Pine Hill Arms Inn & Restaurant

BEST $100 DEPOSIT EVER LOST!!!!!

My 2 girlfriends and I decided to talk a girls trip to the Catskills for some snow tubing. Upon looking up different hotels we stumbled upon this place based on affordability and the attractiveness of the website.....BOY WERE WE WRONG!!!

Where do I begin? First of all when we approached this ghost town my one friend who had been sleeping in the back woke up and asked "is this a joke" sadly this was real life. Then as we entered the unshoveled driveway my friends car bottomed out as we almost got stuck. At the end of the driveway we weren't sure which was worse, the hotel we were about to enter, the garage at an adjacent house that said children welcome or the house next door with tin foil windows and a barking dog. Still optimistic we entered the hotel. The lobby was pitch black and there was no one to be found. We waited by the desk for about 15 minutes and still not one soul entered. At this point in time, our back seat driver began to panic as scenes from The Shining were flashing through our heads. Needless to say we bolted and ended up in a nice hotel and were more than happy to forgo the deposit. Still can't understand how this place is able to be called a hotel and how they have the audacity to charge almost the same price as a nice hotel 40 minutes closer to the mountain.

The is more like a 3.5, but the extra .5 is because the owner and staff were so nice. My bf and I stayed here overnight during a spontaneous weekend staycation back in August. We found this place because it was in the same direction of the cavern we were heading and we didn't want to stay at the creepy hotel near it (see Holiday Motel review). But I'm really glad we did because it turned out to be quite charming and quaint.

We met the owner when we checked in and she was very sweet and helpful. I believe she said she was originally from NJ and did something completely different, but she just decided to pick up and move up there and open her own lodge...that made me like her even more for some reason.

The place is so cozy and there are only a few rooms, so it felt very intimate. Our room didn't look much like the ones on the website, as it was carpeted and seemed much smaller than pictured. But it was comfortable and clean, and that's all we really cared about. There was an old school tube TV in the room which worked, but was a little fuzzy at times. We barely got cell reception up there and I think there was only WiFi in the lobby, but the service was really poor. It actually turned out to be a good thing because we just disconnected ourselves from technology and relaxed.

However the highlight was definitely the restaurant, which is right in the back of the inn. The inn was relatively quiet and we literally only saw 3-4 other people ever come out of the rooms, but the restaurant/bar was actually bustling with locals from the area. Everything was homemade, down to the salad dressing, butter and bread, and I think that's what made it so good. The staff was so friendly that it definitely left an impression. The next morning there was a continental breakfast laid out in the lobby. But it was mainly hard bagels and rolls that I could tell were not fresh or homemade, but that's typical of any hotel continental breakfast. If they could make that fresh, it was be so much more amazing but I would still certainly return here regardless.

More like 3.5 stars. 4 for the restaurant, 3 for the hotel.

Hotel first: Do keep in mind, the pictures you find online are nothing like what you'll get when you check in. There was literally a bed and some walking space and I swear the bathroom was once a closet. The shower had a frame...forget a door..a frame. A frame where I smashed my elbow while I attempted to get toilet paper...a little tmi, but it was needed. My friends got a room with single beds and ended up with a huge room and 3 beds. It's questionable if this place is really kept clean, but I stayed for one night, it served its purpose, but this will definitely be my last resort if I'm in the area.

The restaurant faired much better. Apparently people who don't even stay at the hotel, come out of their way to eat here, so I definitely had high hopes. The hostess wasn't too happy but our waitress was super nice. We had the early bird special as I don't think anything else on the menu is worth the price. I had the chicken which was pretty good and the mashed potatoes were delicious!  I was happy with my food and for the price, I couldn't complain.

In the end, the restaurant and the hotel served its purpose. I wasn't looking for a 5 star stay, but I was looking for something a little better than what I got.