which hostel to stay and why

[cantdog]

I am in the early stages of planning my vacation (12/26-1/2) and I am interested in reading (relevant & civilized) comments on why I should choose one in particular, assuming there is vacancy in all 3.

First of all, I can't find the darn number or web address for "The Hostel" across the street from the Noonmark Diner. Could someone post it please?

The other two contenders are the Jack Rabbit Inn and the High Peaks Hostel in Lake Placid, which has a website that I browsed. I have yet to verify vacancy at any of the 3 at this point. I know "The Hostel" has laundry machines, which is a plus since I hope to be in town for a week. I also know Lake Placid has a bigger downtown that might offer a better selection of pubs and eateries when I get tired of microwaving in.

Most of the peaks I am considering are commonly done out of the Loj, but I also need Nippletop/Dial, Whiteface/Esther and Cascade/Porter, so location matters somewhat.

I would like to know what people think of the places in terms of size, cleanliness, ratio of bathrooms to occupancy, parking, laundry, internet connection, TV w/weather channel, kitchen amenities, etc.

[Daniel Eagan]

You should really check out the Adirondack Rock and River, www.rockandriver.com. It gets booked up very early, but their accommodations are far superior to the Jack Rabbit (flies, moldy showers, flimsy locks, snoring sounds). Reasonable, great breakfasts thrown in, and a very knowledgable staff.

[TFR]

Julie, the Jack Rabbit has both Hostel accomodations and regular rooms. I've stayed in the rooms and they are quite acceptable. Not sure about the Hostel.

Right across the street is the Cascade Inn, another acceptable place to stay. It has a restaurant on premises as well.

As far as pubs go, there is the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, recently judged the best brewery in NY State! The most appropriate brew this time of the year is Frostbite! I think I'll go have one RIGHT NOW! :D

[Mavs00]

Jack Rabbit Hostel does not allow for individual reservations in winter. It must be booked in a group format. I regularly stay at the JRI when I go up there (and don't camp). I found this out in September when I inquired about some winter dates.

If your unfamiliar with the setup, the hostel portion of the motel is a big open room at the end of the row of room. It's on the end and likely catches tons of wind. Talking to the owner, it turns out it's a b**ch to heat in winter and they loss serious cash unless there is 10-20 people staying there. If you want to rent it out for a group gathering sometime, it'd be perfect.

This year is the first year that this is being done I guess. I generally stay in the rooms, as it's only like $50 a night for a double.

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Other than then the infamous MP3 that Hawk refers too, I have actually heard not to bad things either. One thing for sure, somebody must have done something to really piss someone off.

I also think that you gotta realize for $10 a night (or whatever) you're expectation should be pretty limited no matter where you go :D

[cantdog]

You should really check out the Adirondack Rock and River, www.rockandriver.com. It gets booked up very early, but their accommodations are far superior to the Jack Rabbit (flies, moldy showers, flimsy locks, snoring sounds). Reasonable, great breakfasts thrown in, and a very knowledgable staff.

Thanks for the lead, I'll look into it.

Also, thanks Mavs for the Jack Rabbit detail. That would have been disappointing to find out later.

Anyone out there with any contact information on the place across the street of Noonmark Diner?

[cantdog]

Anyway, back to the quest for affordable lodging in the area during the holiday time, I thought it might interest Daniel and some of the others to know that the rock and river place no longer accepts individual bunk room guests. Like Mava said about the Jack Rabbit, the whole building must be rented. That rule doesn't work for me. So while I await a response from the High Peaks Hostel regarding vacancy, I still hope to find how to contact the Noonmark place. If neither of these two options work, I'll bump up the budget and explore Tom's suggestions.

I really want to bang off a lot of peaks at that time if possible, but I'm not interested in sleeping outside.

[pete_hickey]

I still hope to find how to contact the Noonmark place.

The place with the showers after Giant? Phone him at (518-576-2030) I don'T know if he still has a web site. It was never much. Tell him I sent you. :)

And it is called "The Hostel"

[Prino]

Mavs, That is interesting info about the Jack Rabbit Inn. I stayed there a couple of years ago and the guy had put a lot of work into renovating the hostel end of it. There is a huge Kitchen area fully equipped and options for bunk rooms downstairs and regular rooms upstairs.
It makes sense that he would want to fill it up to make it pay....It's a pretty big building.
It would be a great place to have a mini gathering.

