Catskills, United States

Camptown

Price per night from$189.22

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD189.22), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Park and bide

Setting

Catskills’ foothills

Make former motor lodge Camptown more than a pitstop on your Catskills road trip. The vibe may be vintage, but the execution is modern: the retro motel and forest-framed cabins harmonize Hallmark coziness with sleek mid-century furnishings. When you’re not dipping into the locally sourced honesty pantry (or the outdoor saltwater pool), the seasonal, Jaliscan restaurant delights with packs-a-punch dishes. And winter snowsports and summertime hiking are your cues to ditch the car keys and stay a while.

Smith Extra

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Local cider in your room on arrival

Facilities

Photos Camptown facilities

Need to know

Rooms

50, including 26 cabins.

Check–Out

11am. Check-in, 3pm; both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates at Camptown don’t include breakfast, which is available from $15, but you’ll get free tea and coffee daily in the main motel building.

Also

The King Kitchenette Cabin ADA rooms are adapted to guests with reduced mobility, as are the lobby and restaurant, but please be aware that the trails in between cabins are made from gravel.

At the hotel

Communal grills and fire pits; round-the-clock honesty pantry, and free WiFi throughout. In all rooms (except original cabins): TV with streaming channels, Marshall Bluetooth speaker, climate control and local bath products.

Our favourite rooms

At Camptown, every room and cabin is individually styled yet shares similar rustic good looks: mid-century furnishings, soft Frette linen and a curated selection of books are staples in each. The King rooms are the exception to the cabin aesthetic that’s threaded throughout: honey-hued interiors are paired with seagrass wallpaper to create a golden-hour-inspired space. Equally cockle-warming is one of the cabins with a real fire — we’re eyeing the Two-Bedroom Kitchenette Deluxe with Fireplace — which are set for all-seasons hibernation.

Poolside

The outdoor saltwater pool is a halcyon hotspot which, in keeping with the motel’s retro edge, has old-fashioned striped parasols and sunloungers, and rattan armchairs. It opens seasonally from May to October for heated dips, and all ages are welcome daily between 10am and 6pm, but after this, it’s adults only.

Packing tips

Chic ski pants and snow boots for tackling Windham Mountain in winter; lean into the kitsch styling of your surroundings in summer with cat-eye sunglasses and high-waisted bikinis for poolside lounging.

Also

Book in for a steamy session at the alfresco sauna; it’s open from 10am to 8pm daily.

Pet‐friendly

Pooches are very welcome; up to two can stay in any cabin for $50 a night. See more pet-friendly hotels in Catskills.

Children

Welcome, though there’s no specific kit.

Sustainability efforts

Being green-minded comes naturally to leafy Camptown. The motel eschews single-use plastics; sources seasonal produce from nearby farms and biodynamic wine from organic vineyards, and supports local businesses. You’ll also find electric-vehicle charging points and eco-friendly bath products.

Food and Drink

Photos Camptown food and drink

Top Table

Coteries and clans might like the striped corner banquette, which is flanked by windows on either side; the tables by the bookshelves are more intimate for two.

Dress Code

There’s a homey ambience at Casa Susanna, so come as you are.

Hotel restaurant

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Casa Susanna would whip up trad-American cooking: its lodge-like dining room is kitted out with camel leather benches and wooden beamed ceilings. Instead, it's the setting for chef Efrén Hernández’s Jaliscan cuisine — though the Hudson Valley still plays a key role in providing regional produce. All the tortillas are homemade and the modern Mexican menus change with the seasons, but you can expect to find bright brunch plates of blue-corn tetelas and chayote-topped tamales, and designed-to-share dishes such as smoked eggplant with salsa macha and grilled mackerel al pastor at dinner.

On the nights Casa Susanna closes its doors, you can play house in your cabin, stocking up with fresh goods and treat-yourself snacks from the all-hours honesty pantry.

Hotel bar

From May through October, you’ll find Bar Piscina — shaded beneath a pastel-hued pergola that looks as though it’s been plucked from a Wes Anderson film — near the saltwater pool. It takes Mexican cues from Casa Susanna and offers cooling post-dip refreshment in the form of frozen guava margaritas, zesty ceviches and blueberry-cardamom or chili-strawberry paletas (ice lollies).

