THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, June 9, 2005

The former motel at Proctor’s Lakehouse Cottages has been transformed into a six-unit efficiency building featuring kitchenettes.

LORRIE BAIRD PHOTOS

PROCTOR’S LAKEHOUSE COTTAGES ADDS NEW EFFICIENCY BUILDING
...Hosts Business After Hours, Wednesday, June 22, 5- 7pm
by Lorrie Baird Contributing Editor

Reprinted with permission

“A New Idea in Old Fashioned Hospitality” is the slogan for Proctor’s Lakeside Cottage in the Weirs. For those who know and love this popular vacation destination, it is also a working philosophy. Fred Clausen and family are always offering something new for their guests to experience and enjoy. This year, the former eight-room motel unit has been remodeled into six brand new efficiency units and Fred Clausen couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

Sitting on the deck of the new efficiency building overlooking the 350-foot sandy beach and the Weirs Channel beyond, it is easy to see why this project has been as successful as it was extensive. It’s no easy task converting ordinary hotel rooms into mini-suites. Walls had to come down; entryways changed and room divisions refigured. The result is modern efficiency units with everything that looks brand new, even if it isn’t. In a rare moment of relaxation on one of the new building’s decks, Fred Clausen says that he “got very lucky” when a friend called and told him that he had just purchased the Ellacoya Resort and planned to tear it down. He wanted to know if Fred would be interested in purchasing some motel room fixtures. “So I asked,‘ What’s for sale?’ and he said, ‘everything!’ I bought ten rooms of furniture, showers, toilets, sinks, heating and air condition- ing units, windows, doors, headboards, refrigerators, and more.” Even with son Patrick and a staff member helping, it took two weeks to get all the fixtures out and stored at Proctor’s, filling the original Lakehouse to its rafters! Here’s where the luck comes in: these fixtures were just 3 years old and still look brand new! For example, the spacious showers feature two built-in seats and shine like they just came out of the crate. Host Fred Clausen rarely has time to sit on the Proctor’s Lakehouse veranda. Getting out on the lake at least weekly in his own boat is his personal goal.

All six of the new efficiency units are crisp and clean with homey touches and spacious furnished decks featuring great views and privacy walls. All the units are named after well known Lake Winnipesaukee islands. Black Cat and Poplar are one-room kitchenette efficiencies featuring one queen bed and a queen sleep sofa that accommodates a maximum of four people. Sleepers and Welch are two-room efficiencies with two queen beds, a queen sleep sofa, full kitchens, and can sleep a maxi-mum of six guests. These units feature 6’X2 1’ decks with a shade overhang, comfy wicker furniture and a charcoal grill. The largest of the units is Lockes, a two bedroom, full kitchen unit with two queen beds and a queen sleeper sofa, capable of sleeping 6 guests, and also features a comfortable deck. Sitting atop the efficiency building is the re-modeled “Hawk’s Nest” a two-bedroom efficiency with two queen beds and a queen sleeper that can accommodate a maximum of six guests and features a full kitchen along with an impressive channel view, as do all the units.

Speaking of the view, relaxing on one of the new decks, on an Adirondack chair on Proctor’s beachside deck, or stretched out on the 350-foot sandy beach is a favorite Lakehouse Cottage pasttime… and why not? The new efficiency building features a great view from every deck.

The ongoing parade of recreational boats cruises right by, affording guests an ever-changing and entertaining cross-section of the boating lifestyle on the Big Lake. As for Fred Clausen, he’ll tell you that his personal goal this summer is to actually get out on the lake with his own boat at least once a week. The former motel is not the only building that received a Lakehouse Cottages face-lift this season. Eighty-nine new vinyl windows were installed in the 12 lakeside cottages along with air conditioning. There are also two other one-bedroom efficiencies with kitchenettes available in the original Lakehouse itself, both with a sitting area.

Along with the spirit of hospitality that has been a Proctor’s hallmark for over half a century, there is also a spirit of fun and relaxation. Parents can unwind and play cards or board games on the cool, welcoming Lakehouse veranda while the kids romp on the vintage wooden runabout that the Clausen family keeps on the property for both play and as a family photo prop. In fact, everything about this long-time Weirs business says welcome, relax, play and have fun! Welcome, too, will be area business acquaintances, guests and friends when Proctor’s Lakehouse Cottages hosts a Laconia/ Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours on Wednesday, June 22 from 5 to 7 PM. For more information on Proctor’s Lakehouse Cottages, log on to www.lakehousecottages.com. Here you’ll find an informative website that truly does reflect “a new idea in old-fashioned hospitality.”