I Wonder what happened to The White Sled Motel across the road? That used to be a very run down, but very cheap alternative.

[TFR]

Mavs, That is interesting info about the Jack Rabbit Inn. I stayed there a couple of years ago and the guy had put a lot of work into renovating the hostel end of it. There is a huge Kitchen area fully equipped and options for bunk rooms downstairs and regular rooms upstairs.
It makes sense that he would want to fill it up to make it pay....It's a pretty big building.
It would be a great place to have a mini gathering.

I Wonder what happened to The White Sled Motel across the road? That used to be a very run down, but very cheap alternative.

Edit: OOPS! WRONG INFO DELETED!

[Boreal Chickadee]

Here's a thread about the hostel in Lake Placed.

http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=1939&page=2&highlight=high+peaks+hostel

Too bad about Rock and River. I know the local ADK chapter stays there quite a bit.

Julie I've never stayed in any paying room up there so I can't help past that. Always camped or drove over from Hague (Mom's house).

Wherever you do go , why don't you tell us how it was after your stay?

[Mavs00]

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Moderation Note

For those wondering, several posts in this thread were deleted by a moderator. So if it seems disjointed, that's why. Just a quick note for the uninformed.

A member of this forum had a well-publicized negative experience at one the local hostels a few years age and it is well detailed and documented (ad nauseam if ask me) at the link above that Chickadee provided (post #10). The incident was brought back up in this thread to a degree that the moderator felt it went beyond just "stating an opinion" (particularly with the renaming of place) and removed it.

The bottom line, everyone is entitled to an opinion and should feel free to state it here in a respectful manner. You may also feel free to counter an opinion with a differing opinion in a respectful manner. It was felt that in this case, it went beyond that. I'm also confident that it was done neutrally here and no attempt was made to devalue anyone’s opinion.

The incident is what it is and you're more then welcome to read about it and form your own opinion (just not here). Just understand that that it represents one side of a particular incident and that perhaps differing thoughts and opinions exist from the other side as well.

Feel free to PM me if have any thoughts or further questions.

Thanks.

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[randomscooter]

Thanks for the lead, I'll look into it.

Also, thanks Mavs for the Jack Rabbit detail. That would have been disappointing to find out later.

Anyone out there with any contact information on the place across the street of Noonmark Diner?
keenevalleyhostel@yahoo.com
Dave and Cynthia are the owners

[cantdog]

Thanks. I'll send them a message at that address and call them if they don't reply in a day or two.

As for the Jack Rabbit, it sounds to me like they are follwing the Lyons Hospitality model. There(NH) the owner made a management decision based on $$$ and numbers and took down a few walls between some of the regular motel rooms and created a men's, women's and common area. When I was there last, he sent us to a detached cottage and said something about the price of heat killing him when the place is not full.

[Daniel Eagan]

the rock and river place no longer accepts individual bunk room guests.

That's true, but they have six rooms, four with private bath, in the main building that they rent out to individuals. At least they better, because my wife and I are booked there for Presidents' Day weekend.

[Daniel Eagan]

Prino, see above, it's now the Cascade Inn. Cheap and no frills, but acceptable.

The White Sled was sold and closed down at least three years ago. It's down the street towards Lake Placid from the Cascade Inn, and is currently a private residence.

Having stayed at the Cascade and the Jack Rabbit, I would opt for anywhere else you could find, although the Cascade restaurant is okay.

[Rik]

I've never stayed at any of them (lucky me for living so close!) but have heard good things about rock and river. I did stay at the White Sled many years ago. Lets just say that it probably is a bit nicer (if not colder) now than it was when I stayed there (early 90s).

[percious]

If anyone else wants details for the High Peaks Hostel, feel free to PM me, or find my email address on my website. I am happy to elaborate. All I will say is that in my opinion, it is not a friendly place.

-percious

[Mavs00]

And that is the end of that..........................