~Where to begin? When we reached out to Adena Orchard & Vine, Alana told us that all we'd have to…read moredo to fall in love with it is to just take a trip and see it in person. Boy, was she right. Adena was the first venue we looked at, and we knew right away that it was everything we were looking for! ~Alana & Kevin feel like family, no joke. From the beginning, Alana was extremely communicative and transparent about costs, vendors, and even time. We have had such an amazing time communicating with her, that it's so hard to think that it's finally over. Jackiie and I knew from the get-go that we would be having a large, bohemian, non-traditional, DIY wedding, and Adena fully truly wholly delivered. From the GORGEOUS setting deep in the Catskills, to the STUNNING authentic barn that Kevin has put so much work into restoring, our wedding would not have been anywhere near as magical or perfect had Adena not hosted it. ~Alana's thoughtful and thorough list of vendors in the area was integral to us finding the perfect collaborators for our big day. The whole family was incredibly helpful and excited to get to help us iron out details and move tables around the day before (and of). Kevin had the best technical considerations and advice throughout the whole process. If you are looking for a transactional, cookie-cutter, wedding factory, hands-off venue, find it elsewhere. If you are looking for a human touch, endless enthusiasm, plentiful creativity, to feel cared for, look no further. This family feels like our family. ~Things we love in no particular order: stunning and thoughtful get ready rooms (for both me and Jackiie, it was so important that we both felt special as it was OUR day!); lovely vintage furniture in the barn and main house; idyllic views of the Catskills; how Alana just hopped in as our wedding fairy godmother (no joke, this is her name in my phone) when we didn't have a wedding planner; everyone's willingness to creative problem-solve and roll with the punches when our day-of timeline flew out the window; the bonfire at the end of the night (our guests have not stopped raving); all the little nooks and areas for folks to explore and disappear and contemplate (the willow bridge & the tree tunnel, to name a couple); ok I could keep going on and on and on, but there is nothing not to love. ~We cannot wait to get our photos back so that we can share more, but please enjoy these two magical images (courtesy of Rosey Red Photography, you HAVE to book them). ~Adena fam; there are no words to describe how important you are to us, and how wonderful it has been to work with you. A thousand thanks, and a thousand again!

If you are looking to do a barn wedding, or a wedding outside on some GORGEOUS grounds, this is the…read moreplace. I just had the wedding of my dreams here last weekend. The barn itself is beyond perfect, and we were able to set up the space exactly how we wanted to. All of my guests can't stop talking about it, and I keep hearing "this is the best wedding I've ever been to." The usable space near the barn is huge, and we even played with the idea of doing a large wedding tent as well as the barn. They have multiple options for areas to do the ceremony- all set with the mountains in the backdrop. The bridal suite area is seriously something out of a bridal magazine. The best part of the whole experience, however, are the two fantastic people who own this space. They were always available for my new husband and I to ask any questions, or for any of our vendors to reach out to. They checked in often with logistical, and checking in to see if we needed anything leading up to the day of. They were truly beyond helpful when it came to day-of setup and could not have been sweeter the entire process! By the end, I felt like they were family! I could not be more sincere, the first time I saw Adena Orchard & Vine, I was in LOVE. I knew it was the one, and that was in February, when everything blooms or the leaves start changing it is just perfection.

If you asked me to describe this venue in two words, it would be easy: Beauty and Heart. Yes, the…read moreThe Natural Gardens is a meticulously landscaped, beautiful dream setting in the Catskills. But the owners, Steve and Cathy, are what MAKE this venue absolute perfection. This property is their home, and they care for their guests like their own family - they put their heart and soul into this venue, and do the same when caring for their bridal couple. My husband and I were originally looking for a venue in Hudson Valley, but our guest size, desire for a weekend event, and Fall-timed nuptials prompted us to expand our search further into the Catskills. Thank goodness it did! When we arrived at the venue for our first visit, it was September, and the grounds were still beautifully lush and green, with blooming flowers. We were quickly won over by the treelines, ponds, and gardens. Steve is a horticulturist, and has cultivated every inch of the property with love - and it shows. We knew it would the tree-lines would be perfect for our fall wedding, complete with yellow, orange, and red foliage (and it was!). On that first day, Steve and Cathy took us on a tour of the property, and we loved that there were plenty of options to host a number of events, and have it feel like a 'different' venue for each aspect of our wedding weekend. They also had plenty of recommendations for us - from caterers to local hotel/private home accommodations. We booked with them a little more than a year in advance, and they stayed highly responsive and communicative right up until our wedding weekend. They also let us know that we were welcome to come back at any time to take photos (including engagement pictures), or make plans for our wedding weekend. We didn't end up doing so because we live in New York City, but it was helpful to know the option was there! During our wedding weekend, we ended up using the property for two days: On Friday, we held a Color Wars style game day for our guests, followed by a welcome party dinner in the forest. On Saturday, we had an outdoor ceremony, followed by a reception in the barn/event center, topped off with a s'mores bonfire under the stars. The weekend was magical, in large part thanks to Steve and Cathy. Unfortunately, we had a wedding planner who under-delivered, and Steve and Cathy were well aware of the stress and hardship that this caused us. But they made sure that we were well-taken care of, and graciously took on MUCH MORE than they should have had to to ensure the weekend was as successful as possible. From ensuring our cake was on display for our guests, to golf-carting us around the property to get photos/video in as many settings as possible, to combing the property for lost items the morning after, Steve and Cathy went above and beyond our expectations. And our guests absolutely LOVED all the photo ops with the beautiful fall scenery. We couldn't have picked a better spot to start our forever. Thank you, Steve and Cathy! PS - A few things to know/be mindful of: There's no mobile/wi-fi service (yet), but they are working on it. We actually loved that we (and our guests) were able to completely disconnect. It made for a better party! There is an onsite bridal house with plenty of couches, a bedroom, and sizeable makeup/hair space for wedding day. This bridal house was my absolutely LIFESAVER - it was a great place to retreat, get my zen, and prepare for the long day of wedding festivities. Steve and Cathy are constantly making upgrades to the venue - so ask about what they may have in store for your target dates. In between our booking and our actual wedding weekend, they built out some restrooms by the bonfire area which was also near we were had our "games." It was a perfect addition that was totally unexpected!

