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Saratoga Arms, NY
We arrive at 4 p.m., just in time to check into the Saratoga Arms Hotel. A very pleasant young valet directs us to the parking lot and then takes our luggage into the hotel. We enter and check-in, meeting the general manager, Rachel Boggan. She is smiling and knows that we are there to write an article. She shows us the guest pantry where we can get snacks 24-7 that include cakes, homemade cookies, chips, dips, candy bars and lots of other delectable fare to nibble on between meals and during the evening. She also shows us where we can get fresh coffee in the morning.
As we walk around on the first floor, we are drawn to the sitting rooms that constitute the hotel’s lobby. These rooms are cozy yet well-appointed. Antiques, comfortable but stately furniture mixed with transitional and contemporary touches. In one of the rooms regal purple upholstered wood framed chairs and a gold patterned couch with wing arms are accented by a clear glass table with a bowl full of golden apples and pears and balls sitting on top of it. The curtains, rug, lamps and framed oil painting add complement and contrast with the furnishings in a way that makes the room itself a work of art. In the corner of another well-appointed room is a little sitting nook with two deep purple upholstered wood framed chairs and a brass floor lamp. Beside it is beautiful cabinetry with glass encased shelves above holding fine crystal, chinaware, statuettes and other items of beauty and worth. Another room has pink furnishings and a gorgeous brick fireplace.
We enter our room on the third floor. The first thing Tanya says is “Stop. Don’t put anything down. I have to take pictures.” As she meanders around the room taking photos on her iPhone, she exclaims, “Now this is what I am talking about!” I knew that I better get out of the way, so I did. I walk across the room, past the delightfully adorned king-size bed and step out onto the Juliet balcony. There at the far end of the room is a door with glass panes that leads to a small one-person balcony with a flower box, a great view, a chair, a small round top table and a flower box full of pansies in perfect bloom.
From the room’s door a view of the bed and the desk behind it captures Tanya’s fancy. The cherrywood desk with glass top and framed mirror catch her eyes immediately. Then there is the chair with a small round table beside it next to the desk in front of a large window with flower patterned drapery. The chair has the same pattern that is on the bed runner and small pillow that sits in front of six down pillows that are standing on ends, side by side. We discover that the balcony door has floor-to-ceiling patterned shades that fold down and keep the light out as wanted.
On one wall is a painting of a 19th century Saratoga horserace and in the closet are two elegant robes. There is a Keurig coffeemaker and coffee and tea and a couple of complimentary bottles of sparkling Saratoga Water.
The Saratoga Arms Hotel is family owned and operated. Kathleen Smith and her daughter Amy now run this elegant hotel in Saratoga. Walking with Tanya to the town on our first night there we meet Kathleen and she consents to spending some time with us in the morning.
That night Tanya and I walked down Broadway passing boutiques, restaurants, jewelry stores, furniture stores, candy stores, an apothecary, which actually compounds medicines, and so many other stores all in buildings that are show the rich history of Saratoga Springs with their Federal period and Victorian architecture. The street, busy with people visiting restaurants and shopping, makes us feel like we are back in Doylestown or another bustling Bucks County town. We are instantly at home. But the comparison is slim, Saratoga Springs has its own character. It welcomes you with an upscale version of Main Street America.
As we are walking, we come to the Cooperstown Distillery Beverage Exchange and decide to walk in. A rustic place where people can stop by for a drink or buy bottled whiskies made at the distillery. At the Distillery we are waited on by Ethan Niles. Ethan gives us a drink menu and offers us to sample any of the various spirits in the back of this cozy, and that night, quiet spot. Tanya orders a Curveball Margarita and I order Spiced Rum on the rocks. Ethan fills us in on the best times to visit Saratoga Springs and gives us the rundown on the differences in the people who come, mainly from New York City, for the races and the people who come at other times.
Getting hungry, we leave the Beverage Exchange and go to Burger Fi. Tanya has Chicken Fingers and Fries and I have the Swag Spicy Wagyu Burger. Tanya eats her dish slowly and loves the texture and taste of the chicken and I, starving, gulp down the burger and order another one. Afterwards we go back to the Saratoga Arms Hotel. We grab some snacks at the guest pantry and a couple of bottles of Saratoga sparkling water and watch a movie.
I wake up early, go downstairs and get coffee. Tanya isn’t up yet. We have reservations for breakfast in the indoors dining room. Most people want to eat on the stylish, Victorian wraparound porch, but since we are going to meet with Kathleen Smith, we choose the indoor dining room. Tanya wakes up around 9 and I get her some coffee, and then we get ready to eat our breakfast.
The breakfast menu is presented to us by a friendly waitress who lets us order drinks and gives us time to peruse the menu. The coffee is divine and the menu is two pages with something to satisfy everyone’s taste and appetite. Tanya orders scrambled eggs with cheese, potatoes, applewood smoked bacon and wheat toast. I order the Eggs Benedict. When our breakfast comes, we are both astounded at the presentation—too pretty to eat. The food is arranged with the artistic flair of Chef Tim James. Besides the entrees, there is a salad made from chopped greens and little grape tomatoes.
The food is wonderful. The food is farm-to-table and everything is fresh and lovingly made. In addition to sourcing fresh ingredients and developing unique recipes, Chef Tim is responsible for corporate menu development, the porch plates menu and executing multiple special events each year. He also makes many of the snacks that are available at the guest pantry.
After eating, Kathleen comes to join us. She has a vibrant personality and a colorful way of speaking. She begins to talk about Saratoga Springs, the town where she was raised and which she loves. She also loves horse racing, the sport for which Saratoga Springs is known. She begins by proudly saying, “Saratoga was the first summer resort in America. And it's as far north as you had to go to get out of New York City and get relief from heat. So even though in the summer our days are sometimes hot, our nights are always cool.”
