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Ocean Properties Completes Renovations and Re-Opens The Sagamore Resort
in Glens Falls, New York

The 375-room Lake George Destination Returns to Year-Round
Operations for the First Time Since Late 2008

By Scott Donnelly, The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News

May 04, 2013--BOLTON -- The Sagamore Resort has opened for the season -- and the next one and the one after that.

For the first time since the winter of 2008-09, the Lake George destination is returning to year-round operation, featuring floor-to-ceiling renovations of guest accommodations, the conference center, salon and spa.

The upgrades were unveiled Friday during a reception at the resort.

"We're going to be open every weekend year-round, and we'll expand operations if the business is there to do that," said General Manager Tom Guay. "We feel there's been an uptick in the economy, and our July and August have been gangbusters. We want that to carry over into the winter season."

The 375-room resort was purchased by Ocean Properties Ltd. in 2008, and about 85 employees were quickly laid off as the new owners sought to make the resort profitable. It had been open year-round since the mid-1980s.

Guay said "aggressive renovations" were among the reasons the resort decided to close for the winter.

"We tried to open that first winter, but we were renovating the lobby, and people were coming up here from Manhattan and looking out at the lake, and there was this blue tarp in the way," said Assistant General Manager Tyler Herrick.

Guay said laid-off employees may be asked to return to work, as year-round business dictates.

The conference center was last renovated in 1991, and while the bathrooms in the hotel rooms were renovated between 2002 and 2004, the kitchens in the suites were original, dating to 1985, Guay said.

He would not disclose how much was spent, but the work has not translated to more resort jobs.

"The projects we've done have enabled us to have efficiencies," he said.

For instance, the spa and salon used to be in different wings of the hotel. Now, they are combined in one area.

The resort had about 350 staff as of Friday, with plans to bring on another 250 before the summer tourism season, Guay said. Those interested in applying for a position should visit thesagamore.com.

News of the year-round schedule follows an announcement this week Ocean Properties purchased Lake Placid Lodge in Lake Placid, making it the second hotel owned by Ocean Properties in New York.

"We're excited because it's now our sister property," Guay said Friday. "There are absolutely going to be some property-to-property associations; I'll have a role in both properties."

Katrina Daugherty, owner of the Bolton Beans diner on Lake Shore Drive, was happy to hear about the resort's year-round move Friday.

"When they were first bought out, it was a hard transition because the town was very used to them being here," Daugherty said, taking a break from washing windows.

"But we're resilient. We bounced back, and our winter business is just as good as when they closed. So, it'll just be an added bonus, I feel. It will be like old times."

___

(c)2013 The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.)

Visit The Post Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.) at www.poststar.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services



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