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Experience The Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, New York

Almost every summer, we vacation for a week or so at my family’s lake house in Maine. It’s a 10-12 hour drive, so it can be done in a day, but we usually take two and stop and stay with family along the way. In recent years, we’ve started trying to explore new places en route. It’s awesome to have a familiar place to go on vacation, but I also want our kids to experience new things and see new sites.

This year, we decided to take a detour through Cooperstown, New York. My husband and son are huge baseball fans, so the National Baseball Hall of Fame has been on their bucket list for quite a while. I’m not so much into baseball, but I do love exploring new places, so I immediately took to Trip Advisor to find a cool place to stay.

We looked at several options and batted some ideas back and forth (see what I did there?) In the end, we decided to splurge and stay for a night at The Otesaga Resort Hotel.

the-Otesaga

The Otesaga is the epitome of luxury travel. It is stately and elegant and spacious and located on the picturesque Lake Otesaga, just a short walk from downtown Cooperstown.

Otesaga

lobby

veranda chairs 2

We arrived mid-afternoon and checked into our room. It had all the old world charm that was promised on the website. I wanted to move in and stay for weeks. I mean, just look.

bedroom 3

bedroom otesaga

bedroom 2

bedroom 5

bedroom 6

And then, as if that wasn’t enough, look at the bathroom. How adorable is this!?

Otesaga Bathroom

Otesaga Bathrooom

I was completely charmed. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to spend in the room. We had our kids with us (they provided a cot for our 3rd child, which was in the room when we arrived. Also of note: they provided plenty of towels. It’s amazing how many times we make hotel reservations for a family of 5, and only have towels for 4 in the room.) so after we stowed our luggage in the room, we went downstairs to explore the grounds.

We didn’t get very far because we discovered the sweeping veranda, which provided amazing views of Otesaga Lake and the golf course. There were rows of rocking chairs where we sat, ordered wine, and soaked up the atmosphere.

veranda

lawn

wine on veranda

I know I say this everywhere I go, but I just wish we could have stayed longer. The Otesaga Hotel is definitely a destination unto itself. You don’t have to care a lick about baseball to justify a stay at the Otesaga. In addition to soaking up the views, you can rent boats or paddleboards, fish, play golf, or treat yourself to a variety of spa services. I’ll write another post about things to do in Cooperstown, but suffice it to say, the area has a lot more to offer than the Baseball Hall of Fame.

There are several dining options at the Otesaga. If my husband and I had been there alone, we would have eaten at their fine dining restaurant, the Glimmerglass. Instead, we chose to eat at the more casual Hawkeye Bar & Grill. We ate inside because it was a chilly evening, but their outdoor dining is the real draw here. The view is amazing from the patio, and there was live music outside too. The food was decent, and the service was a bit slow, but we had a nice time.

I got up early the next morning, as is my habit, and wandered the grounds before seeking out my morning coffee. The views of the lake in the morning light were stunning.

lake morning

lake morning 2

There was a Keurig in our hotel room (nice touch!) but I didn’t want to wake my family, so I went into the dining room and found coffee service for hotel guests. I grabbed my cup and returned to the lobby to read my book and wait for my family to join me.

coffee at otesaga

When I made our room reservation, I opted for the Double Play Baseball Package, which includes breakfast and passes to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Breakfast is hosted in their elegant Glimmerglass Dining Room. It’s served buffet style in food stations with table service for beverages. There was an omelet station, a waffle station, a nice selection of fruits and yogurt, eggs, breakfast meats, pastries, and just about anything you would want in a formal breakfast buffet.

This time, the service was excellent and refined, plus the dining room is simply lovely. Because the town draws a lot of families, we didn’t feel out of place with our children even though the atmosphere is formal.

dining room coffee

dining room

Checkout at the Otesaga is at 1PM, which is nice because we didn’t feel rushed to leave. We let the boys go on ahead and get started at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I stayed back with the girls to relax for a while before we checked out.

veranda chairs

veranda view lawn

I would gladly have stayed there all day, exploring the lake, hanging out on the veranda, and maybe sneaking in a spa service or two, but we had an agenda to keep. I’ll share more about things to do in the area in my next post, so stay tuned for that!

Meanwhile, if you have an occasion to visit Cooperstown and want to treat yourself to luxurious accommodations, I can’t recommend the Otesaga highly enough.

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7 Responses

  1. We just had the same problem with towels! As we are traveling more as a family, I am finding out how hard it is to travel as a family of five. Oh well!
    The hotel looks beautiful!

  2. Looks like a beautiful property! Love the veranda where it looks like everyone likes to sit and enjoy a cocktail… glad u got a chance to enjoy it there! I so want to be there right now!

  3. Bravo on this discovery! I love that personalized charm too, and the balcony full of rocking chairs? I found myself a little envious of your coffee and book time! Glad you guys had fun.

  4. What a beautiful post! We had brunch at the Otesaga years ago and I have the cutest pictures of my girls all dressed in matching pink outfits sitting in those rocking chairs. The girls are in high school and college now, but we still go to Cooperstown a few times every year. Thanks so much for highlighting one of our Central New York gems!

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