Gambling comes with horseracing. Kathleen graduated from Catholic school in 1963 and knew a woman that graduated in 1933. This woman when she was in high school was asked by the nuns to sit for a scholarship exam for St. Lawrence College in mathematics and she won. Kathleen explains, “She was going to be the first person in her family to graduate from high school and the first to go to college. The nun sends her home with all the paperwork and then checks out everything—mother’s name, father’s name. And after looking carefully at the forms, she says to girl, ‘You can’t put down that your father’s occupation is bookmaker.’” The woman told Kathleen, “I was 18 before I realized that bookmaking was illegal.”
The races influenced everything in the town, even education. Kathleen gives an example about a math class in her Catholic school. “A nun writes an algebraic equation on the board. What could this be? Numbers and letters together. It's all hieroglyphics. And this nun turns sees that she's got nobody with her. And this old nun says, listen, if a horse is 10 to 1 on the morning line and goes off at 5 to 2, what happened there? Well, we all understood that. She said, that's the formula. So, I mean, it was just so much part of your life growing up. Wow! And everybody worked at the racetrack. You sold programs or you worked in the dining rooms or whatever. So it was a lot of fun.”
The Saratoga Racetrack is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays—the days we chose to stay at Saratoga arms. So we cannot go to the racetrack, but Kathleen suggests we go to the National Museum of Racing and hall of Fame.
Paintings and photographs of Ulysses S. Grant can be seen throughout the hotel. The photo on the wall across from us shows Grant sitting on the porch of the Union Hotel in Saratoga. Also on a stand is the complete and very thick two-volume Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. The former commander of the Union troops and president spent time in Saratoga and there is a connection to Kathleen Smith’s husband, Noel’s family. Grant wrote his Memoirs in Saratoga.
Kathleen married Noel in 1968. She tells us that Noel had a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Denver. “So I married this man in 1968. He had a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Denver. And, we had restaurants—hard way to make a living. And then we realized that because all of our money was on whiskey, beer, and wine, if you could break even out of your kitchen, you were a wonderful person. And if you're going to make any money on it, you have to be young and be willing to stay up till five o'clock every morning.” They bought their first hotel in 1984. On the property was a nine bedroom farmhouse that they turned into living space for the family and five rooms for bed & breakfast visitors.
A ramshackle boarding house on Broadway populated by transients, many of them alcoholics intrigued Noel and Kathleen. “There were no Four Diamond hotels in Saratoga Springs at the time. We knew there was a call for Four Diamond. There was no Four Diamonds in town, and we had a One Diamond motel and a Three Diamond bed and breakfast without TVs. And then we bought this brick house, which was fabulous. And that was also a Three Diamond. And we knew there was a call for a Four Diamond.” They bought the historic property in 1997. Out of the ashes of the boarding house and an adjoining building with an addition built onto it, they completed this restoration of this 1870 structure. Tragically, Noel died 8 years ago, so Kathleen and her daughter Amy (one of three) carry on what has now become a family tradition.
After spending the morning with Kathleen, “I say to Tanya, “Let’s go to the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. She says, “Well alright now.” We begin our visit with taking in a video called What It Takes: Journey to the Hall of Fame. The 16 minute video shows the rigorous training, breeding and athleticism that it takes to achieve what less than one percent of the sport’s participants are able to accomplish. Exhibits were interactive and often life size. At the National Museum, Tanya is like a kid given a basket of candy. I take photos of her at a starting gate, with a large stuffed horse and by several of the exhibits.
Next we visit Saratoga Spa State Park and look for the famed Saratoga Springs with their healing waters. Unfortunately we walk the wrong way in the park and end up at the swimming pool, which is one of the nicest public pools we ever saw. The park hosts concerts and there is a golf course. The evergreen trees that line the road going through the park are very tall and look like they were grown with the care of generations of horticulturists. The park is large and people are picnicking, walking dogs, playing golf and buying tickets for the concert. We both agree that our visit is too short. Saratoga Springs needs slow romancing to uncover its many treasures.
Saratoga Arms is an experience in itself. The rooms are all different, some are large suites with patio porches and others like ours, though spacious, are cozy and comfortable. Room amenities include: a large TV, WIFI access, a safe, a Keurig coffeemaker, complimentary bottles of Saratoga Water, individual AC/Heat room controls, lush bathrobes, Beekman 1802 Soaps & Lotions, a hairdryer, iron, ironing board and a refrigerator.
Property amenities include: a farm-to-table gourmet breakfast, high speed WIFI access (even on the front porch), a 24-hour exercise room, daily newspapers and current magazines, a complimentary guest pantry, early morning grab and go breakfast items, ice machine, evening signature cookies, beautiful wrap-around front porch, games, fax, scanning and copying services, fine wines, craft beer and a variety of small plates (additional charge), laundry service (additional charge) and most importantly friendly, well informed owners and staff.
We leave the Saratoga Arms Hotel early Wednesday morning and take the five hour trip home. We are sad to leave. It takes more than two days to enjoy Saratoga Springs, New York and the Saratoga Arms Hotel. Upstate New York is different than Pennsylvania. The flora, trees, the soil, terrain, even the shape of the hills, but it is like many of the places we visited in our home state and others. We decide to go back part of the way on blue highways so we can drive through open country, over hills and see the small towns and think about our next visit.
Saratoga Arms is located at 497 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, New York. For more information, call 518-584-1775 or visit www.saratogaarms.com.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and the co-writer of this department.