May 16, 2026

Scribner's vs The Graham & Co.: Scandi-Catskills Forefathers

The Scandi-Catskills design-motel category effectively has two founding fathers. The Graham & Co. opened in Phoenicia in 2012. Scribner's Catskill Lodge opened in Hunter in 2015. Between them, they kicked off the wave of restored-mid-century-motel-turned-boutique-hotel projects that remade the region between 2013 and 2020.

Both are still operating. Both are still independently owned. Both still work. But they've aged into two meaningfully different hotels, and which one to book depends on what you want out of a Catskills weekend.

The quick verdict

The Graham & Co. — Phoenicia, twenty rooms, saltwater pool, the original. Lower-budget rooms, a stronger firepit-and-vinyl social scene, easier to walk into town.
Scribner's Catskill Lodge — Hunter, thirty-eight rooms, the bigger operation, a legitimate restaurant (Prospect), a view across the valley.

If you want the original design-motel energy: Graham's. If you want the grown-up version with a restaurant you'd actually send a food-serious friend to: Scribner's.

The locations

Graham's is in Phoenicia, the small Catskills town that the Phoenicia Diner put on the map twelve years ago. Walkable to dinner — Brio's, the diner, a handful of bars — if you want to leave the property. Five minutes from Esopus Creek swimming holes. Twenty minutes from Woodstock.

Scribner's is on a hillside above Hunter Village, facing east across the Hunter Mountain valley. Hunter Village itself is less walkable and more Route 23A — a string of bars, ski-adjacent restaurants, and services. You're driving for dinner unless you eat at Scribner's.

The rooms

Graham's has twenty rooms across a main building (originally a 1930s motel) and a handful of separate cabins. Rooms are small-to-medium, Scandi-simple — white walls, Pendleton blankets, wood paneling, record players in most. No TVs (an original decision; still holds). Most rooms under 300 square feet.

The key detail: the rooms have aged. Graham's has been operating for 14 years and you can tell. Bedding has been refreshed, but the furniture and fixtures are original-spec. This reads as character to some guests and wear to others. If you've been before, you know which camp you're in.

Scribner's has 38 rooms in a sprawled-out hillside complex. Three categories — bunk rooms, standard rooms, and valley-view suites. The valley-view rooms are the point — wall of window facing Hunter's ski slopes across the valley. Aesthetically Scandi-warm, a bit less design-purist than Graham's, rooms averaging 380–450 square feet.

Scribner's renovated its rooms more recently; the wear gap is noticeable.

The food

This is the biggest delta.

Graham's has no restaurant. There's a small breakfast program, a bar program, occasional pop-ups, and a food truck in summer. You're going into Phoenicia for dinner.

Scribner's has Prospect, a proper restaurant with a real chef and a real wine program. The valley-view dining room is one of the better dinner rooms in the Catskills. Open to the public, which means you'll share it with locals and day-trippers.

If you're planning to eat most dinners at the hotel, Scribner's. If you want the dinner drive into town, Graham's.

The pool

Graham's has a saltwater pool that is approximately the most photographed pool in the Catskills. It's small, it's heated, it's open summer through early fall. The pool is the defining photograph of the hotel and a real reason people book.

Scribner's has a pool. It's larger, it's fine, it's not the photograph people take.

The social scene

Graham's has a firepit, a record player, a lobby that's actually a lobby, and a scene that involves guests talking to each other. It's the more communal hotel. If you're coming alone or as a couple and want to meet other guests, this is the pick.

Scribner's is bigger and more anonymous — you're less likely to see the same face twice. Families and ski-weekend groups self-organize; couples mostly stay to themselves. Quieter overall.

The price

Shoulder season rates:

Graham's: $225–$350 depending on room and weekend
Scribner's: $280–$550, valley-view suites at the top

Peak-foliage weekends: both hotels run 30% above shoulder rates. Summer weekends: Scribner's runs hotter than Graham's by roughly 20%.

Graham's is the cheaper hotel per night.

Who each is for

Book Graham's if:

You want the original design-motel aesthetic and you care about the pedigree
You're on a tighter budget and want the real Scandi-Catskills mood
You want to walk to dinner
You're traveling solo or as a couple and like the communal lobby scene
The pool photograph is the point

Book Scribner's if:

You want a proper restaurant on the property
You're paying for a valley-view room and want the view
You're traveling with another couple or with kids and want more space
You want the grown-up version of the Scandi-Catskills idea
You're combining the stay with Hunter Mountain skiing in winter

The rest of the category

Other Scandi-Catskills hotels worth considering:

Eastwind Windham — more A-frame glamping-forward than Graham's or Scribner's. Full comparison.
Eastwind Oliverea Valley — the spa-forward option.
Starlite Motel in Mount Tremper — the quirkier, more Wes-Anderson version.
Piaule Catskill — the architect-designed graduate-level version, different price tier.

The honest take

Graham's is a pilgrimage hotel. You book it because it's the original and the aesthetic is what it is. You come back because the pool is still the pool.

Scribner's is the operational hotel. It works better as a two-couple or family weekend, it feeds you well, it has rooms people want to sleep in more than once.

We'd book Graham's for a first Catskills weekend, Scribner's for a fifth.