Located slopeside at California’s Northstar, The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe introduced its new Lake Club waterside venue with an opening event on June 27, adding a new dimension for guests and groups. Ownership, project partners, media and neighbors were treated to a ceremony emceed by Olympian Billy Kidd, lunch outdoors and tours of the new space with a Clare Walton, principal architect for Tahoe City-based Walton Architecture + Engineering.
The two-story Lake Club features an indoor gathering area and bar, ground-floor dining terrace, upper-level dining deck, and expansive lawn extending to the water’s edge. Use of natural materials such as ledgestone and cedar wood provides a warm and welcoming counterbalance to the clean, contemporary lines of the steel and glass structure. In addition, floor-to-ceiling windows provide breathtaking views and unique art pieces evoke a sense of place, including works by New York-based Jacob Hashimoto, Jennifer Hannaford and Karen Margolis and local artists Pat Blide, Marianne Rosenfeld, Marybeth and Troy Corlis.
Located in Tahoe Vista, approximately a 15- to 20-minute shuttle ride from the resort, Lake Club is available to guests who reserve the Lake Club package and provides direct beach access and a private boat pier that serves as an embarkation point for a myriad of summer and fall water sports such as boating, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. Additional features include an outdoor spa, fire pit, showers and changing facilities, and ample storage for sports equipment.
Throughout its construction, Lake Club exceeded stringent environmental and building standards for the region. The building’s footprint was reduced by more than 30 percent when compared to the previous structure, which allows more open views of Lake Tahoe. In addition, there was enhancement of scenic areas through lush landscape additions, water quality and frontage improvements, and installation of parking area pavers to improve permeability during storms.
Located just 6 miles from both historic downtown Truckee and the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe features 170 guest rooms, 23 private Ritz-Carlton
Residences, 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space (evenly split) and a 17,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. Constructed in 2009, the AAA Five Diamond property has an inter-mountain gondola that connects the resort to the nearby Village at Northstar and offers complimentary Marshmology each evening for guests to make gooey s’mores with house-made marshmallows (flavors change daily!).
The morning of the ceremony, the group was treated to brunch on the terrace of Manzanita before shuttling to Lake Club. In the evening, the resort’s main restaurant also was the location for a dinner party with champagne and signature cocktails and dishes served.
I was fortunate to be part of a group of 20 journalists that enjoyed an extended stay for activities such as hiking with wellness staff, stand up paddle boarding at Lake Club, cabana experiences at the main pool, spa treatments, a visit to downtown Truckee, and a multicourse dinner with wine pairing at Stella in Truckee. Stella specializes in custom dining options for groups, offers a Pop Up Dinner Series to the public several times a month and is located at The Cedar House Sport Hotel, which has a small event center and 40 boutique guest rooms.
Early morning hikes from The Ritz-Carlton to Sawmill Lake were a great way to get the day started. I loved the whimsical tiles painted by kids along the trail and hearing the whoosh of an eagle’s wings as it took off near where I was sitting at the lake. It’s only a 2.3-mile round trip and a relatively easy way to get in some exercise before meetings begin. On other trails, watch for huge pinecones on the ground courtesy of the surrounding sugar pines. As part of the property’s Impact Experiences, groups can work with the local Sugar Pine Foundation to plant new trees to make sure there are plenty for future generations.
Examples of other Impact Experiences groups can book are several in partnership with the League to Save Lake Tahoe include marking storm drains with Keep Tahoe Blue markers and finishing the day on a Tahoe beach collecting water samples to monitor lake clarity; learning how to identify the most common invasive species at the lake and reporting finds on a smartphone app; monitoring restoration sites; and going on bike and kayak tours.
On-property Impact Experiences that can be scheduled during breaks and receptions are things like preparing a regionally adapted dish for donation to a local hunger relief
organization, assembling emergency preparedness kits for a disaster relief facility or community organization, and creating greeting and birthday cards for children in a local pediatric healthcare facility or children’s organization.
Get out to enjoy this diverse, year-round resort and destination!
