For my 30th birthday, we headed to the Catskills for a weekend at Deer Mountain Inn. It was the end of February, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend a winter weekend.
We stayed in Room 6, Reid, which was incredibly comfortable, although we spent most of our time enjoying the rest of the inn. Mornings started downstairs with the breakfast spread, followed by afternoons in the attic, reading by the fire and playing Scrabble. It’s the kind of place where you can settle in for hours without feeling like you should be doing something else.
One of the few reasons we left the property was Shandaken Bake, just down the hill in Tannersville. I would go back to the Catskills for their carrot cake alone. We arrived on a freezing February morning to find a line already forming outside before the bakery had even opened. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. Go early, and absolutely get the carrot cake. It’s one of the best bakeries I’ve been to.
We had dinner at Deer Mountain Inn both nights, and I would happily do the same thing again. The burger and salad were favorites, but the service was just as memorable as the food. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and there’s something particularly nice about having a great restaurant right downstairs. No reservations elsewhere to plan around, no getting back in the car at the end of the night.
What I loved most about Deer Mountain Inn was how easy it was to spend an entire weekend there. Between the slow mornings, afternoons by the fire, and dinners downstairs, we never felt the need to make much of a plan. It was exactly the kind of weekend I had hoped for.
We did manage to extend the trip a little on our way home. We stopped at Wildflower Farms for a spa day, followed by dinner at Pitanga North, which was absolutely fantastic. Both are worth keeping in mind if you’re planning a longer Catskills weekend or want to make something of the drive home.
I can imagine Deer Mountain Inn being beautiful in the fall, but I loved experiencing it in the middle of winter. A cold February weekend, a fire to sit beside, and very little on the agenda. It was a pretty perfect way to turn 30.
