“You’re immersed here at the bottom of that spectacular 1,200 feet of sheer granite.” – Eric Ord
Something special happens at the Minnewaska Lodge at sunrise. “The property is precisely aligned, east–west,” innkeeper and owner Eric Ord says, “so if you get up in time, you’ll see the cliff face just 50 meters away glow orange like the surface of Mars for 20 minutes.” Follow that up with a lavish complimentary breakfast and you’ve got the perfect start to a wonderful day.
That’s just the beginning of the magic at the Lodge, nestled as it is against 25,000 acres of protected wildlands. “You’re immersed here at the bottom of that spectacular 1,200 feet of sheer granite,” Ord says, “and the forest surrounds us on all sides. We’re far enough from the road to be engulfed in peace and stillness, except for the wildlife—people are amazed at the variety of birds we get.”
Born in South Africa, Ord spent 2 decades running hotels in Manhattan before moving up to the Catskills during the COVID pandemic to renovate a home here. Once that was sorted out, he started looking for just the right spot to practice the art of hospitality at the level he felt the area deserves. He found it at Minnewaska Lodge. “I saw the potential there and couldn’t resist, knowing what I could do with it,” he says.
Ord took over in fall 2023 and began a full renovation. “We’ve kept some things, like the beautiful Shaker oak furniture, and added other amenities—soundproofing, carpeting, heat in the bathrooms, things that guests of four- and five-star places expect,” Ord says.
“We’ve elevated it to where the sophisticated market is, which also means it’s not meant to be a flash-in-the-pan hipster hangout. It's an elegant lodge, a classic that’s not tied to a specific stylistic moment. I wanted to create the kind of place where a rock climber can come in from the mountain barefoot and feel completely comfortable, while someone pulling up in a limousine, someone who’s accustomed to top-shelf service, will feel equally comfortable and satisfied. Their needs will be elegantly met, in a way that’s understated and casual and warm. The location is spectacular, the amenities are on point, but it’s really our hospitality that’s our secret sauce.”
No two of the lodge’s twenty-six rooms are exactly alike. Some have cathedral ceilings; others have private balconies awash in mountain or forest ambiance. Each features a spacious desk or round table and chairs and high-speed internet, should you need to get some work done, as well as cable TV. There are 40-inch soaking tubs, rain showers, and Shaker-tiled walls in the bathrooms, which are stocked with organic Lather bath and body care items. Getting ready for a night out? You’ve got a hair dryer, ironing board, and full-length mirror. Should you need an emergency sewing or shaving kit, just ask. Sleeping in the next morning? Shut the blackout curtains.
But you may want to get up while breakfast is still being served. “I still call it Continental, but it’s way more than that,” Ord says. “We have hot food and omelets; we have local homemade granola and sheep’s milk yogurt and local honey and maple syrup, local pastries.”
The Lodge has a full commercial kitchen; Ord is expanding the food options a little at a time, and in the afternoons, from 3 till 7, guests can get cheese, charcuterie—including South African biltong beef—and other snacks, along with a beverage from a local winery or distillery to enjoy outside on your choice of the two splendid decks or beside the Vermont Castings wood stove in the lounge. “We plan to start pop-up dinners in the near future, but meanwhile we can still cater an amazing lunch for your group,” he says.
On the property are three walking trails, one along a gurgling stream, dotted with fairy houses and meditation benches. There’s also a rock scramble that’s just challenging enough to be satisfying. “It’s well-marked and takes you to the tree line at the base of the cliff face. There’s a secret fern garden, and the view of the valley from up there is glorious,” Ord says. “Then, too, people like having all the Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska carriage roads just minutes away.”
“The hotel reminded us in its atmosphere—appearance and hospitality—of the best Alpine inns,” writes a contented reviewer on Google. “The accommodations are very comfortable. Our room and bathroom were spacious and immaculate. The view on the cliffs was spectacular. The Lodge is beautifully and well situated.… The staff is very helpful and courteous.
Ord says he’s enjoying letting guests taste the local flavors. “We don’t want to be a boutique lodge that might be anywhere, and we design the experience to evoke the area and its charms,” he says. “We have all new local art, and we do installations with local artists on consignment, so you can fall in love with a piece and take it home. We partner with the local bakers and wineries and distilleries, the tea and coffee shops, the cheesemakers.
Adirondack chairs and smokeless propane firepits offer the perfect setting for an evening’s relaxation.
And we have an adventure concierge to help you plan the perfect day.… We can get you to hiking, antiquing, skydiving, paragliding; we have a shuttle bus that can get you to the wineries and distilleries. We partner with local providers to arrange whatever you want: sound bathing, forest bathing, yoga, Reiki. This area is so rich with talented people, and I’ve gone around and introduced myself to lots of them, so we now have all of that at our fingertips.”
Ord says the Minnewaska Lodge is also the perfect place to host an event, whether a meeting or a milestone. “We can do micro-weddings of 40 to 60, or you can reserve room blocks for your guests,” he says. “It’s ideal for that. And we have a lovely meeting room with that whole gig of WiFi, so you can have a great conference or retreat, or just a getaway for a group of friends. Since I come from an event-planning background, you won’t need to hire outside help for anything like that.” One recent wedding group opted on the spur of the moment to extend their two-day stay to five days, he says.
Weekends feature complimentary yoga classes in the new fitness room with floor-to-ceiling mirrors to help you get those asanas perfect. Adirondack chairs and smokeless propane firepits offer the perfect setting for an evening’s relaxation. You can even, for a reasonable fee, include your pet in the fun. The final phase of the renovations, which will be complete by press time, is adding a walk-in sauna and cedar hot tub, improved parking, a croquet green, a sculpture garden, a pickleball court, a pond, and a bridge.
Ord is enjoying himself up here in the country and is devoted to seeing that you will too. “I run it like an old-school innkeeper,” he says. “I’m here every morning, making sure everybody knows what’s going on and what they shouldn’t miss, giving advice, getting people up the mountain if they don’t have cars or picking them up, making sure everything still works out if an event planner dropped the ball on you,” he says. “hotels, restaurants and event planning have been hard wired to my nervous system since birth; I travel 30 days a year and seek out the finest, most interesting boutique hotels on the planet, getting ideas, sharing ideas. To me perfect hospitality is effortless elegance. It’s a natural passion for touch hospitality, which is not the same thing as service, that makes it all work. I have it, and the only people who will ever work here need to have it too. We regularly hear from guests is, ‘Wow, this place has great energy’.” I can only smile. How lucky am I to have found this spectacular location where both my passions and talents align.
minnewaska lodge
3116 Route 44/55, Gardiner
845-255-1110
minnewaskalodge.com
