I signed up for the race next year and am looking for a place to stay. All of the motels in town that I’ve called so far require a 5 night minimum stay. I was hoping to stay only 3 or 4 nights, and use my in-law’s place in Plattsburgh as a basecamp for any additional days I’d be up there.
Any recommendations on hotels/motels that allow a 3 or 4 night minimum stay? I’m open to a condo or house rental too.
Congratulations to all the finishers of the race this year!
Mark
I too have signed up and will be staying in Saranac Lake. It is only about 10 miles from Placid and is a great town that does not get too caught up in all the excitement.
I have been at the Ironman in Lake Placid for the past 2 years and I am pretty sure that almost all the motels/hotels have a 5 night minimum. For 2010 I rented a condo and after looking at homes/condos/townhomes I learned that to rent those you have to book for a week. I was lucky to find a condo that is letting me rent Wednesday to Wednesday and is a 2 minute walk to main street, and minutes to the swim start, $2500 for the week, which is mild from what I have seen. Alot of the ones I called were Sunday to Sunday, which makes no sense when you are racing on Sunday. It is almost like they want you to rent for 2 full weeks. Major price gouging in Lake Placid. I agree with the former response, try Saranac Lake.
This year I waited until a few months before the race and booked at the Comfort Inn (online) in town. No 5 night minimum, and I canceled about 6 days before (due to injuries) with no problem.
Careful with Hotel Saranac. We reserved on 22 July 2008 and they had no record of the reservation. At one point they told us that they archived reservations over a year old. Even though we had a confirmation number they are leaving it up to us to dispute the deposit on our credit card for a refund. Try and dispute a year old charge, not an easy thing to do. BTW, they did admit there was an issue with rates and we were confirmed with the wrong rate. Looks like they canceled our reservation to sell the room at a higher rate. We are exploring a lot of legal options, one including with the State Attorney General on price gouging.
Be careful with waiting until a few months before the race to book a hotel/motel. I have seen it work both ways, you get in or you don’t and then you are left trying to find a place to stay really late in the game. My boyfriend did the research when he raced last year and he had a hard time finding a hotel/motel that did not have a 5 night minimum. You should definitely try that Comfort Inn that PirateGirl mentioned if it worked for her.
Be careful with waiting until a few months before the race to book a hotel/motel. I have seen it work both ways, you get in or you don’t and then you are left trying to find a place to stay really late in the game. My boyfriend did the research when he raced last year and he had a hard time finding a hotel/motel that did not have a 5 night minimum. You should definitely try that Comfort Inn that PirateGirl mentioned if it worked for her.
Not my experience. The last two years my in-laws have had there pick of rooms at the Marriott, Crowne Plaza and North Peaks the week before, no minimum nights. Marriott in 08, CP this year. CP is much nicer and more conveinient.
ETA - I noticed vacancy signs all over the place especially dive motels. I didn’t sign up for 2010, may go Community Fund and the last thing I will do is book a room.
As with most things in life…personal experiences may differ. I too noticed alot more vacancy signs this year on motels.
How did you find out about the condo? I’m looking to rent something that my family can stay in with me. It’s my first time up there so I don’t know if there is a website with rental listings or something similar…
Mountain Brook Lodge in Wilmington… Right on the bike course. Reasonable rates, no 5 day minimum…
Al and Alicia are amazing hosts. Next year will be our third year there. We’ve stayed in town several times, but enjoy the quiet of the ‘country’ now.
I just booked a place using lakeplacidcondos.com …I believe they are all 7 night minimum stays though. You better move quick on those because it sounds like I may have gotten one of the last available ones…I also looked into the Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge which had only 4 night minimum stays for about $275 per night if you are looking for a hotel…I have never been to the Lake Placid area so I’m not exactly sure how convenient those places are to the race. Good luck
Echo those who say you’d better hurry. I hit the phones Tuesday morning and a lot was already sold out. Crowne Plaza isn’t cheap at $289 a night for 5 min, but their rooms don’t go on sale until Aug 10, so if you’re coming up dry, you might want to give them a try…
Try the Saranac Lake Inn: 5 miles away, great place, much less than the Crowne, etc, and better; here’s the link
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