In the early part of last year’s racing season, Kathleen took two Irish girls from Ballybunion, County Kerry, who were working at the hotel for the summer to the races.  They put a sentimental bet on a young horse with good odds named “Dublin” and were handsomely rewarded when the horse won.  At the end of the Saratoga meet, Dublin won the Hopeful Stakes.  Now D. Wayne Lucas is talking about running Dublin in the Kentucky Derby.  I bet Paddy Power will take a few more sentimental bets.

 Opening Day and the excitement throughout the city of Saratoga Springs is palpable.  Up and down the crowded sidewalks visitors mingle with townsfolk, darting in and out of shops and restaurants, chatting on the benches, admiring the artistic horse sculptures, and the lush hanging baskets.  Flags are waving proclaiming the arrival of the 141st meet at Saratoga Race Course.  The Daily Racing Form is the preferred reading choice.  The town is hopping and we are ready.

The Smith family and the staff of Saratoga Arms are welcoming back old friends who return year after year to their favorite Saratoga Springs Hotel.  We are confident that first time guests will fast become part of the Saratoga Arms growing circle of regulars.

The Saratoga Arms dining room this morning was abuzz with racing talk and old friends catching up on the events of last year that passed so quickly.  Noel continuus to delight diners with his usual scrumptious breakfasts and Kathleen shares Saratoga news and offers up tips for an enjoyable stay.

Come join us…the Racing Meet only lasts until Labor Day.  The talk in the racing community is that the quality of horses and the racing will be the best ever.  Don’t miss the fun. 

Saratoga Springs…Saratoga ArtsFest…and the best of Saratoga Springs’ luxury hotels, Saratoga Arms

Saratoga ArtsFest 2009, held June 11-14, is a four-day celebration of the arts; featuring music, dance, visual art, film, theatre, and literary art.  Thi is the third year of Saratoga ArtsFest and it highlights Saratoga Springs as a premiere destination for the arts.  It showcases the talents of local, national and internation artists from all aspects of the arts.

It is a most enjoyable weekend in beautiful downtown Saratoga Springs, NY

Make your reservation today at our Saratoga Springs hotel-Saratoga Arms- or call 518-584-1775!  Come…enjoy the Arts and the welcoming from porch of Saratoga Arms. 

Saratoga Arms, located in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY, was recently honored by admittance into Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America, the premier innkeeping association in the United States and Canada. Out of the thousands of inns in North America, only an elite few will be invited to join Select Registry this year. Saratoga Arms joins more than 400 other exceptional properties that are already members of the Association.

Saratoga Arms, one of Saratoga Springs luxury hotels, exemplifies the high quality and service championed by this Association,” says Select Registry Executive Director Keith Kehlbeck. “Select Registry assures the traveler that each of its inns is regularly inspected-anonymously and with an overnight inspection that measures the quality of hospitality, as well as the physical plant. Our members share a high standard of excellence, and each of our country inns, luxury B & B’s, and unique small hotels has its own distinctive character.”

Founded in 1972 as the Independent Innkeepers’ Association by Norman Simpson, “the Father of Country Inn travel in America,” Select Registry is an offshoot of Simpson’s popular and pioneering book, Country Inns and Back Roads.  The name and logo of the organization were changed several years ago to reflect the group’s approach to marketing its selective and distinguished member properties.  Originally established in the Berkshire area of New England, the nonprofit organization is now headquartered in historic Marshall, Michigan. Member inns must meet the rigorous standards of a Quality Assurance program, and represent the most prestigious establishments of their type.

As a marketing association, Select Registry partners with other brands and organizations-such as BMW, Karen Brown’s Guides, DiRoNA, UK Tour Operator Select Vacations, PhoCusWright, Ontario’s Finest Inns and the American Heart Association to name a few-to promote its members to target audiences.  Its celebrated guidebook-now in its 20th Edition-is distributed each year to nearly 400,000 guests throughout North America.  The organization also maintains a critically-acclaimed website, supervises gift certificate and loyalty programs, and organizes promotions for its members, including last year’s inaugural “Inn-credible Breakfast Cook-off,” a breakfast recipe culinary competition that produced nearly 30 million media impressions.

Saratoga Arms is an award winning 1870 Second Empire brick concierge hotel under the personal supervision of the proprietors, Kathleen and Noel Smith and their daughter Amy Smith. This Saratoga Springs, NY inn is located in the downtown district within walking distance to restaurants, museums, shopping, and colleges. Saratoga Arms features beautifully appointed rooms, some with fireplaces and double whirlpool tubs. Guests of the inn may take advantage of on-site massage and facial services, and an exercise room. Saratoga Arms also offers a state of the art executive conference room and specializes in Small Meetings in Grand Style.

The calendar affirms what our minds and hearts have been longing for… Spring has arrived in Saratoga Springs!   The waist high snow banks are melting, giving way to brown grass and winter debris.  It’s not yet green, but it is a welcome sight to see landscaping crews raking and cleaning up. Soon the crocus, daffodils and tulips will line the sidewalks and the trees will begin to shade the boulevard.

