STAY: THE LAKE HOUSE ON CANANDAIGUA

StoriesFeaturedDay Trip Stay Trip

Oct 21

Written By Susie Davidson Powell

The Lake House on Canandaigua

770 S. Main Street, Canandaigua | website

Why stay: With the Finger Lakes named 2025 Wine Enthusiast Wine Region of the Year, the cool climate region is heating up. If you’re headed to the Finger Lakes for wine tours or a weekend break, you’ll have your pick of hotels, AirBnBs and wineries with accommodation, but The Lake House on Canandaigua – owned by the founders of the Canandaigua Wine Company (now Constellation Brands) – is a top-to-bottom rebuild of a former Sheraton motor lodge at the north end of Lake Canandaigua, redesigned as an airy, modern, nautical spa and retreat. Rebranded in the 1980s as The Lake House, its design-forward eco-makeover by the team behind other luxury hotels, Scribner’s Lodge in Hunter and The Brentwood Hotel in Saratoga Springs, has a summery New England feel in its light hues, high ceilings and white wood.
The result? A casually luxurious, sustainable waterfront resort geared towards events and weddings but casual enough as a home base for families or a weekend getaway with onsite dining, spa facilities and balconied rooms overlooking the lake.

We like it for: Weekend break, summer stay, spa trip, solo R&R, winter retreat, Finger Lakes wine tours
Style/Vibe: The airy, eco, coastal mood fits The Lake House’ waterfront location. In summer, manicured chef gardens flank bluestone paths to the pool, lake or open-air, dockside Sand Bar. Fire pits and blankets extend cooler evenings, and in winter, the hotel’s fireplaces and soft furnishings make the lobby or adjoining library an inviting place to curl up and relax.
Eat: A library cafe with dark blue walls, yellow chairs, fireplace and comfy nooks performs double duty for coffee on-the-go or a cozy spot to work with lake views. The dockside Sand Bar, popular with local and casual star of summer, stays open through winter with Après Ski parties, live music, ice skating and s’mores around the fire pits. Serving casual comfort food from burgers to fish fry, tacos and lobster rolls and creative cocktails. In the main lodge, the farm-to-table Rose Tavern, (where morning breakfast is also served,) is a more upscale option with open chef kitchen, stunning design and a menu showcasing locally-sourced Finger Lakes ingredients with salads and herbs grown onsite.

Do: Set at the northern end of Canandaigua Lake, close to the town of Canandaigua, book your wine tours at nearby Heron Hill Tasting Room or eclectic Inspire Moore Winery at the southern tip of Canandaigua Lake or take a 40 minute drive west to the Hermann J. Wiemer winery on Seneca Lake or 50 minutes southwest to the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery on Keuka Lake.
Unwind: Those who don’t wish to leave The Lake House can schedule spa services, borrow bicycles, take a seasonal tour of the chef gardens with the Director of Horticulture, or schedule cooking classes at New York Kitchen in walking distance of the hotel where a tasting room bar carries a full range of NYS craft beverages. Get out on the lake by kayak (dockside rentals), paddle-board, or one of the nightly sunset cruises with local historians sharing tales of the lake’s formation, indigenous tribes, steamboats, commercial ice harvesting, and Gilded Age homes.
Families: The old recommendation to “just add water” for entertaining children rings true with the onsite pool and lake activities, but in colder temps the Bristol Mountain Ski Resort is only 30-minutes away. The mountain also operates an off-season Aerial Adventures ropes course.
Design Style: New England coastal meets eco-conscious chic.
Parking: Onsite.