The Lake House on Canandaigua

Worth getting out of bed for

The Finger Lakes is a fitting name for the group of slender bodies of water in Upstate New York’s wilder west (between Rochester and Syracuse), even if there are 11 in total. Alongside the lacustrine beauty, there’s greenery galore (all the fierier for leaf-peeping come fall), prestigious colleges (including Ivy Leaguer Cornell), and dozens of top wineries. But first, start your day serenely with yoga, meditation or gentle stretching, which should clear your mind enough for itinerary-planning. What you do here is largely weather-dependent; in summer, Lake Canandaigua is a watery wonderland for wild swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding through Canandaigua Sailboarding, or hiring out a pontoon or speedboat for two hours at a time (half- and full-day bookings available too) through house partners Seager Marine (with picnic lunches included); you can also sail out to see the foliage when it turns hue or take a guided sunset cruise where you’ll learn about the native Iroquois tribes and the plutocrats who built the area’s mansions. Sunbathe on beachy banks (Kershaw Park is prettily landscaped); try your hand at beekeeping at a local farm; wander the historic pier, lined with quaint clapboard cabins; or go on a floral odyssey through Sonnenberg Gardens’ globally inspired green spaces, lushly planted greenhouses, Roman baths and mansion house. For an adrenaline hit, Bristol Mountain has aerial adventures and ziplines, while in winter, its snow-coated slopes are wintersports heaven with 1,200 vertical drops for all levels. The lake freezes over in cooler months, so you can skate across; there are snowshoes to borrow onsite so trails through the diverse terrain aren’t limited to summer (aside from those by bike) – trek through gorges, or drive to Cumming Nature Center to shuffle into tree clusters, browse their science museum, and catch a planetarium show. The Lake House gets all the cosier too: ‘class with a glass’ sessions let you get crafty and drink (say, whiskey while you burn patterns into wood or jewellery-making with wine); at ‘tea and apothecary’ mix essential oils while tucking into cakes and finger sandwiches; listen to live music and get prizes at the trivia nights and après-ski parties in the Sand Bar; and get to know the locals, drink in an ice bar and watch fireworks at January’s Winter Carnival. Year-round, you can shop along Main Street, play and ride at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, or take cookery classes at the New York Kitchen next door. 

Local restaurants

All that fertile green space and fresh country air has bestowed a notable homegrown dining scene on the Finger Lakes. And Canandaigua might be a small town, but its culinary offerings are great and often very comforting. Take Kix on Main, which has steaming crocks of lobster-corn chowder; steak melts on Asiago-crusted sourdough with sautéed mushrooms; and jumbo shrimp wrapped in local Smokeman bacon, in a sherry-cream sauce. Bon Ami has gallic leanings (even if we’re not sure the French make liberal use of bowtie pasta and sriracha). They’ve nailed the bon part though, serving Italian sausage-stuffed galettes in a parmesan cream sauce; pork cutlets with apples, onions and sage in a cider-bourbon glaze; and steak au poivre doused in cognac. Rio Tomatian’s Mexican dishes feel authentic, with cotija-cheese-crusted blue-corn quesadillas stuffed with Oaxacan cheese and chile de arbol salsa and tequila-flamed shrimp with chipotle peppers; be sure to collect all of the taco flavours over the course of your stay. And, Coho Pizza & Wine uses the finest ingredients in its ‘healthy’(ish) pies – we like the Butcher, with homemade meatballs, pecorino, pepperoni and banana peppers – and Pizza Hut wouldn’t expertly pair a fine local wine with your slice.

Local cafés

New York Kitchen, just next door to the Lake House, has tempting lunch and brunch menus, with seasonally flavoured French toasts, Baja fish tacos, Bavarian pretzels with a beer-cheese dip, white pizzas and meaty sandwiches. Then swing by Scoops ice-cream parlour for dessert – perhaps a waffle cone filled with cannoli, maple-walnut or rainbow sherbert, a hot-fudge sundae or banana split.

Local bars

With the sheer number of wineries, distilleries and breweries in Ontario County and the wider Finger Lakes region, we’re amazed the locals don’t exist in a continual boozy fugue state. That doesn’t mean you can’t though (driver excepted). The Canandaigua Wine Trail is 30 miles of stopping and sipping running the length of the lake; riesling and cabernet franc are the star varietals here, but the drinking’s as varied as the scenery along the route. The Rochester / FLX Beverage Trail is more of a spider diagram (with cideries and distilleries) over four counties, and if you find some favorites, you’ll recognise many on the hotel bar’s menu. And, if you’re still not telling strangers you love them by this point, then ask the hotel to arrange a bespoke beer tour for you.