Saratoga Arms is getting a little spring spruce-up. A few rooms in “the old” section are getting a make-over…new room arrangements, a few coats of paint and beautiful new décor.  The halls in the “new section” will be lined with historic photos of old Saratoga from the Bolster Collection of the Historical Society.

Kathleen is enjoying her waning days in Florida, returning home in mid-April. Noel is still in charge of the kitchen churning out those mouthwatering  omelets for the hearty wintertime guests.

Amy and Kathleen will be attending the Innkeeping Conference presented by PAII (Professional Association of Innkeepers International) in Atlanta at the end of the month. It is a time of socialization, exchange of ideas and learning. They always return with some fresh thoughts and renewed enthusiasm.

With the worst of this very long winter behind us and the arrival of the vernal equinox, we welcome the busy sidewalks filled with visitors to Saratoga Springs.

Will you be one of them?

There has been many doings about the date 8/8/08.  Weddings were all the rage for that Friday.  During one of our spring brainstorming sessions about how to market Saratoga Arms in the 8/8/08 hysteria, our Director of Sales and Marketing came up with a brilliant idea…

Saratoga Springs is in the middle of our thoroughbred racing season.  The town is jammed and our rooms are filled.  Our director thought it would be fabulous to buy a racing ticket for each room on 8/8/08, betting the eighth horse in the eighth race.  Great idea!  Wouldn’t you know, after the second race that Friday a torrential thunderstorm with golf ball sized hail rained down on Saratoga and the racetrack.  The rest of that day’s racing was cancelled.

We all wondered if we would have a dining room full of winners on 8/9/08.  We’ll never know.  

Any ideas for 9/9/09? 

Wesley Armstrong, the best plumber in American and the second most important man in my life, was in the hotel last week getting the air conditioning operational.  Wesley told Noel and me the story of one of his many brothers doing two tours in Viet Nam almost forty years ago.  Warren had been wounded twice, and his family always felt grateful he came home in good health. 

Recently, a Vet from Kansas made a trip to Viet Nam.  While there, he visited a junk shop that offered a large tray of American soldiers’ dog tags for sale.   The fellow from Kansas purchased the whole tray and brought them back to a Boy Scout troop he was involved with back home.

Warren has just received his dog tags along with a detailed letter explaining the project from the young men of the Boy Scout troop.

I hope they all earned a merit badge. 

One of the perks of spending my winter on Sanibel Island is to partake of the “Forum” at BIG ARTS .  Many interesting speakers on a variety of topics give a thirty-five minute lecture and take questions from an audience that can seat no more than 415 people.  The hottest ticket this past winter was for the Justice Ginsburg’s lecture.  When Mr. Brown down the street was unable to attend and gave me his ticket, I jumped at the chance to hear my second speech from a sitting Supreme Court Justice.  Ten years ago I was a guest at a luncheon where Justice Scalia spoke.

Justice Ginsburg spoke about writing descenting opinions and took several questions from the audience.  Her husband cooks for her every night, her greatest treat is an opera, she thinks Linda Greenhouse at The New York Times has a brillant command and talent for interpeting what goes on at the Court, the Court receives between seven and nine thousand petitions per year–some of which are handwritten from prisioners, and she socializes with Justice Scalia.  

At the end of the lecture Justice Ginsburg went into the reception hall to meet and greet.  (She donned a pair of beige gloves for the handshaking.)  I went in to the reception hall to meet the folks I had come with looking for my ride home.  It was Justice Ginsburg, her Secret Service contingent and me. 

Without the need for a handshake and without a question, I told Justice Ginsburg that I was at Saratoga Racecourse the same day several years ago that she was a guest of the president of Skidmore College.  She sat in a box on the finish line and I sat in a box many rows behind her.  I told her that each time the people behind her either exited their boxes or returned to their boxes, they were interviewed by her Secret Service contingent.  With just two minutes to posttime for the seventh race, a Damon Runyon type jumped out of his box to run to the betting windows.  The Secret Service jumped on him.  Eager to get his wager down, he loudly exclaimed  to Justice Ginsburg’s bodyguards, “I’m here to play the horses.  What is she here for?  She hasn’t moved all day!”

By then a line had formed behind me.  Justice Ginsburg looked up and welcomed the next person.

I returned to Saratoga Springs last week after a wonderful winter on Sanibel Island.  I drove down in January by way of a fabric mill in South Carolina.  (The sign on the door of the mill advised, “No Loaded Firearms Allowed Inside”.)  I stopped in Atlanta for America’s Mart, where I ordered some wonderful lamps and furniture and rugs for the terraces.  I arrived back at Saratoga Arms in time for the US Food show across the street at the City Center where I chose the new china pattern for the hotel.  We have been using a service for three hundred that we purchased nearly thirty years ago when we were in the restaurant game.

Even though I get to spend my winters in sunny Florida, I try to use that time to expedite the constant refreshing that enables us to earn the title of the nicest hotel in town. It’s obvious I didn’t use my Florida time to refresh my blog.