Inn on the Lake

"Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region, a nine-county sweep of state parks and small towns, forests and farmland, has pulled vacationing families and nature lovers to its 11 slender, digit-like lakes for more than a century. But it's really only over the past decade that the area has come into its own as one of the country’s top wine regions, pulling a new crew of savvy visitors who come as much for the local vintages as for the Walden-esque natural setting. The newly reimagined Lake House resort on the north end of Lake Canandaigua, one of the loveliest (and toniest) corners of upstate, sits at the intersection of old guard and new. The expansive compound of recently built white gabled structures on the site of a former roadside motel retains some of the old local flavor but is casually upscale enough for well-heeled weekenders from Toronto and New York City. Rooms have a New England resort feel—plenty of white painted wood and four poster beds—and the food is excellent: the lively The Sands turns out the perfect lobster roll alongside potent classic cocktails while the more upscale Rose Tavern taps into the area’s local bounty. But, truth be told, you’re there for the lake: To watch it go from blue to pink-gold from the Adirondack chair on your balcony, to head out for the afternoon in a canoe with a picnic lunch, and to listen to it settle for the night from a shorefront fire pit as you toast marshmallows or sip a local off-dry Riesling—or, better yet, do both. Rooms from $250."