Children of all ages are warmly welcome at Silverlaken. The camp is designed to promote quality time together with family and friends.

 

• When reviewing the occupancy limits of your desired rental unit, know that guests aged 3 to 17 are considered "Children" who will sleep in the existing beds.

 

• Up to 2 Infants (0-2 years old) per rental unit are welcome to stay free of charge when using existing bedding or a crib provided by the guest. For insurance reasons, we are afraid that Silverlaken does not offer cribs, bassinets, cradles, cots, and other forms of infant bedding.

 

• If you have a small child that is likely to cry at some point during the night, as a courtesy to your fellow campers, please book a rental unit with fixed walls rather than staying in a tent with very limited sound dampening. The camp is generally very quiet from 9PM to 9AM with only the sound of crickets and pond frogs filling the night. A crying child in a tent is likely to be heard across the entire camp, creating an awkward situation for all.

 

• The camp has ponds, lakefront, docks, kayaks, hammocks, horseshoe pits, campfires and a small playground that children enjoy. To ensure the safety of young guests and proper use of infrastructure, even well-behaved children must be directly supervised, at all times, while on the estate.

 

Tents are spaced 20 to 40 feet apart and have limited sound dampening properties.

 

While we are serious about the 9 PM to 9 AM quiet hour policy, other guests may be coming and going in the evening hours and campfire conversations, even at a lowered voice, may be heard in the tents. Also be aware that sounds from inside the tents will travel outside the tent.

 

If you are concerned about noise levels or are a sensitive sleeper, please consider booking a rental unit with fixed walls, rather than staying in a tent with very limited sound dampening.

 

Most tents lack heating and cooling.

• Lake Tents do not have electric, heating or cooling.  A charging station is located in the common area near the tents. The lake breeze helps cool the tents in the summer and a rechargeable fan is provided as well.  Blankets are provided in the cooler times of year, but guests should consider bringing extra blankets when the temperatures are low.
• Canvas Cabins are not heated but electric heat blankets are provided for extra comfort in the cool seasons. Thanks to the breeze off the lake, Canvas Cabins stay cool most evenings. Fans and air conditioners are provided for the occasional muggy night mid-summer.

 

Exact terms & conditions will be clearly stated on the booking portals.  Please review carefully before you authorize payment for your trip.

 

To summarize, while rates are generally lower when you book direct via www.Silverlaken.com, 3rd party booking platforms like AirBnB offer more flexible cancellation policies.

 

Direct bookings via www.Silverlaken.com are subject to the following cancellation policy:

Because our winters are long and the vacation season is so short in Western NY, we have a fairly strict cancellation policy for direct bookings and are unable to substitute dates or swap rental units once the booking has been made. Please consider the following cancellation policy:

• • Full refund (minus payment processing fee) if the check-in date is at least 30 days away.
  • 50% refund (minus payment processing fee) if the check-in date is at least 20 days away.
  • No refunds for cancellations made within 20 days of check-in.

Important: Cancellation policy applies to, but is not limited to, inclement weather (hot, cold, wet, dry or otherwise), air quality (Canadian wildfires, for example), lake water quality (seaweed & algae, for example), agricultural smells (including manure spreading in the area), changes in travel plans, medical issues (including Covid), personal reasons, etc.

Important: Banks and credit card companies apply the processing fee to both the original payment and the refund when direct bookings are cancelled. That means even a full refund will be the total amount minus 2x the processing fee of 3% (6% in total).

 

Cancellation Policy due to Last Minute Weather Events

Please note that bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable after the closure of the cancellation window, despite any inclement weather.

All rental units, including tents, are engineered to handle typical wind and rain.  Most, but not all rental units are heated.  Please read listing notes carefully before making your booking.

• Most fixed-walled rental units have heating.
• Most fixed-walled rental units + the two canvas cabins have air conditioning.
• Lake Tents do not have electric, heating or cooling.  The lake breeze helps cool the tents in the summer and a rechargeable fan is provided as well.  Blankets are provided in the cooler times of year, but guests should consider bringing extra blankets when the temperatures are low.
• Bubble Tents and Canvas Cabins are not heated but electric heat blankets are provided for extra comfort in the cool seasons.
• Canvas Cabins stay cool most evenings, thanks to the breeze off the lake. Fans and air conditioners are provided for the occasional muggy night mid-summer.

Self Check-in / Check-out Procedure

• To ensure housekeeping has time to prepare the rental units, guests should arrive no earlier than 4 PM and check out no later than 10 AM, unless agreed otherwise.
• In the day(s) before the scheduled arrival, your hosts at Silverlaken will provide a welcome packet, confirm the details of the reservation, and assign a parking spot.

Rental Season

Mid-April: Select rental units start to open for the season.
Mid-May: Most units open for the season.
June 1: All rental units open for the season.
October 1: Tent Structures start to close for the season.
Mid-October: Non-heated structures start to close for the season.
November: All remaining units closed for the season. Exact date depends on the weather.

Low Season: April & Nov
Regular Season: May, June, September & October
Peak Season: July & August + National Holidays
Super Peaks: July 4th Holiday Period & Labor Day Weekend

 

The listing may show "unavailable" if you open the booking page during the off season. Simply select your desired dates and all the rates, availability and booking options will been shown. Rates are update each year in January.  Book early to lock in next year at this year's rates.

 

Forgive the long answer to this frequently asked question. We want to be very transparent with our guests about the pros and cons of Airbnb vs Booking Direct.

We are happy to pull the curtains back and shine some light on the platform fees and cancellation policies, so you can select the best fit for your particular situation.

 

1. Room Rates:  Airbnb vs Direct Booking

While the Airbnb algorithm adjusts prices up or down based on supply and demand at any given time, generally speaking, direct bookings are 8 to 15% less than booking via Airbnb. But direct bookings have a much stricter refund policy.

Direct booking rates are fixed in advance for the super peak, peak, high and low seasons. It is possible to find a last-minute deal if you book via Airbnb, but if you wait too long and there is an event in town or holiday, the Airbnb rates could be significantly higher.

Guests with bookings made via Airbnb will enjoy the same access to Silverlaken infrastructure and receive the same high level of customer service from Silverlaken staff.

2. Cancellation Policies:  Airbnb vs Direct Booking

Airbnb is more flexible with refunds and changes.

3. Payment Methods: Airbnb vs Direct Booking

The only way to pay via Airbnb is to use a credit card.

Direct booking allows for payment via check, cash or credit card.  Credit card payments up to $1,500 are accepted online at www.Silverlaken.com.  Please call us if you wish to pay via check, cash or credit card payments over $1,500.  We will be happy to hold your reservation while the check clears.

 

Bottom Line: Airbnb vs Direct Booking

Book direct with a credit card if you are confident your dates won't change.  Give us a call if you wish to pay with cash/check or your booking value is greater than $1,500.

Consider booking via Airbnb if you want to stay flexible. Airbnb's cancellation period is longer and they do not charge a processing fee if the change is made within the agreed cancellation period.