At 6 Catskills Resorts: Retro Design, Modern Comfort and Games, Lots of Games
Imagine yourself staying in the Catskill Mountains of New York. What’s your favorite game, Pac-Man, Pickleball or Backgammon? The answer will determine where you stay. Again, with just about every new wave of stylish resorts in the Catskills offering a variety of games, there’s bound to be more than one option to tickle your fancy.
The influence of New York City, especially Brooklyn, has been evident for years in the Catskills, about 100 miles northwest of the metro area. about 10 years ago, Graham & Company Phoenician and Foxfire Mountain House At Mount Tremper, Moroccan poufs, Tivoli radios and linen bedding bring urban cool to the country.when Scribner’s Catskill Lodge Debuting in 2016, its loft-like rooms and farm-to-table restaurant cemented its Brooklyn presence.
But the Catskills’ heritage as a resort destination stretches far back. He is one of the country’s earliest resorts, Catskill Mountain House, made its home in 1824, followed by hundreds of others. From the 1920s through his 1960s, the area became known as the “Borschti Belt” due to the number of sprawling hotels that attracted members of New York’s Jewish community.
Now, again, there is an influx of new inns. While many attract families, others target a younger audience drawn to curated travel ‘experiences’, attracted by contemporary aesthetics that evoke a bygone era. .
In winter, these experiences may include a ‘sled menu’ of 5 different sleds that take you to the local hills, as offered by Hotel Lillian in Tannersville. During the warmer months, visitors to the new Eastwind Oliveria Valley can take guided walks to look for spruce trees, then sit at the bar and taste spruce infusions in handcrafted cocktails. And from Scrabble to shuffleboard, these new hotels have so many games, don’t miss the epic fly-fishing, rock-climbing, and hiking the Catskills are known for.
“The Catskills have always been wonderful.” Wilder Hotels, opening Wylder Windham in 2022, noted that the Hamptons and Jersey Shore were too high and stuck in traffic. This situation, he said, “spontaneously spawned a renaissance in the Catskills.”
A renaissance that excited many and alarmed others.
“There are pressure points,” said Lisa Berger, director of Ulster County Tourism. The influx of visitors has forced some spots to take a new approach.For example, currently visits require an appointment Sam’s PointIt is a popular lookout point at Minnewaska State Park in the nearby Shawangunk Mountains.
New resorts often renovate existing properties. This means a small footprint. There are half a dozen to explore here.
Hotel Lilien
Tannersville, New York
In the 1890s, Dr. Frederick Lilienthal built a summer home in Tannersville, a charming village in Greene County near Hunter Mountain. It was then converted into an inn and by the 1970s had become his spot for huge parties. One of the founders of Lost Boys Hospitality Group, who bought this property, he was, in the words of David Harmatz, “the perfect animal home.”and opened Hotel Lilien Late 2022.
Today, the 18-room establishment doesn’t have a college-boy vibe at all (apart from the pool table and vintage jukebox in the lounge). California-based design group Field Theory honored the ryokan’s original architecture and decorated it with items found primarily at auctions and real estate sales, with a mix of mid-century, Japanese, and West Coast influences. No two rooms are the same. The original octagonal room has a full-size bed, vintage desk and wood-panelled walls, while the spacious king room has a wicker headboard and leather chairs. The ground-floor lounge combines eclectic materials with a bar and plenty of seating.
“Someone recently called us ‘The Living Room of Tannersville,'” Harmatz said. As the weather warms, mingling promises to move to the oversized pool and much-needed fire pit outside.
Double from $270 per night.
Wilder Windham
Wyndham, New York
Wyndham’s Thompson House Resort has been run by the same family for most of 143 years. When John Flannigan of Wylder Hotels purchased this hotel in his 2021, he looked as much to the future as it did to its past. “The vision was to restore it to its original appearance,” he said.
20 acres of land There are 7 lodges with a total of 110 rooms. Wilder cut down trees and shrubs so that the building’s restored Victorian architecture could be appreciated. He then worked with the design firm Post He Company to refurbish the interior, especially the main lodge, adding a restaurant, bakery, lounge with various pockets for reading, relaxing, and of course, games. bottom.
“It’s not that I’m picky or that I like design,” Flanigan said. From ‘cozy’ queens to suites to entire four-bedroom farmhouses, rooms feel bright and fresh, with crisp navy quilts and wide plank oak floors. The 82 rooms also have oversized balconies to bring in the outdoors. Still, calls from outside do not stop. The grounds running through the Batavia Kill include a heated pool, pickleball and other lawn games.
Double from $325 per night.
