Catskills.
The Catskills are the birthplace of the modern Scandi-motor-lodge aesthetic — Scribner's, Graham & Co., Eastwind, Foxfire, all within a 30-minute radius. More recently, a second wave has arrived: Piaule's architect-designed cabins, The Bend's five-suite minimalism, Seminary Hill's Michelin Key. Foster Supply Hospitality quietly runs five properties here and is the region's biggest independent player.
The Bend Resort
Five adults-only micro-suites on the river. Self-serve luxury.
The Henson
A 2024 16-room reimagining of a 1918 Windham hotel — by the team behind Contra and Wildair.
The Leeway
Cabin-style suites on six riverfront acres in Mount Tremper. Full kitchens, private decks, Esopus Creek out the back door.
Camptown
From the Rivertown Lodge owners — new-build cabins and lodge rooms in Leeds. Michelin Key.
Foxfire Mountain House
Layered, lived-in, and photographed a thousand times on Instagram — but earns it.
Woodstock Way Hotel
Creekside cabins built from scratch in 2018 — Woodstock's quietest boutique, no bar, no restaurant, on purpose.
Eastwind Oliverea Valley
The Eastwind family's newer, more polished sister. Still Scandi, now with a spa.
Howland House
A restored 1870 farmhouse with lime-wash walls and custom-built furniture.
Hotel Dylan
A Woodstock native's Novogratz-designed revival of a '70s bi-level motel. Turntables in every room.
Hemlock Neversink
A 230-acre nature retreat that chose quiet over noise.
Piaule Catskill
Architect-designed cabins on 50 acres of Catskill forest — the quietest luxury in the region.
Seminary Hill
A working cidery, orchard, and Michelin Key boarding-house hotel on a hilltop in Callicoon.
The DeBruce
A 1890 lodge above the Willowemoc. 600 acres. Two private mountains. Fly fishing.
Eastwind Windham
Scandi-mid-century lodge plus Lushna glamping cabins, with a wood-barrel sauna.
The Arnold House
A former tavern on Shandelee Mountain — Foster Supply's first.
Scribner's Catskill Lodge
The original Catskills Scandi motor-lodge revival. On a hillside in Hunter.
Twin Gables
Woodstock's community-minded eclectic — like staying with an artist friend.
Hotel Darby
A Main Street historic in Livingston Manor, quietly renovated.
Kenoza Hall
A whitewashed 1880 boarding house overlooking a lake. 55 acres, 10 bungalows.
Starlite Motel
Wes Anderson energy, Shaker bones, pink and turquoise doors.
The Graham & Co.
The Catskills design-motel that started the whole thing.
Urban Cowboy Catskills
A 19th-century Alpine Inn reborn as Nashville-in-the-Catskills. Copper tubs included.
Graham & Co.
Reimagined Catskills motor lodge with a wood-fired sauna, lawn games, and a Pendleton-blanket aesthetic — 20 rooms in Phoenicia.
Callicoon Hills
Foster Supply's big brother — 23 acres, proper restaurant, family-friendly.
The Catskills are where the modern American design-motel was reinvented. Most of the genre's defining hotels — Scribner's, Graham & Co., the Eastwinds, Foxfire — sit within a 30-minute radius of Phoenicia. A second wave has filled in around them: Piaule's architect-designed cabins, The Bend's five-suite quiet, Seminary Hill's Michelin Key. Foster Supply Hospitality runs five properties here and is the region's largest independent operator.
What this looks like
The mountains here are old and rounded — Catskill Park is 700,000 acres of state-protected forest, threaded by Route 28, Route 23A, and the Willowemoc and Esopus creeks. The towns are small and run together: Phoenicia, Mount Tremper, Big Indian, Woodstock on Route 28; Hunter and Windham on 23A; Livingston Manor, Callicoon, and Kenoza Lake on the western Sullivan County side. Drive time from the GW Bridge is roughly 2 to 2.5 hours depending on which town. Aesthetically, the region trades in painted clapboard, Pendleton wool, wood-fired saunas, exposed framing, and a deliberate restraint that reads more Scandinavian than Borscht Belt.
The standouts
- Scribner's Catskill Lodge (Hunter) — the property that started the modern Catskills aesthetic.
- Piaule Catskill (Catskill) — 24 architect-designed cabins on 50 acres. The quietest luxury in the region.
- Foxfire Mountain House (Mount Tremper) — layered, lived-in, photographed constantly, and earns it.
- Eastwind Windham and Eastwind Oliverea Valley — Scandi-mid-century lodging, the second with a real spa.
- The DeBruce (Livingston Manor) — 1890 lodge above the Willowemoc with private mountains and serious fly-fishing.
- Seminary Hill (Callicoon) — working cidery and orchard with a Michelin Key boarding-house hotel on top.
- Camptown (Leeds) — the Rivertown Lodge team's newer cabin-and-lodge build. Also a Michelin Key.
- The Henson (Windham) — a 2024 16-room reimagining of a 1918 hotel by the Contra/Wildair team.
When to come / who it's for
Peak season is mid-September to late October — foliage turns a week earlier here than in Hudson. Summer is the long-weekend default, with hiking, swimming holes (Peekamoose, Fawn's Leap), and porch sitting. Winter pulls a smaller, sharper crowd — Hunter and Belleayre for skiing, and most lodges run wood-burning saunas through the cold months. Mud season (April) is the off-window when you can get the same room for half. The Catskills reward two- and three-night stays from couples and small groups; it's the rare region where solo travel works too, because the lodges are designed for shared dinners and lobby fires.
Nearby
Phoenicia Diner is the best breakfast for an hour in any direction. The Catskill Distilling Company in Bethel sits next to the original Woodstock '69 site (Bethel Woods Center). Spruceton Inn's bar is open to non-guests on Hunter weekends. Stone Ridge Orchard, Westwind Orchard, and Seminary Hill all do public cider tasting. Woodstock's town green is still a working hippie main street with two good bookstores and the Tinker Street cinema.