BEHIND THE SCENES: EB TURNS 42 AT THE POINT RESORT

Some snaps from my little mini-holiday in Upstate New York this past weekend at the exclusive, 11 room luxury hideaway, The Point Resort, formerly the Rockefeller Family great camp. Outdoor activities galore, private dining experiences, endless wine, old school board games in their pub and cozy fires at every turn. An added bonus.. the unexpected 6 inch snowfall that turned my planned fall frolic into a magical winter wonderland. #ThisIs42

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WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

MAPPS X THE POINT Special nightly rates… the property is all-inclusive. Nightly rates range from $1750 to $3750 a night based on room.

ROOMS: 11 individually styled guest rooms, each with a stone place and clawfoot tub. The boat house room is a freestanding cabin where the other 10 are located within 3 separate buildings.

WHAT MAKES THE POINT SO UNIQUE: Every meal and activity is personally tailored for you. Truffle popcorn at 4 pm, no problem as the kitchen is open 24/7. Archery with a fire pit, wine and cheese board set up within 5 minutes of requesting… done! Your assigned butler will personally oversee your stay and can set up all of your dining experiences throughout the property, not just in the Great Hall. During Covid this was extra special as we were able to dine alone but in various buildings and outdoor locations by the fire, avoiding the in-room dining service so many trips lend themselves to these days.

ACTIVITIES: Summer and Fall: Boating, non-motorized and motorized water sports, basketball, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, tennis and archery. Winter: Hiking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, ice curling, ice skating and cooking classes.

GETTING HERE: Located in the pristine Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, the estate is 45 minutes from Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Saranac, 45 minutes from Lake Placid, NY by car or 5 hours from Boston or New York City by car.

IDEAL TRAVELER: Couples seeking a romantic getaway or a group looking to gather together to celebrate a special occasion.

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SPECIAL EDITION: WHERE TO STAY, EAT & PLAY IN LAKE PLACID

Lake Placid, New York is known for hosting the Winter Olympic Games – not once but twice. However, while we absolutely love this alpine town for ski season, the warmer months are also a perfect time to explore its natural beauty and outdoor sporting activities. Our take on how to discover Lake Placid throughout the year below —

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STAY

Lake Placid Lodge

LAKE PLACID LODGE: A bit off the beaten path from town, this Relais & Chateaux property sits directly on Lake Placid Lake. Each wintry-luxe cabin shows off a stone fireplace, handcrafted furnishings, and a sweeping porch that celebrates the authentic spirit of the north woods. The lakefront cabins are highly recommended to ensure the utmost privacy and the best views. We love this both for couples looking for a romantic and or active getaway or for families looking for adventure travel.

* During holiday weeks, the lodge offers kids cooking classes, arts and crafts lessons and movie nights.

MAPPS X LAKE PLACID LODGE : Special nightly rates, complimentary room upgrade, daily breakfast and resort credits.

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EAT & DRINK

BIG SLIDE BREWERY & PUBLIC HOUSE: Sunday Brunch or dinner are our favorite times to dine here… farm-to-table brunch plates, bottomless mimosas, house Bloody Mary’s, a beer-mosa of the day and breakfast burritos to die for. At night we love their brick oven pizza menu complimented with a local brew. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

CAFFE RUSTICA: Casual Italian eatery serving authentic pasta dishes and brick oven pizzas. The roasted eggplant with goat cheese pizza, aka The Bianca Rustica is divine.

ELEANOR’S PASTA KITCHEN: Family owned and run Italian restaurant with creative pasta dishes, soups, salads and flatbreads.

MAGGIE'S PUB:  Adirondack-chic decor, old-school cocktails, elegant pub fare and a billiard table by a roaring fire… perfect place to end the day.

PURPLE SAIGE BISTRO: Small bistro that calls for a cozy lunch or an intimate dinner with friends. Their menu is sublime, especially the farmhouse rotisserie chicken… a total town favorite.

THE GOOD BITE KITCHEN: Six-seater vegetarian lunch restaurant with an innovative menu and a serious commitment to using locally sourced ingredients. The warm black bean chili and homemade focaccia bread are crowd staples.

THE COTTAGE: Casual, lakefront pub delivering local brews, hot toddies and decadent overloaded nachos making it an ideal apres-ski spot for the whole family. Directly outside Mirror Lake is packed with ice skaters and bonfires with s'more kits for the kids.

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DO

EMERALD SPRINGS RANCH: Horseback riding trails open throughout the year.

MIRROR LAKE: Mirror Lake is what makes Lake Placid a standout from other Northeast ski towns. In the summer it is a haven for water sports and fishermen as well as for walkers and joggers who loop around the scenic three mile path. In the winter, the lake is filled with recreational ice skaters, snowshoers, ice fishing, cross-country skiers, kids playing pick-up hockey games and both dog sled and toboggan rides.

THE OLYMPIC SPORTS COMPLEX: Steep sledding hills, snow tubing trails and a half-mile Olympic bobsled ride that will make your heart stop.

THE WHITEFACE CLUB: Adjacent to Lake Placid Lodge, the club offers an excellent tennis program including eight hard surface and clay tennis courts as well as a challenging 18-hole championship course. 

WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN: The top summer activities at Whiteface are downhill mountain biking and hiking. In the winter, Whiteface has 80 open ski trails including the longest single intermediate run in the Northeast, the 2.1-mile long Wilmington Trail.

WHITE WATER RAFTING: Class 3-5 rapids available March till June.

