inn knows how to satisfy that ‘sixth sense’ – anticipating and knowing how to make everyone feel at home and relaxed! This is definitely a trip that we will always remember and look forward to repeating!