Bear Mountain Inn

Stepping outside our cottage each morning to that view of Lake Hassian was such a treat, and I loved being able to start a hike right from the front door. My daughter and I had a wonderful stay. The room was clean and comfortable, with a great hot shower and a good bed, and we especially liked the shared space with the fireplace. The staff were friendly and helpful. At the Cafe, we looked forward to the freshly made scrambled egg and cheese on a roll each morning. The restaurant staff deserve a shout-out. We also had a great experience at the 1915 Restaurant, which I reviewed separately. A hidden gem in the heart of Bear Mountain.

The spa is the jewel of the place, and the staff there and elsewhere are great. The building has a lot of nice details, and the mountain is beautiful. Still, there was lots of construction, and the buses full of people from NYC around the lake really weren't great. Breakfast at the first-floor Cafe was absolutely disgusting. The zoo was disappointing too, with very few animals: no bears, coyotes, deer, or other large animals. I've been to a small family petting zoo with more. It's a good spot for a two-day off-season stay with your spouse.

We picked Overlook Lodge because it allows pets, and had a great stay with our Golden Retriever, though $60 a day feels a bit steep. The grounds are beautiful, with plenty of hiking choices. We really enjoyed the path all the way around Hessian Lake, and the Zoo was fun. We'd definitely come back.

The spa was the highlight for me. The staff were kind and professional, and the massages were incredible. The 1915 restaurant was much nicer than the Cafe, which was okay and did the job, though it was basically expensive cafeteria food. The main inn itself is pretty nice, with a gift shop, rooftop bar, restaurant, Cafe, and spa. The confusing part was the booking: it didn't explain how the stone cottages differ from the other areas. We thought we'd have a whole cottage, but it's a cramped building with about six guest rooms, thin walls, and a shared living space. The cottages are separate from the main inn, so driving back there every time was really inconvenient and kind of defeated the purpose. For an easy, enjoyable stay, I think you'd need to book a room in the bear mountain inn, rather than the stone cottages or overlook lodge. The Zoo sounded like a cool idea, but the animals were either away for winter, asleep, missing, or their exhibit was under construction. We walked around in the cold for an hour and saw only a bobcat. Bring some bears back!