My daughter and I stayed here for a skating trip. We stayed in one of the suits, which appeared to be much nicer than the standard room. On the plus side: nice room with light pine furniture, good soundproofing, attractive black out curtains that worked, working fireplace, overall very comfortable. We really appreciated their efforts at being "Green" and for us that made the stay that much more enjoyable. The hotel restaurant was very good, which was especially nice because it was so cold (yes, I know, Lake Placid :) ). The pool area was also nice. The cons: the housekeeping was very inconsistent- some days good, others horrible. The hotel's public area's look worn. Most disturbing was the complete lack of presence of the staff. The people behind the front desk hid behind it- there was no "face" to the hotel. In their defense, there were large groups with children (ours and hockey groups) and it must be frustrating to deal with people who let their kids run rampant unsupervised all over the place, but in my opinion, all the more reason to make the staff more visible.

The best thing about this hotel is the location, right on the lake and in town, close to shops and restaurants.The ski hill is 9 miles away.
This was probably a great hotel in 1980, when the Winter Olympics were held.
Now it's dated, rooms have very old and noisy heaters/AC, old couches in the front desk area, old carpets.
The pool is good sized, and has 2 hot tubs and sauna, but the lockers have no hair driers, only one shower with no shampoo or soap/body wash. The towels were gone in the first 5 min and we had to wait for one hour to get a fresh batch from the laundry room.
Definitely not a 4*, between 2-3*.
But the town Lake Placid itself is very pretty, quaint and the ski hill is awesome.

Our recent stay at the Golden Arrow Resort was a bit disappointing. We stayed for one night and were excited about the prospect of having so many amenities in one place. We found the beds in the room to be of extremely poor quality. The rooms were clean, but VERY uncomfortable to sleep in. The only place we tried was Roomer's NightClub which we found to be FREEZING and slightly creepy. The front desk was not a huge help to us as were trying to find the nightclub. Directions of "to the end of that hall" brought us up and out to the Alpine Mall. I would probably never stay there again, as I felt the price was a little much for such an outdated hotel.

We stayed here for a night while attending a skating event at the Olympic Center.

As others have noted, this hotel is right in the center of Lake Placid. This means it's convenient to the Olympic Center and the shops -- but also means it's not really a quiet retreat. For example, we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The group behind us was (are you ready?) 51 people strong. Some sort of hockey group. They were expected, but the restaurant was otherwise full and the staff were very frazzled.

Our room was recently refurbished and very attractive, albeit quite small. There were some curious things: a bedside table on only one side of the bed (I got the other side, and had to put my glasses on the floor) and a bathtub in the living room -- but with some sort of curtain affair. The hotel prides itself on being "green," but that meant the shower gel and shampoo were in unpleasant cardboard containers that felt -- to me -- like something you'd get on a Greyhound bus. Although the bathtub was large, there was no bath gel or bubble bath.

The room was incredibly noisy at night: minibar refrigerator and creaks and groans and dripping noises from (I think) the heating system. I mentioned this to the front desk the next morning and the indifferent clerk just shrugged her shoulders.

The room had a coffee maker and a first-class microwave. My wife wanted a latte at about 10:30. The near-by Starbucks was closed, as was the hotel's room service. Her Ladyship needed milk for her latte. The front desk clerk suggested I get in the car -- it was freezing outside -- and go to a mini-mart. The security guard, who was standing near-by, suggested I go to the hotel bar. I did so, and got the most peculiar look from the bartender when I ordered a glass of milk. Mission accomplished. I can understand that it might not be cost-effective to have 24-7 room service, but how about some sort of very abbreviated version that could provide simple, pre-made sandwiches, milk, hot chocolate, etc.? Better than sending guests to the min-mart. (She also said there was a nice pizza parlor that delivered to the guest rooms. Very motel-esque.)

I think that's the essence of the Golden Arrow. It is, essentially, a motel -- and not really a "resort." Prices, however, are resort level. Location great, parking convenient, rooms clean but small. Nice enough -- but if we go back to Lake Placid we'll try someplace else.