Last orders

Casa Susanna is open from Thursday to Monday and serves dinner between 5pm and 10pm (drinks until 11pm); brunch is available on weekends, from 10am to 2pm. Seasonal Bar Piscina pours from noon to 5pm, Friday to Sunday.

Location

Photos Camptown location
Address
Camptown
810 County Road 23B
Leeds
12451
United States

Retro Camptown is set near Leeds’ Main Street, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York.

Planes

Albany International Airport is a 40-minute drive from the hotel; New York Stewart International Airport is an hour away by road, and LaGuardia is just over two hours’ drive. You’ll need to arrange your own transfer or hire a set of wheels to get to the estate.

Trains

Amtrak services from New York City and Albany call at Hudson train station, which is a 15-minute drive from the hotel; staff can recommend taxi companies.

Automobiles

You’ll want your own wheels to access mountain trails and quaint towns; plus, the bright lights of New York City are under two hours’ drive away. There are electric-vehicle charging points and free parking at the hotel; at check-in, staff will let you know which car park is closest to your room or cabin.

Worth getting out of bed for

The great outdoors feels particularly majestic in Camptown’s corner of the Catskills. In summer, fresh air-fuelled days center around trips to Kaaterskill Falls, a tiered waterfall on Spruce Creek; pristine Colgate Lake for wild swimming, or foliage-framed hiking trails. Come winter, swoosh down the slopes at Windham Mountain or get a cultural fix alongside cross-country skiing at Art OMI’s sculpture park (just as worthy of a visit in milder months). 

You can continue cosmopolitan pursuits with a spot of shopping in Catskill town, which has a host of antiques and homewares stores. Marvel at ballet or live music performances at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, or channel Sandy and Danny with a romantic rendezvous at the Hi-Way Drive-In Theatre.

Local restaurants

Cushy interiors and comforting fare are given a polished makeover at dinner-only Matilda, where seasonal plates spotlighting close-to-home produce celebrate the Catskills (as will you, perhaps with a bourbon-based tipple). Gracie’s Luncheonette is a modern take on a classic diner with biscuits, bagels and buttermilk waffles leading the breakfast charge, followed by just-as-indulgent lunches. At Rivertown Lodge’s tavern, brunch is slightly more virtuous, with fresh flavors and Asian-inspired ingredients; dinner follows a similar suit with plenty of plant-based offerings.

Local cafés

The specialty coffee at Hartland Shop is something to write home about, which is easily done given the quaint café is set in a stationery shop. You’ll get your caffeine fix at Citiot, another one-stop-shop where brews and boutique buys come together.

Local bars

Dive bar the Avalon Lounge keeps the party going until the early hours with live music, a good selection of sake and Korean bites. The taproom at Subversive pours hoppy, sour and dark ales from their onsite brewery, which relies on traditional malting techniques and locally sourced grains.

Reviews

Photos Camptown reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this retro motel in Upstate New York and unpacked their wooly socks and flannel shirts, a full account of their bathed-in-nature break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Camptown in the Catskills…

Urbanites often get the itch to escape their beloved cities — and for New Yorkers, when the Catskills call, they answer. The latest voice in this countryside chorus is design-forward Camptown, a roadside motel that warrants more than a stopover, with its cozy-but-contemporary interiors and easy access to the rest of the region.

But it’s not just out-of-towners who congregate around Camptown’s communal fire pits and alfresco grills — it’s a creative hub for locals, who are particularly enthused by Casa Susanna and its stellar Mexican cooking at weekend brunches and date-night dinners.

You might plan to spend days at large in the rolling hills and craggy mountains — hiking, biking or skiing — but this basecamp is deft at round-the-clock distraction: an all-hours honesty pantry is stocked with craft beers, fresh produce and favorite snacks; the seasonal pool and Bar Piscina supplies salty swims and salted-rim margaritas, and you can unwind post-hike in the outdoor sauna. This camp rocks.

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Price per night from $189.22