Review: The Chatwal Lodge

Why book? 

Among the numerous high-end mountain resorts that have proliferated across the Catskills and Hudson Valley, the Chatwal Lodge—the sibling to the ultra-posh Chatwal in Manhattan’s Theater District—stands alone for several reasons. Set overlooking the Toronto Reservoir on the private Chapin Estate, it offers a degree of total seclusion and immersion in the natural world that is hard to come by in the 21st-century Catskills, while more than delivering the goods when it comes to luxury amenities and fine dining. And its exuberant take on log cabin–chic is unlike anything you’ve seen before. 

Set the scene 

Enter the Chapin Estate through a grand set of gates and drive along a bucolic lane that turns to gravel around the time you pass a working farm until you reach the stone driveway that leads to Chatwal’s welcoming, smaller gates wreathed in Christmas lights and flanked by towering pines. The enormous main lodge (which houses one guest room) is meant to summon the Great Camps that dotted the Adirondacks during the Gilded Age. The aesthetic here (which extends to the rec center and the guest rooms) is like the Dutton Ranch in Yellowstone by way of Dr. Seuss: There’s no shortage of wood paneling, taxidermy, and imposing stone fireplaces—as well as a plethora of logs, branches, and twigs incorporated into the design, and whimsically carved wooden gnome animals everywhere you look. Your mileage may vary on the style, but it’s hard not to admire the commitment and execution. The crowd when we visited was mostly couples up from New York City for the weekend. And with oodles of space (and only 11 guest rooms on the entire property) you’ll have no trouble soaking up the Chatwal Lodge’s greatest amenity: tranquility.

The backstory 

The story of the Chapin Estate goes back to 1891 when Chester Chapin, a wealthy New York entrepreneur and outdoorsman for whom the Chatwal Lodge’s rec center is named) was given the gift of a dozen elk. Needing a place to keep them safe, he began buying parcels of land in Sullivan County, eventually creating Chapin Park, an 18,000-acre wilderness preserve. Much of that land remains undeveloped to this day. Sant Singh Chatwal, the hotel’s owner (and the founder of the Dream Hotel Group), owns a good piece of it today, and with the Chatwal Lodge he sought to honor Chapin’s legacy and pay tribute to the kinds of rustic retreats that were once popular with the nature-loving business elite of the Northeast.

The rooms 

Continuing the full-force rusticity of the main lodge (with branches and figurines aplenty), the rooms go long on well-heeled comfort; club chairs, electric fireplaces, and full kitchens equipped with every tool you could need, plus cookies and espresso and bottled cocktails. Ours, the Elk Lodge, had a stellar view of the reservoir, with a patio and grill outside that I dream of coming back to use in summer. 

The high-tech Japanese-style washlets (the kids called them robo-toilets and ran from them in mock terror) make for an amusing contrast with the woodsy vibe. Rooms are super-configurable—ours, with a master bedroom and a second attic room up the stairs, was perfect for a family of four, but it’s also part of a larger structure called Longview at Toronto Reservoir, with two other units—Water’s Edge and Bear Cub—perfect for multiple families traveling together or an extended, multigenerational situation. 

Food and drink 

The Rustic Grill restaurant in the main lodge, makes the most of its proximity to the region’s many great farms and food purveyors with a menu of thoughtful, polished takes on American country comfort food. There were lovely winter vegetables when we visited, like white asparagus and a parsnip soup with apples and chanterelles. You’ll have a hard time resisting the nightly steak dinner for two—ours was a 38-ounce, bone-in dry ribeye with seared foie gras. It all makes for great leftovers, if you want to box them up and take them back to your room for a midnight snack. In-room dining is also available 24 hours a day, and the weekend brunch is a must. The one cocktail we ordered was a classic hot toddy enjoyed while the kids decorated cookies, which was delicious and felt like just what the doctor ordered on a gray February day in the woods. There's also a Catskills-style high tea, a countrified version of the English tradition that could go head to head with tea in any fancy London hotel.

The neighborhood/area 

The Chatwal Lodge and Chapin Estate sit in Sullivan County in the southwestern Catskills, not far from the Monticello Raceway, the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, and the site of the original Woodstock festival. This region, once known as the Borscht Belt for its preponderance of Jewish resorts and summer camps (a heritage alluded to in Dirty Dancing and explicitly referenced in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), is a bit sleepier and less polished than the areas nearer to the Hudson River, which are most popular with weekenders from New York City. The hotel’s most immediate neighbors are the lovely homes of the Chapin Estate, some designed by the same architect, Steve Dubrovsky.

The service 

At some of these upscale destinations in the Catskills the service can sometimes fail to match the price point, so it was a pleasure at the Chatwal Lodge that it wasn’t just smooth and attentive but also (and this is an important point) felt natural, friendly, and authentic. The team there really went the extra mile, offering the family a golf-cart ride back to our room “the long way” after dinner one night so that we could see some corners of the property we hadn’t yet. At breakfast one morning my wife stayed back in the room, so I asked for a cappuccino and a muffin to bring back with her. Did she want “in-room dining instead?” I wasn’t sure, and asked if they could call her; when we got back to the room, she was so appreciative—without even realizing it, she’d really wanted that leisurely room service moment by herself.

For families

This place is a dream for families, and seems an ideal location for extended family gatherings. We visited in the shoulder season, and there was still no shortage of fun group activities, from visiting the archery range to stargazing through a telescope by the bonfire, cookie decorating, and printmaking. If there’s snow on the ground in winter you can snowshoe and cross-country ski, and in the summer you can canoe and swim in the Toronto Reservoir. Fishing is possible year-round (ice fishing in the winter) and the woods are full of pretty trails to hike. Of particular note is the rec center, open 24 hours, which has duckpin bowling, billiards, shuffleboard, ping pong, a library, and a cinema. It’s a great place to hang out together.

Eco effort 

The Chatwal Lodge’s grounds are extensive and beautifully maintained, so it’s notable that it relies heavily on electric power for landscaping equipment over gas-powered weedwackers—a particularly potent source of emissions. It also sources products from farms and producers, including Norwich Meadows and Willow Wisp Farms, which are committed to regenerative agricultural practices that sustain the health of the soil. 

Anything left to mention? 

In addition to the rec center, Chatwal Lodge offers a host of lovely guided activities, depending on the season, from archery and fly fishing to art classes and stargazing.