Tradition of Summer

Ahva is not an official part of the staff at the compact motel at 51 Canada St., across the street from the Fort William Henry Resort and Conference Center. But the 4-year-old swimmer was happy to help her mother, Cory Heyman, evict nonpaying customers.

“Business has been very good,” said Cory, who has owned the 19-unit Windsor with her husband, Elliott Heyman, for the past 10 years. “So far, it’s been our best year.”

Every motel owner in this Adirondack resort loves those words. Summer brings the most people — and the most dollars and credit cards — into town. People who shelter visitors from the Northeast and Canada say there are both good and bad points about the business. But they’re mostly good, even as times of high gasoline and grocery prices have forced some travelers to cut back or shorten vacation plans.

“I think a lot of people are keeping their dollars in the state,” Cory Heyman said. “They’re staying close to home.”

Salim Amersi sees the same thing. As owner of Surfside on the Lake, a 144-room motel on Lake George, he says families are choosing Lake George over other destinations in — and out — of the U.S. “They will still spend as much money as possible,” Amersi said. “But they’ll save on their budget because they’re not going as far.”

Almost 10,000 rooms

Kate Johnson, director of the Warren County Tourism Department, said about 150 hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, cabins and cottages are open for business in the village and town of Lake George. The other 12 communities in Warren County, including Glens Falls, Bolton Landing, Warrensburg and North Creek, add another 133 lodging businesses for a total county room count of 9,703.

Rooms can be rented for under $100. During the summer, people can also invest more than $200 a night for a bed and a blanket. At the Surfside, for instance, peak summer rates began last Thursday and continue through Sunday, Aug. 24. That means single rooms cost $90; suites with a view of the lake rent for $240.

Luisa Craige-Sherman, executive director of the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce, said as long as visitors find lodging they can afford, they will find other ways to save money. “There are a lot of free things to do in the area — so people can still do a lot,” Craige-Sherman said. “They’re not dependent on the commercial attractions. There are free concerts, a lot of free children’s events. They can still have a well-rounded vacation.”

This year, motels also have received boosts from Canadian travelers.

“The last 10, 12 or 14 years, their exchange rate has been anywhere from 15 [percent] to 40 percent difference,” said Amersi, who has owned the Surfside since 1983. “Finally, in the last year, the Canadian dollar is virtually on par with the American dollar. Finally, they are coming to Lake George.”

Nostalgic appeal

Some people have always come. Amersi said adults who remember their summers in Lake George as children want to relive the experience with their children. Often, they will try to stay at the same motels they remember from 20 or 30 years ago.

The Surfside has been around since the 1950s. The giant 20-foot-tall sign in front of the motel is a neon colorful, kitschy reminder of 50 years past.

“This is what people know Lake George for,” Amersi said. “There were some beautiful signs that were up here; it’s unfortunate they were not restored. We’re not Bolton Landing; we’re not Saratoga — we are Lake George. This is a middle class, very popular destination area, and people know Lake George for what it was — a city of light. I think it would be great if everybody had neon lights — Las Vegas without the casino.”

Heyman, like Amersi, sees some customers every year. “We have one couple who spent their honeymoon here, and they come back every year,” she said. “They’ve been married 26 years this year.”

Seasonal visitors make the job fun.

“I like it 99 percent of the time,” Heyman said. “You meet a lot of nice people, and my kids get to meet other kids; they play in the pool.”

The 1 percent annoyance factor represents hassles that come with sloppy guests, renovations and repairs each spring and hiring a housekeeping crew during the spring.

George Kolze doesn’t have to worry about hiring maids. He and his wife, Suzanne, own the Balsam Motel at 430 Canada, just a few steps away from Route 9N. Five cottages and six motel rooms are on the wooded grounds. George and Suzanne are also the housekeeping, clerical, grounds, pool and security crew. They’ve owned the motel for the past eight years.

“We were looking for something different than what we were doing,” said George Kolze, a former police officer in northern New Jersey. “We’d been vacationing up here for 20, 25 years. We were actually looking for a bed-and-breakfast, but at the time, there wasn’t much up here.”

Pool, beach or both

The motel is just a short walk away from Shepard Park and the Lake George village beach, but most people must have water closer to their rooms. That’s why the Balsam, like just about every other Lake George motel, offers a swimming pool. The Kolzes’ modest, fenced-in pool is in front; swimmers can watch the hustle and bustle on Route 9 between gulps of air and chlorine.

“People come up here to swim,” Kolze said. “You could have a nice, sandy beach, but you have to have a pool.”

The Windsor has a new pool behind the rooms. It’s not visible from the street, and Heyman said many guests appreciate the seclusion, privacy and silence.

Amersi’s Surfside has a larger pool, even though the motel offers access to the biggest pool of them all, the blue waters of Lake George. And a private beach, too.

“I think sometimes that people don’t realize how wonderful the lake is,” Amersi said. “It is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.”

Still, he says some prefer the concrete pond.

“They feel the lake is not as clean — that’s just lack of education, I think,” he said. “I think the lake is as clean as it gets. It’s a spring-fed lake. It has time to rejuvenate in the wintertime. You walk out and you feel clean, at least I do.”

Off the beaten path

Not all motels are in the heart of Lake George, close to the boats, arcades and souvenir shops. If people want a place without constant vehicular and pedestrian traffic, they might stay with Dorie Carroccia at the Barberry Court motel. It’s about 500 yards up Canada Street past Route 9N, which marks the end of the busiest part of Canada Street.

“It has its benefits and some flaws,” said Carroccia, who bought the motel — then called Cedar Hurst — with her husband, Tony, in 1985. The advantages are peace and quiet, and people who keep coming back year after year. “I’ve watched their kids grow up, and they’ve watched my grandchildren grow up,” Carroccia said.

The flaws: Far away from traffic means fewer people will discover the clean, well-maintained motel and its 29 rooms. And the beaches are 500 yards farther away.

Alan Chambers’ place is farther south on Route 9. The Tall Pines motel stands halfway between Lake George village and the Great Escape amusement park, and Chambers and his family — son Brad and daughter-in-law Jessica Chambers — know appearances count.

“We keep our grounds spotless,” Alan Chambers said. “When we clean a room, we take our shoes off when we go back in. We don’t wear shoes in our own house; we don’t want to wear them in theirs.”

Chambers cannot offer quick access to the lake. So he puts more water on his property. In addition to a large swimming pool in the front yard, he has also installed a fountain and a Jacuzzi.

“July and August pays the bills,” Chambers said. “You have events early in the year and then again in the late year. In the spring, you have Americade. In the fall, you have the balloon festival, the garage sales [in Warrensburg], the Adirondack Car Show.”

Competing for customers

Competition is steady. Free breakfasts, indoor swimming pools, discounts and bottles of champagne in rooms are enticements offered by some motels. Sometimes, location proves advantageous.

Cory Heyman of the Windsor said people visiting Fort William Henry for an event will often walk across the street and sign her registry. Other times, if the Fort is full, the Windsor welcomes unexpected guests.

“We have to thank Fort William Henry for their overflow and the extra business,” Heyman said.

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