A 150 Year History Has Been Kind to the Mohonk Mountain House
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — An establishment built in 1869 is bound to undergo significant wear and tear, as time and weather are all-but-guaranteed to have their way with a building. But with a great deal of renovation, innovation, and continuous development of resources and amenities, the 150-year-old Mohonk Mountain House has elevated its relevance in the Hudson Valley.
The 1869 Mohonk Mountain House wasn’t so much a house as it was an idea. Albert K. Smiley originally purchased 300 acres of land, as well as a 10-room inn, by the Mohonk lake in the Hudson Valley that same year. Often likened to the structure and appearance of a Victorian castle, it wasn’t until 1888 that the addition of the Mountain House took place. The “resort,” if you will, started with hiking trails (1871), a golf course (1897), as well as a promoter of nature conservation and spots to fish. Those niceties remain, but the core of the facility has changed.
The options are plentiful for guests. The humble hiking trails that were first laid in 1871 have expanded to offer 85-miles of walking. Their spa, founded by Nina Smiley, is award-winning, and offers private sessions like meditation and forest bathing; they remain separate from the traditional experience you may get, that involving spa treatments, yoga, or the steam-room.
“Any time you book a spa day, you have access to the house itself, whether it be hiking trails or the lake out back,” said Anna, an employee of the house and spa. “There’s also fitness classes you can take, as well as high tea at 4:00 each day.” The experience — for overnight guests who wish to purchase a day at the spa — costs $40, if you wish to use the sauna and mineral pool, as examples.
These kinds of features, again, are new and quite modern. Mixed with Victorian age décor and scenic, natural views, offerings like fitness courses have made opinions conflicted. Various guests referred to the estate as “impressive” with “plenty of things to do,” but say it’s also plenty “overpriced, plagued with ‘surcharge fees’ that add to the cost.” David said, “it isn’t run like the mountain getaway I expected.”
Over everything, though, they raved about the area’s beauty, and said that the amenities truly “added to [their] overall time there.” The house and hotel stretch along the water, not merely resembling a castle but truly feeling like one for those who elect to experience all it has to offer. The road that leads up to the house isn’t lined with fast food nor department stores, but other facilities labeled Mohonk after the lake that dominates the area. It started as a 300-acre land all to itself; 150 years later, it remains.
