April 26, 2026

The Best Independent Hotels in the Catskills

Twenty-six hotels across the Catskills, all independently owned. No AutoCamp, no national chain spinoffs. Foster Supply's five properties included and flagged.

The Catskills is the region that taught the rest of the Northeast how to turn a motor lodge into a design hotel. It started around 2014 with Graham & Co. in Phoenicia and Scribner's in Hunter, spread to Eastwind, Foxfire, Piaule, The Bend, and — more recently — The Henson in Windham and Camptown in Leeds.

What it hasn't taught anyone, apparently, is how to publish a list that filters out chains. Most "best Catskills hotels" lists include AutoCamp (a national glamping brand with ten-plus locations) and sometimes Wildflower Farms (actually in the Hudson Valley, but also an Auberge Resorts chain property).

Here's the list that doesn't.

Twenty-six hotels in the Catskills region, all independent. Foster Supply Hospitality runs five of them (Kenoza Hall, The DeBruce, Callicoon Hills, The Arnold House, Hotel Darby) — we include those with the ownership flagged because 5 properties is our inclusion cap and this is a family-owned local group. Eastwind runs two (Windham + Oliverea Valley) and is included similarly. Everyone else is a single-property operation.

The top tier

Piaule Catskill — Catskill

Twenty-four architect-designed cabins on 50 acres of forest, built by Garrison Architects. The most serious architecture project in the region. Full review →

The Henson — Windham

2024 opening. A 1918 historic Windham building rebuilt into 16 rooms by the team behind Manhattan's Contra and Wildair. Matilda restaurant carries a Michelin Key. The region's most important recent opening.

Seminary Hill — Callicoon

A working cidery, orchard, and Michelin Key boarding-house hotel on a hill. The restaurant/tasting room is open to non-guests. Four suites and nine rooms.

Camptown — Leeds

Same owners as Rivertown Lodge (Ramshackle Properties). New-build cabins plus a lodge, Michelin Key. Opened 2024.

Scribner's Catskill Lodge — Hunter

The 1960s motor lodge that started the Scandi-Catskills movement. 38 rooms on a Hunter Mountain hillside. The restaurant (Prospect) is still one of the best in the region. Full review →

Foxfire Mountain House — Mount Tremper

The platonic Catskills bohemian hotel. Eleven rooms, ten acres, velvet everywhere, a barn-bar that smells like woodsmoke. Your friend in Williamsburg keeps telling you to book it. Full review →

The mid-luxury workhorses

Eastwind Windham — Windham

19 rooms plus Lushna glamping cabins, Scandi-mid-century. One of two Eastwind properties.

Eastwind Oliverea Valley — Oliverea

The newer, more polished Eastwind sibling. Now has a proper spa.

The Graham & Co. — Phoenicia

The 20-room motor-lodge revival that Scribner's took as inspiration. Affordable, charming, walking distance to Phoenicia.

The DeBruce — Livingston Manor

A 1890 lodge on 600 acres above the Willowemoc. 12 rooms. Fly-fishing, a serious restaurant, foster Supply Hospitality's flagship.

Hemlock Neversink — Neversink

A 230-acre nature retreat that chose quiet over noise. Under-photographed, under-visited, and for some people that's the exact point.

Callicoon Hills — Callicoon

Foster Supply's biggest property. 65 rooms on 23 acres, proper restaurant, family-friendly in a way the rest of this list isn't.

Kenoza Hall — Kenoza Lake

An 1880 boarding house plus ten clapboard bungalows on a 55-acre lakefront property. 32 rooms, notable restaurant, Foster Supply.

The Arnold House — Shandelee

Foster Supply's first. A former tavern on Shandelee Mountain. 14 rooms. The most rustic of the group.

Hotel Darby — Livingston Manor

Foster Supply. A Main Street historic in Livingston Manor, quietly renovated.

The newer / smaller / quirkier

The Bend Resort — Phoenicia

Five adults-only micro-suites on the Esopus. Self-serve luxury. Full review →

Urban Cowboy Catskills — Big Indian

A 19th-century Alpine Inn reborn as Nashville-in-the-Catskills. Copper tubs. One of two Urban Cowboy properties.

Starlite Motel — Catskills

A 1960s motor lodge with turquoise doors painted pink. Wes Anderson energy, Shaker-Scandi rooms. The cheapest good hotel in the Catskills.

Howland House — Mount Tremper

A 1870 farmhouse with lime-wash walls and custom-built furniture. Ten rooms, quiet.

Twin Gables — Woodstock

Woodstock's community-minded eclectic. Like staying with an artist friend.

Hotel Dylan — Woodstock

Novogratz-designed motel revival with turntables in every room. Budget-design category.

Woodstock Way Hotel — Woodstock

Creekside cabins built from scratch in 2018. The quietest Woodstock boutique.

The Herwood Inn — Woodstock

Four suites named for iconic female musicians. Small and distinctive.

What we left out

AutoCamp Catskills — national glamping chain, 10+ locations. Out.
The Emerson Resort & Spa — 100+ room resort-scale, outside editorial focus.
The Roxbury Motel — charming but thematic / non-design-focused in a way that puts it in a different category.
Wildflower Farms (which people sometimes call Catskills) — it's Hudson Valley, and it's Auberge. Out for both reasons.

How to actually pick one

First Catskills trip, under $300/night → The Graham & Co. or Starlite
Weekend with another couple → Scribner's or Camptown
Architecturally serious → Piaule or The Bend
Serious dinner on property → The Henson, Inness (Hudson Valley-adjacent), The DeBruce, or Seminary Hill
Fly-fishing → The DeBruce or The Arnold House
Woodstock walkable → Twin Gables, Hotel Dylan, The Herwood Inn, or Woodstock Way
Bohemian maximalist → Foxfire, Urban Cowboy, or The Maker (Hudson, not Catskills)

The state of the region

The Catskills boom has slowed. Graham & Co. is now 11 years old; Scribner's is 10. New openings have gotten thinner — The Henson (2024) and Camptown (2024) are the notable recent ones. The next wave of hotels here will probably be deeper-in, more expensive, and more architectural. Or there won't be one, and 2024 will be remembered as the end of the first wave.

Either way: see our full Catskills page for the complete list, browse by aesthetic, or see fall foliage hotels in the Catskills for seasonal picks.