New owners of Sandy Point Resort keep tradition of vacation destination

ALTON BAY — Nearly a century’s worth of family traditions and memories have been made at Sandy Point Resort. New owners Joe and Janet Boccelli, of Alton, not only understand and embrace this, but are striving to continue the memories.

The Boccellis, who also own the Lakeview Inn in Weirs Beach, purchased Sandy Point from the Ouellette family for $10.5 million in October 2025. Joe said it was done through a 1031 exchange, after selling a 36-unit apartment building in Revere, Massachusetts. Such an exchange allows deferring taxes on capital gains if they are reinvested into a similar property. It was perfect timing for the Boccellis to make a move.

They are getting help from their now-grown children, as well. They hope someday, the resort will be left to their grandchildren, who already spent last summer living in the resort’s cabins, making their own memories on Lake Winnipesaukee.

“We’ve worked so long and so hard for 55 years, both of us have, and we’ve been working since we were 13 years old,” Janet said. “We got married young, had our children young, and had nine beautiful grandchildren. That’s what drives us. Joe had said this to me before we even got married, that he wanted to leave a legacy for his grandchildren someday, and this was that opportunity for us.”

Joe said they weren’t the highest bidders, but the former owners wanted to make sure the beloved seasonal resort wasn’t demolished and turned into high-priced summer homes. Instead, the Boccellis have been working hard to renovate the cabins, while keeping their rustic charm, and do it with a family feel.

“They had offers for over $12 million, but they wanted someone who would carry on the legacy for it,” Joe said. “All the other people wanted to rip it down and build houses, $5 or $6 million homes. It’s a beautiful spot.”

The Boccellis are originally from the North Reading, Massachusetts area, and arrived in New Hampshire eight years ago, when they purchased property on Smith Point in West Alton. Janet said they purchased three homes on the water, and had first right of refusal for two homes across the street, and now own the street altogether, calling it Legacy Landing.

Before their time in the Granite State, they spent much of their time vacationing on Cape Cod. Once they came to the Lakes Region, they fell in love with it, and decided to make it their home.

Janet said her son, Steve, came to her and said, “Mom, you’ve got to take a look at this inn.” This was the Lakeview Inn, and while she was hesitant, her son insisted it had her name written all over it. Since then, the inn has been renovated, much like Sandy Point.

Steve originally looked into buying Sandy Point two years ago, but didn’t have the financing available. Now heavily involved in real estate himself, it wasn’t his time, but the Boccellis decided to look into buying the property.

“We were just like, ‘Wow, this is such a beautiful lakefront property,’” Janet said. “We thought, ‘What a shame,’ because we heard that developers were coming in, or condos may go up, or who knew what would happen to it.”

Janet said this seemed like a great chance to have a “full circle” moment, where they could build a legacy for their kids and grandkids, building off one already begun in 1928.

“We both decided, before we even purchased it, we would give each one of the kids a cabin,” Janet said. “That’s a method to our madness. So, now they each have a cabin here, and each live here in the summers, the whole season. The grandkids are here playing together, and we’re here, and it’s just fabulous. It is really nice to watch the kids playing together with the other children of the families that have been here for 80, 90 years.”

Sprucing up the place

Sandy Point has 2,000 feet of lakefront property with 42 boat slips, 39 cabins and 18 hotel rooms. The resort also has a boat house and a main house with seven bedrooms, which is under renovation.

Through the winter, the Boccellis went full boar with renovating the cabins and the hotel.

“We pretty much renovated everything,” Janet said. “Plumbing, electrical, roofing, you name it. You know, Joe worked through the entire winter, and it was a tough winter. He did a phenomenal job. Him and his crew did a phenomenal job here.”

Joe said he has put a little over $3 million into the resort already, bringing things up to code. He said the hotel rooms needed new flooring and painting, but were in otherwise good shape. The main work was providing a facelift to the interior, bringing them to a higher standard.

“I gutted everything, and I’m not done,” he said. “Every cabin. Before, this they had minimal electrical, no smoke detectors, nothing. I raised all the ceilings. I did that October, November, December. It’s all done, and I was ready for the April season. Nobody thought we could do it, but here we are.”

The restaurant at the top of the property is for lease. Janet said the couple has owned restaurants and nightclubs in the past, and it just isn’t a business they want to return to, saying you “have to be all in.”

Joe said there is an interested party, and he hopes the deal will be finalized in the spring, so they can bring back menu items like prime rib and lobster, which so many in the area loved for years. The building will need to be renovated, but there are still lobster tanks downstairs.

If it all works out, the restaurant will be open next summer.

“We’re pretty close,” Janet said. “We hope to have April or May ’27 opening of the restaurant.”

Creating memories, continuing a legacy

The Boccellis said there was a purposeful soft opening last season, and couldn’t believe how quickly they were booking. Some people have come back multiple times since they opened. The vibe is family-oriented when everyone is around, and the resort is pet friendly, as well.

She said the sound of laughter near their units during the holiday weekend is music to her ears, and shows her they are creating moments they will remember forever.

“It was absolutely phenomenal,” Janet said.

When the Boccellis arrived, Janet said guests were hesitant, because they didn’t want change. Some even expressed frustration with the prior owners for wanting to sell. About half of the usual renters “took the ride with us.”

“We are grateful for that, and grateful for them and their families,” Janet said.

Even before the start of their first season, the couple started making friends with their longtime guests. Joe pointed out one cabin, saying this was a special one to him. When he bought the resort, a lady who stays there made cookies for him and his workers just about every day.

“When I demo’d her unit inside, it was a three bedroom with plywood doors,” Joe said. “She called me up and said, ‘We’d like to take a ride up.’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t want you to see it until I’m done.’ I video taped it, and I cried. They walked in, and I gave them a gourmet kitchen and the whole nine yards. Three bedroom, two bath, heat, and air conditioning in every single unit.”

Members of the Ouellette family are even staying on the property, allowing them to hear first-hand what made the resort so magical in the first place, and how to keep that feeling alive and well under new management.

“It has basically gone from one family to another,” Janet said. “The Ouellettes are such lovely people. I love that they wanted to stay. We were told that they went with us because we were going to keep the character. That was our intent, and that is our intent going forward.”

Janet said everything has been a “work in progress,” and there is still work to do, but the guests have been very patient and supportive. She said it has been such a great learning experience, being able to talk with longtime guests, so they can take into consideration what families yearn for during their stays.

The Boccellis are always riding around on the golf cart, and try to make sure they greet everyone when they arrive, and say farewell when they take off, with hopes they come back soon.

“The seasonal people, their families have been coming for 80 years,” she said. “Great-grandparents, grandparents, their children. There’s a legacy aspect to it, and that drew us here. We just didn’t want to see it developed, if you will. We wanted to keep the character of the lake, that old nostalgia.”

Sandy Point Resort is on Mount Major Highway, and the seasonal cabin rentals run from April through October. Rooms and cabins are available for short- and long-term stays.

For more information, visit thesandypoint.com, or call 603-933-9006.