York, who witnessed the fanfare, said it illustrates how hostile the Cooks became, how they turned on anyone who disagreed with them and began treating certain people with disdain. On Christmas Eve, the resort's remaining buildings were demolished.Ī video that circulated among Bristol Harbour Village residents and was shared via email shows a celebration by the Cooks and marina owner Jeremy Fields as the multimillion resort came down, with loud music and shouts directed at residents in the Village. In August 2020, the Cooks had Bristol Harbour’s hotel knocked down. “Therefore, the Cooks no longer deem it a wise use of time, effort, and resources to continue pursuing a commercial endeavor in a community where commercial enterprise is seemingly not welcomed or valued.” “It has been made increasingly apparent, both by Town officials and members of the community, that the Town does not support the Everwilde vision,” a letter from their attorney stated. The following month, in June 2020, the Cooks pulled their Everwilde application. Citing hardship from COVID-19, the couple announced the property would be for their personal use, with the golf course closing to the public after the 2020 season. Suddenly, in May 2020, the Cooks announced they were closing Bristol Harbour Resort to the public. Certain people were humiliated for the way they dressed or shunned for other reasons. They said under the Cooks the resort was no longer a comfortable, welcoming place. Savage said the behavior became “vindictive.” A number of current or former Bristol Harbour Village residents spoke off the record about fear of retribution from the Cooks if they said anything the couple deemed as negative towards them. York said it got to the point where anyone who disagreed with Everwilde was ostracized. “For both Todd and I, it has been a huge disappointment.”Īs time went on, support for the Cooks soured for many who had initially been behind their efforts. “I went into this with a big heart,” Laura said in 2016. The Everwilde approval process with the town of South Bristol went on for years. Though there were plenty of cheerleaders at the time, including then Bristol Harbour Village resident Alan Braun who briefly worked for the couple, the Cooks also faced passionate backlash to the location. “They will be building a world-class resort, bringing jobs to the area. “The Cooks are investing in New York while everyone else is leaving,” York told the Democrat and Chronicle in 2016. York was among those at that time cheering on Everwilde against naysayers who argued the inn and spa would disrupt the neighborhood’s rural characteristics and negatively impact the health of the lake. A complaint filed in court pitted one group of Bristol Harbour Village residents against other residents, and decisions made by the development’s governing board have led to arguments involving issues that date back to its founding. Meanwhile, residents face additional costs to pay legal fees and disagreements foster ill will among neighbors. A lawsuit involving marina owner Jeremy Fields and the Bristol Harbour Village Association is dragging on in court. Recently, disputes over rights to the beach and the marina cut off access to these amenities that so far this summer have been enjoyed by only a select few. Real estate listings for the development note waterfront condominiums, golfside townhouses and amenities that include a private beach and marina. Bristol Harbour Village is a planned development of more than 360 homes on a hillside above Canandaigua Lake. Residents in the adjoining Bristol Harbour Village suffered losses as well. “When it shut down it was a big loss,” said Valerie Knoblauch, president of Finger Lakes Visitors Connection. The destruction last year of Bristol Harbour Resort, and subsequent dismantling of its 18-hole championship golf course, removed a tourism gem that for decades provided jobs and drew countless visitors to Ontario County and the Finger Lakes region.

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