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WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

GETTING HERE: Adirondack Regional Airport is a 20 minute drive to Lake Placid. Additionally, Lake Placid is approximately a 2 hour drive from the international airports in Albany, NY, Burlington, VT, and Montreal and a 4.5 hour drive from New York City.

BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT: June-October or December-early April ( ski )

IDEAL TRAVELER: Families, couples or groups of friends.

READY FOR ADVENTURE? Email info@mapps.com to start planning.

BEHIND THE SCENES: SUMMERING LIKE A ROCKEFELLER

Lake Kora, a legendary oasis with its own private 500-acre lake tucked into the Adirondacks,  provides the ultimate getaway. The history behind this spot is as fun to dive into as the lake’s refreshing waters, with ownership only changing hands four times since the turn of the last century. Back then, families whose last names were at the forefront of our collective consciousness, signifying power, taste and vast fortunes – Rockefellers, Astors, Morgans and Vanderbilts among them — built mountaintop, lakeside “camps” in Upstate New York to escape summertime heat and urban life. By most accounts, Lake Kora was the “grandest” of  Great Camps. This sprawling, timbered compound was purchased by Teddy Roosevelt’s Lieutenant Governor, Timothy Woodruff and tales of Woodruff’s ownership are of legendary hedonism in the woods with stories of the most unexpected amusements such as gondolas imported from Venice plying the lake, semi-tamed bears resided near the cabins, telephone service as early as 1903. Subsequent owners (neighboring Vanderbilts among them) indulged similar eccentricities – at one time, tame deer visited daily for freshly made blueberry pancakes.

Today, Lake Kora is but a few of the Great Camps which remain in private hands and open to the public since just 2015. Its present owner made a conscientious decision to open this captivating, private, and historical estate to a limited number of exclusive bookings during the peak summer and early fall months. 

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WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

MAPPS X LAKE KORA Special nightly rates… the property is all-inclusive.

GETTING HERE: Located in the pristine Adirondack Blue Lake Mountains of Upstate New York, the estate is 90 minutes from Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Saranac, 2.5 hours from Albany or Syracuse or 5.5 hours from Boston or New York City by car. Guests may also chose to arrive directly on property by seaplane or helicopter.

ROOMS: Twelve authentic guest rooms and seven lakeside lodges. 

ACTIVITIES: Water sports, boating, baseball, basketball, fishing, hiking, biking, sailing, squash, tennis, volleyball, kayaking, rollerblade hockey and ping pong.

IDEAL TRAVELER: Families or Groups. It is the ideal spot for a buyout whether you are a party of five or 40.

PACK YOUR BAGS and we will handle the rest. Email info@mappstravel.com to start planning.

ON OUR RADAR: THE MARK SAILBOAT

Looking for the perfect spot for a summer celebration or a romantic evening on the water? Look no further then The Mark Hotel’s spectacular, luxurious Sailboat. The sleek, 70 foot Herreshoff sailboat, originally launched in 1921, has been completely restored with a solid mahogany hull and lustrous Indian teak decks. The sailboat’s interior was designed to be a floating extension of The Mark Hotel’s aesthetic conceived by legendary French designer Jacques Grange, whose signature black and white stripes, synonymous with the hotel’s lobby, adorn the elegant accommodations on deck.

The journey begins at Tribeca’s North Cove Marina (transportation to the dock is provided courtesy of the hotel should you add on a swanky Upper East Side stay) with a celebratory oyster toast which are shucked and served at the Marina. Once the passengers board, the ship sets sail and travels south through New York’s harbor, offering guests plenty of photo worthy moments with a backdrop of the city’s dramatic skyline. Guests get the rare opportunity to sail up close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island while enjoying delicious canapés such as Caprese skewers, lobster with ginger sauce, tuna tartare, caviar ‘dumplings and crudite, created by the hotel's famous chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten while sipping Champagne, wine and ginger margaritas.

The boat can accommodate up to 25 guests… perfect for any celebration, but can also be reserved for as few as two people, making it an ideal choice for an intimate date night or proposal moment.  

Ready to set sail? Email info@mappstravel.com xx Cheers!

CHEF'S TABLE: MONTAUK'S FAMOUS LOBSTER COBB SALAD

Duryea’s Lobster Deck is a Montauk icon and their $58.00 lobster cobb salad is a summer staple among Hamptonites. Clearly there is a reason why Duryea’s sells more than 2,500 of them during high season. Below the recipe. Enjoy XX 

CHEF: Phillipe Corbet

Ingredients & Instructions: ( serves 3-4 )

8 oz. freshly picked steamed lobster meat (claw, knuckle and tail meat) 

2 oz. finely minced celery (only the inner leaves and stalk)
A fresh squeeze of lemon juice
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
Salt and freshly cracked white pepper, to taste
Gently toss all ingredients together.

Lettuce:
Baby gem lettuce, clean leaves

For the dressing, whisk together:
1/4 cup buttermilk, well shaken
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. tarragon vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped 
1/4 tsp. garlic cloves, minced 
1/4 tsp. shallots, diced 
1/8 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 scallion, chopped
1 dash Tabasco
1/2 Tbsp. fresh chives, parsley and oregano, chopped and mixed 
Salt and white pepper to taste

For a better result, make the dressing a day before so all ingredients infuse together.

Toppings:
1 Tbsp. bacon bits
1 Tbsp. sharp cheddar shavings
1 hard-boiled egg (per person) chopped 
1/2 avocado (per person), diced 
5 heirloom cherry tomatoes (per person), halved 

In a large salad bowl, toss the gem lettuce leaves with the dressing. Place the lobster salad on top. Finish up by sprinkling on the topping.