Mohonk Mountain House Winter Travel Diary
Like many children in the northeast, my daughters had the week off from school for mid-winter break the third week of February. The last few years, we have traveled somewhere warm to escape the cold, but this year we decided to stay closer to home. We were so excited to go to Mohonk Mountain House, an iconic resort in the Hudson Valley, to experience the magic of upstate New York in the winter! This was only our second time staying at a hotel in the past year and safety is very important to us. Mohonk took many special measures and put new operating procedures in place in order to ensure the health and safety of guests and staff, which gave me so much peace of mind.
Founded over 150 years ago, this Victorian castle resort is nestled in the Hudson Valley, only 90 miles north of New York City. The scenic ride from our home in Brooklyn, NY was about 2 hours. Surrounded by 40,000 acres of forest, this National Historic Landmark resort offers farm-to-table cuisine and an award-winning spa. Mohonk’s mission is to provide opportunities for recreation and renewal of body, mind, and spirit in a beautiful natural setting. Between the pristine facilities, incredibly helpful and friendly staff, and the breathtaking natural surroundings, I can see why guests leave this place with a renewed connection with their families and nature.
Prior to arriving, all guests must fill out Mohonk’s health waiver and all visitors have their temperatures screened upon arrival using non-contact thermometers. They’ve also taken other precautions around cleanliness, masks, air filtration, and made changes to the arrival experience. You can find the complete guide to Mohonk’s health and safety protocols here.
We stayed in a lovely room with charming details like a wood-burning fireplace and a balcony overlooking the beautiful Mohonk Lake. It was magical waking up to a view of the snow covered mountains surrounding the lake! There are tons of activities and amenities for kids all year long. There’s an amazing indoor heated pool, archery, daily crafts, nightly entertainment, a campfire for roasting marshmallows, and more! The girls swam their hearts out and loved the underwater music at the pool. The facility limits the number of people inside at one time and the amount of time each part can spend in the pool area, so you may have to wait a few minutes before you enter. We also enjoyed the live music entertainment after dinner both nights we were there. It was like attending a private concert!
There’s truly something for everyone at Mohonk any time of year! Adina and Noa enjoyed going ice skating for the first time in the covered ice skating rink on the property. The resort has ice skates starting at children’s size 10, which is included in your stay. We brought along skates for our 2-year-old so she could skate with us too. There is also cross country skiing and snowshoeing (the gear is available in the ski shop on site) that we’d love to try when the girls are a little bit older. We didn’t get to go snow tubing while we were there because the weather conditions were too icy, but hopefully we can try it next time! Just walking around the property itself is magical! My daughters kept saying they felt like they were inside of the Frozen movie or a snow globe as we walked through the white, snowy paths with icicles adorning the snow covered trees!
The meals were absolutely exceptional, with plenty of options for everyone! My husband and I loved that the dishes feature fresh ingredients from local Hudson Valley farms. The kids especially loved having dessert everyday ;) Pro-tip: ask your server for coloring pages and crayons for your kids. Three meals daily are included with your stay with reduced capacity in the dining room as well as distancing between tables per NY state guidelines. I liked that they offered contactless menus via a QR code to allow guests to view menus on their own personal devices. Mohonk is currently offering traditional table service in the main dining room, but for those who would feel more comfortable dining in private, lunch and dinner are also being served in a “marketplace” style, where guests can grab and go signature chef-plated items and work with the culinary team if necessary to tailor their meals to their liking. There is a similar set up for continental breakfast, where you can grab and go as you please.
I got to head to the spa one afternoon while the girls were sleeping to get a treatment and enjoy the facilities. Although the sauna and steam room are currently closed, guests have access to the relaxation verandas and the outdoor heated mineral pool. Open year round, it features imported Dead Sea salts infused into the water and heated up to 100 degrees! It was so surreal to be in the heated pool with snow all around me on a cold, winter day!
If you are thinking about taking your family to Mohonk Mountain House this year, there is a Spring Break special taking place at Mohonk from March 28- April 9, 2021, where kids stay and eat for free! 🙌 This spring celebration includes daily crafts, nature activities, and more! A stay at Mohonk includes three meals daily, unlimited activities, holistic wellness offerings, and nightly entertainment. Listen to underwater music in the indoor heated pool, practice your archery skills during family archery and enjoy nightly entertainment for the whole family.
With everything going on in the world this past year, I sometimes wish I could just escape it all. This trip was the perfect getaway that we all needed! I was so impressed with all of the updates Mohonk put in place so guests can safely enjoy everything the resort has to offer and I can’t wait to come back as a family! You can see more from our trip in the “Monhonk” on my Instagram and make sure to head to their website to find out more about Mohonk and all the memories you can make there with your family!