Kenosa Hall
Kenosa Lake, New York
It’s hard to find a hotelier who knows the area better than local couple Sims and Kirsten Harlow Foster. Since 2014 they have been steadily introducing inns into the southern pocket of the Catskill Mountains.
up to date, Kenoza Hall, was born out of Armbrust House, one of the last 20th-century boarding houses in Sullivan County that has not been demolished.
Commenting on the property’s magnificent presence, Foster said: The main building houses his 22 rooms, several parlors, a bar and restaurant, and is adorned with vintage Catskills photographs and cozy velvet seating and sofas. Large front porch and terrace overlook Lake Kenoza. Last June they added 10 of his bungalows. This is a nod to his colony of bungalows in the area from the 1950s. Each has its own porch, oversized tub, gas stove, and bespoke furnishings such as modern faint sofas and buildable sofas. Even walking the wandering paths to get to the bungalows above the main building near the heated pool, spa and trailhead can feel like an escape.
Double from $349 per night.
Bluebird Hunter Lodge
Hunter, New York
When Lark Hotel founder Rob Blood grew up in the ’80s, he remembers sitting in the car with his parents listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Band on the radio. .This is the atmosphere he took advantage of when considering Bluebird Hunter Lodgeatmosphere.
“We were imagining ourselves sitting around a fire with this playlist in the background. What are the elements that surround us?” he said. The answer was a plaid throw, a leather sofa, and an old turntable with vinyl crackling from the speakers. The lodge’s alpine lounge-like space is adorned with fishing gear, landscape paintings, and local artifacts picked up from his antique shop nearby. Then there’s the tavern with cathedral ceilings, stone fireplaces and a menu of microbrews. All of these were designed by Rob and his wife Megan Kennedy as part of Lark’s design studio, his Elder & Ash.
The couple’s family (with 3 kids) urged us to get a bigger room. Some rooms feature double queen bunk beds, others open onto the backyard with mountain views, and combined with his adjacent two-story king-size suite, he accommodates up to 10 guests.
Double from $169 per night.
Eastwind Oliveria Valley
Big Indian, New York
Five years after starting the 26-room Eastwind Hotels in Wyndham, Bjorn Boyer, Julja Stoliarova and Dan Cipriani opened another Catskill resort in January. Eastwind Oliveria Valley.
The Wyndham property took over the old motel, but started from scratch in the new location, with 15 Lushnas (standalone Scandinavian-style cabins) and 12 other guest rooms in a secluded depression along Esopus Creek in County Ulster. constructed. A dramatic sloping roof structure that houses a restaurant and bar named Dandelion anchors the property. Communal spaces like this are at the heart of the Eastwind experience.
“We try to program the space so that guests can get to know each other and be around each other,” Boyer said. After hours means turning the restaurant into a candle-making workshop and offering yoga under the eaves of the building.
Aesthetically, Partners is welcoming and passionate about creating coziness through minimal yet homely furnishings.The A-frame cabin features a queen bed, vintage lighting and décor, and Turkish carpets. I’m here. “I was determined to find pieces that stood out, were comfortable to wear, and had a story of where they came from,” she said. “They are one of a kind in my eyes.”
Double from $279 per night. Double Lushnas from $499 per night.
Camptown Catskills
Leeds, New York
While many of the area’s renovated resorts date back to the 1800s, the roadside Rip Van Winkle Motor Lodge was a relic from the 1930s until Ray Pilkle and Kim Butch of Ramshackle Studios renovated it. Together with Mountain Shore Properties, the duo Rivertown Lodge Built and maintained by the same family for 80 years, this Hudson, New York hotel has been restored to its original condition and modernized with custom furnishings and amenities.
new camp town We offer 24 rooms in the main lodge and 26 log cabins scattered across our 22 acres. Each is uniquely designed and decorated, some with wooden spindle bed frames, others with Shaker-style nook beds. All retain rustic knotty pine walls.
“Our goal was to infuse the modern Shaker elements without washing away the sense of history,” says Bucci. At her lodge, Maine, which also houses Mexican restaurant Casas Zanna, she converted a former ballroom into a lobby, restored the floors to their original condition, and restored a magnificent stone fireplace flanked by sofas and a library table. In the summer, the property’s swim club opens, offering access to the pool, cabanas, and outdoor bar.
Double from $209 per night. Cabins start at $299.
Follow The New York Times Travel upon Instagram and Sign up for the weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter Get expert tips to travel smarter and get inspired for your next vacation. Dreaming of future vacations or carefree travel?check us out 52 places to go in 2023.
