Your Essential, Don’t Leave Home Without It Guide

When people find out I spend a lot of time in the Catskills one of the first questions they always ask is “I want to visit, where should I stay?”  My standard response is “with me!” because I love having guests, but that’s not always practical (especially when I’ve just met the person!)  When we first started visiting the Catskills many years ago we’d always do a trip in day which, looking back on it, was pretty insane.  But we were in the process of exploring different areas and didn’t want to have to commit to staying somewhere without having an idea of what it was like first.  Now that we have been going to the Catskills for several years we actually have ideas on where to stay when someone asks us.

With that I am launching 5 Best Places to Stay in the Catskills, so if you’re looking to come visit check out the recommendations below to find the perfect place to stay.   This list is organized by my own personal and subjective categories which hopefully are relevant to you as well:

1. Classic Catskills
2. Glamping
3. So Fancy it Hurts

This guide is the first in a series to be launching over the next few months, so look for more to come on that soon!

CLASSIC CATSKILLS

Longing for some quintessential Catskill charm?  Do you dream of a Dirty Dancing inspired getaway?  While Gossinger’s (the resort featured in the movie) is still abandoned, there are fortunately many other options from which to choose.

Beaverkill Valley Inn

Imagine an sipping a cocktail on this wraparound porch at the Beaverkill Valley Inn after a day of fly fishing in the Catskills.

Located near Livingston Manor, the lovingly restored Beaverkill Valley Inn is set on 60 bucolic acres within the Catskill Park.  This is the place to go if you are looking for more of a hotel experience, with 19 guest rooms locally sourced restaurant.  It is also the place to go if you are looking for some family or outdoor fun, with one mile of private fly-fishing, 40 miles of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing, two tennis courts, an indoor pool, ice cream parlor, and more.  This place literally has everything so if you are looking for a full-service destination look no further, the Beaverkill Valley Inn is the place to go.

The Arnold House

Once you sit down next to that fireplace at The Arnold House you’ll never want to leave the Catskills.

A great option for the full Catskills experience is The Arnold House in Livingston Manor.   Located on 7 acres in the forest of Shandelee Mountain, The Arnold House features a Tavern, Spa and BBQ Barn as well as multiple rooms, a split level suite, and even a free-standing Lake House that fits a family.  This is the kind of place you can go as a couple, with a family or with a bunch of friends.  Go snowshoeing, visit a distillery, go antiquing, take a dip in the lake or get in a round of golf (depending on the season of course)!  There is so much to do here you’ll never want to go home.

GLAMPING

As I mentioned at the top this is my list of personal and subjective categories of places to stay, which is why I am listing places to  “glamp” rather then “camp”.  If you are looking for a place to camp in the Catskills there are numerous sites from which to choose but if you want to glamp check out the options below.

Little Woods Farm

When the tent contains a queen sized cot that’s my kind of camping!  At Little Woods Farm in Callicoon.

For those of you like to camp, I salute you.  It’s not always an easy transition for a city-dweller to make, what with the overwhelming quiet and “nature” that surrounds you in the country.  Also all of the gear required to camp is not really practical for someone who lives in a small city apartment to have on hand.  But that is where Little Woods Farm comes in, with their deluxe, outfitted tents ready to go.  They offer a secluded campsite deep in the woods of their 1830 acre homestead with farm fresh eggs, beverages, and some supplies available at the honor store. So if camping is your thing and you are looking for a quiet, private spot, this is the place for you.

The Perch

The Perch is a true “glamping” experience in the Catskills.

Now this is my idea of camping.  I’m not kidding, this set-up is literally the same as what my husband I I were talking about before we found our place in the Catskills.  He wanted to buy land to camp on and I wanted a place with indoor plumbing, so he suggested building a “cabana” with a shower and toilet that we could camp around, I thought that was good but instead of pitching tents how about parking a vintage airstream.  Needless to say someone else had the same idea and executed it a whole lot better then we ever could have, so kudos to them for making it happen.  The Perch, as they call it, is located on 1,000 acres and adjacent to the 6,500 acre Neversink Gorge featuring an utterly unspoiled waterway, with its notable trout fishing pools, hiking trails and its memorable beauty.  It’s an off-the-grid experience complete with hot water, full kitchen, digital TV and cell service.

SO FANCY IT HURTS

I’ll be honest with you, this one is all-out real estate porn.  But it is so, so beautiful I couldn’t resist including it along with multiple photos of it’s jaw-dropping style.  For those that don’t have this level of design sense in our own lives we can only hope that with a stay here perhaps some of it would rub off and follow us home.

Floating Farmhouse

Feel like you are about to sail away into a life of fabulousness the Floating Farmhouse

You will literally be stepping into a magazine spread at Floating Farmhouse, which was a featured in Dwell Magazine and is available for vacation rentals, weddings and photo shoots.  This place is so fancy it includes a wood-fired pizza oven, a two-story wall of skyscraper glass framing views of the brook, and you can arrange for your own personal chef and yoga instruction.  If you want to stay here plan on bringing some (or all of) your friends because there is an eight guest minimum with two-night minimum stay (three-night minimum on holiday weekends).

Floating Farmhouse’ glorious, sun-filled kitchen.

In addition to our 5 Best Places to Stay in the Sullivan Catskills Guide, we will be launching Sullivan Catskills Restaurant Guide, Real Estate Guide, Road Trip Guide and Hidden Gem Guides.  If you have suggestions please send them to katie@brooklyntothecatskills.com

Tell us what you think!

Please comment below if you stay at any of the listed places and let us know how it goes!  Find all of Brooklyn to the Catskills‘ recommendations in the Life section of our site.  We’d love to hear what you think about our other content too!