![]() ![]() "I travelled a lot, stayed in a lot of hotels and ate at a lot of restaurants, and I knew what I liked and what I didn't like."Ī decade of hard work literally went up in smoke on Jan. "To me, it's just common sense," said Weibrecht, whose son, Andrew, won a bronze medal in downhill skiing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. He purchased the inn from the Wikoff family in 1976 and built on their emphasis on fresh, local food, inviting farms to truck produce in so executive chef Jarrad Lang can hand-pick what he wants. ![]() The Wikoffs grew their own vegetables, raised their own pigs, cured their own bacon, and got other produce from local farmers.Įd Weibrecht was a mechanical engineer who moved to the area to ski at nearby Whiteface Mountain, where he's still a part-time ski instructor. Renamed the Mirror Lake Inn in 1933, it quickly became known for fine food as well as hospitality. They knocked on the door of Climena Alford Wikoff, who took them in and eventually created the Mir-a-Lac Inn with her husband William. As the story goes, when the telephone company brought Alexander Graham Bell's invention to the rugged Adirondack Mountains, the linemen needed a place to stay. "That really is what makes us," Cusick said. Many guests tell friends about the place, giving the inn a referral rate of 70 per cent, stunningly high in the industry. "I've known so many of the families that have been coming to the inn for 30-plus years, and it's kind of neat to watch their families grow and the new families start coming." "It's part of who the inn is," said Lisa Weibrecht. It almost feels like a bed and breakfast instead of a 131-room hotel: You walk in and see the owners. The Weibrechts are everywhere - Ed patrolling the grounds and conducting meetings, Lisa often in the dining room pouring coffee and greeting guests. The Weibrechts have even been honoured for recycling.īeing meticulous helps. ![]() ![]() The inn has received AAA's Four Diamond Award of Excellence for 28 consecutive years its View Restaurant was honoured with its fifth consecutive AAA Four Diamond Award, and Wine Spectator Magazine has given its Award of Excellence to the inn for 13 straight years. 1 ski hotel in the East, and it's on the magazine's gold list for 2013. Readers of Conde Nast Traveler rank it the No. The inn's reputation has resulted in many awards. Housekeeping manager Steve Wyle has also worked here 10 years in his other life, he's a musician, and a CD of music he curated plays in each room. Cathie Cusick, marketing director, was hooked the first time she visited a decade ago and ended up moving here from Connecticut. Maintenance supervisor Aaron Karpp has been on the job 17 years. Many of the inn's 165 employees stay for years. "It seems like everybody who works here feels like they died and went to heaven - and it's genuine," Luckie said. I said, 'No, treat the employees like they're the most important person in the world, and they'll take care of the guests.'" "I used to preach to everybody, 'Treat the guests like they're the most important person in the world,'" said Ed Weibrecht, who owns the inn with his wife Lisa. Welcome to the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, where hospitality is personal - but it's not just about the guests. Every time we walk in, it's like they haven't seen us in five years." That's saying a lot, because the Luckies have stayed at the inn more than 90 times since the early 1980s. When Lise Luckie and her husband Len need to flee the hustle and bustle of their advertising business in Montreal, they make a beeline for the Mirror Lake Inn. ![]()
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