Scribner's Lodge
CATSKILLS, UPSTATE NEW YORK
The journey to Scribner’s Lodge was a damp one, as we snaked through the Catskills with windscreen wipers working overtime against the stubborn rain, intermittently jumping in and out of the car to fill up on gas station pretzels and coffee. We twisted along the mountainside and edged towards the clouds, and got caught in thick mist that refused to loosen its grip on our Jeep until we took a left off the highway and found the hotel car park. It was at this point that the stubborn rain matured into extremely-aggressive-hail, so after a few moments of hesitation, we abandoned our suitcases in the car, grabbed the pretzels (priorities), ignored the ‘Beware of Bears!!’ signs and made a run for the lobby.
Ahead of our time in America, I spent hours in the car scheming about our Scribner’s Catskill Lodge stay - making it part of our Upstate New York road trip didn’t happen by accident, and everyone we spoke to that had stayed suddenly became misty eyed and started mumbling about s’mores and fires whenever we mentioned it. So when we stumbled into the warm lobby, soggy and a bit seasick from the rain, and Scribner’s was everything we wanted it to be, we knew we had done well. It smelt good, it looked great, and within minutes we had checked in, slinked our way to the lounge and claimed a spot next to the fireplace.
…when we stumbled into the warm lobby, soggy and a bit seasick from the rain, and Scribner’s was everything we wanted it to be, we knew we had done well.
Tearing ourselves away from the fire a little drier but still ignoring our suitcases in the car, we skipped along the corridors to find our room. It’s this part of the hotel that hints at its motor lodge past, with Scribner’s Catskill Lodge welcoming its first guests in 1966 as Scribner Hollow Motor Lodge - and before that stood Hunter Mountain Prospect House, a grand hotel that became a hot spot for city kids wanting to escape the smog. With 38 bedrooms, the hotel feels snug but not small, and when you occasionally squeeze past fellow guests in the corridor, it feels friendly and local, like you’re all part of the same club. The rooms, like the rest of the hotel, are homely, with a simple design that allow the mountain views to do the talking. Dark maple floors, soft rugs and terracotta tiled bathrooms make you want to stay more than one night, and we found a s’mores kit gently resting on our bed, with instructions to meet by the campfire that evening.
Back in the lobby, soft wooden floors and chalet-style seating add another layer of cosy, whilst the shelves thickly lined with books and boardgames hint at evenings spent bickering over backgammon and quietly thumbing through a new read with an Old Fashioned for company. It turns out that after a few drinks I’m pretty good at Cards Against Humanity, and that I’m also really bad at cooking s’mores (turns out you’re meant to gently toast them using the heat, not shove them straight into the flame and panic when the whole thing sets alight…)
For when bellies rumble, there’s the in-house Prospect restaurant and bar, but plan ahead as this only opens for a few evenings a week. We missed the memo when booking our stay but the front desk team pre-empted any hanger by pointing us in the direction of Sal’s Pizza, a few miles down the road in Tannersville. Arrive hungry and greedy - there are mozzarella sticks on the menu and the pizzas are bigger than you think. Fast forward to the morning and the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts along the corridors, and having found the stash of stowed away pretzels, we spent a lazy morning in bed watching the sun float above the mountains.
Dressed in sunshine, the mountains seem a little more manageable, so buoyed up by a stack of pancakes we fished out our hiking boots from the backseat of the car and set off on an adventure. From the hotel you can explore the Kaaterskill Falls, and Catskill Mountain House is do-able in an afternoon. If you’re after something a little more substantial, there’s Pratt Rock to tackle. However, for complete transparency, it’s important to flag that our hiking career in the Catskills was brief, as we are terrible at reading signs and our ‘keep calm and carry on’ ethos backfired when we both realised that we’ve gone too far to turn around. With heavy legs and bleary eyes, it was a small but precious comfort to know that the fire at Scribner’s would be waiting for us when we returned.
As we spent the evening debriefing under a blanket of stars, wrapped in blankets and clutching negronis, we realised that there was no bad seat at Scribner’s. The team behind the hotel wanted to make sure that the space was designed for people to enjoy sitting in, which is exactly what they’ve done. The space is full of sweet spots - seats close enough to the fire so you can dry soggy socks, chairs that can take three hour reading marathons in their stride, benches that will fit your favourite people and sofas to rest post-hike ankles on. Your balcony has chairs that welcome morning coffees and midnight nightcaps, and the logs by the campfire are the right height for impromptu s’mores lessons. Even better is that wherever you sit, there’s a view; from mist topped mountains to bookshelves heaving with pre-loved classics, and stretches of colour-changing forest to the winding highway that hints at more adventure.
A stay at Scribner’s is a must for any Catskills trip, and as we sat in the Jeep and worked out a route to the next stop, we knew that when we return to Upstate New York, we’d be back to claim our seat by the fire.
Scribner’s Catskill Lodge, from £162 ($204)