My daughter had a weekend wedding at Natural Gardens in September of 2018. We are so grateful to…read moreour hosts Cathy & Steve. They worked nonstop, handling details large and small for our frankly, very disorganized group. They really are amazing! If you're considering Natural Gardens for any kind of event, I strongly recommend that you come and tour the property because the website simply cannot do justice to this stunning place. As you walk the grounds you'll find yourself thinking "This is the loveliest spot" each time you round another bend. The beautiful color palette in the trees, flowers and grasses will change with every visit. Cathy and Steve seem to be constantly improving the venue--we had a great cocktail hour after the ceremony at their new outdoor reception area. Some of our guests were the first to stay in the glamping cottages. Cathy catered our Friday night dinner. She's a really talented chef--and you'll be able to check out her culinary skills at the tavern they're opening soon on the property. We had a truly wonderful experience. There are so many choices one has to make for a wedding. The best decision we made was to hold it at The Natural Gardens.

We stayed in the Family Lodge suite. The beds were fresh and white, very comfortable and the…read morescenery was so relaxing. We felt well cared for and carefree. The staff was quite pleasant. We didn't use all the perks that come with a stay, (the pool The Kaleidoscope show, the restaurant or any paid spa services). We did their hot steam sauna, which was as it should be. The sauna entrance is an antique- just lovely. One can make a cup of tea/coffee in the lobby there. Our suite had complimentary slippers, which I wore the whole time I was there, three TVs, which we didn't use, a fridge as well as a little coffee station. The spa had lockers and long bathrobes available. We walked outside quite aways to get to the spa from our suite. But I have a feeling if we'd been unable or asked ahead they would have picked us up with a golf cart. As it is, we rode the loaner bikes they had outside of the lobby on our way back. Note adjust the seat to be higher or lower- it's easy. Our suite was very spacious and part of the Old Lodge. There's a nice creek flowing out back and we sat on our little balcony while we had coffee. We liked the relaxed atmosphere and the relative privacy. Yes the rugs and the countertops/shower/tubs should be upgraded. (I think there's a newer section of the Emerson so ask). As it stands we were pretty happy with our stay. We had family in other rooms and paid about $500/night for ours.

Hotel and restaurant are great. Spa maybe a scam. Paid for hour. Received 1/2 hour. Try to speak…read morewith owner/supervisor and I was given the round around. Very poor service here

Stayed for a wedding in the area, absolutely lovely, very clean and well kept, would definitely…read morestay again. Amazing restaurant downstairs.

Had a wonderful and delicious anniversary dinner on the back deck over looking the pond. I had the…read morepan seared Delmonico steak and my wife had the sword fish, then we took a walk around the pond. Very scenic! The service was excellent and faster than we expected! Meal was a bit pricey but tasty.

What an terrible experience!!!…read more I emailed several times and then since I got no response called multiple times. I left messages both with answering machines and with live people. No responses until I finally called at the moment some woman named yaako or something like that answered. She was absolutely nasty AF and completely unhelpful. I was trying to plan an event for 30 to 60 people well over 3 months in advance for a Thursday evening. She made it very clear by her s***** customer service that they are not interested in your business. This is a real shame as the place looks really nice and seems to have a great setting, but if this is the customer service I'm going to get from some quote unquote manager- forget it. There are many far better places with far better customer service within 20 minutes of this place.. Oh, and I just checked my notes, her name was Masako (?sp)... And yes she was part of the problem, but no she was not the entire problem. The entire place seems to be a problem. The people who answer the phone at the front desk seeing friendly and nice, but aren't able to do anything and they insist you have to speak with management and tell you to speak with winners like her. SMH. AVOID!!!!!!!

I love farm to table restaurant. Simple salad here was so fresh and delicious. Pork chop was cooked…read moreperfectly and sides complimented just right amount of saltiness. We had healthy and very tasty dinner here. Service was awesome!!

Skandaken Inn in Oliverea Valley is the cozy restaurant at the Shandaken Inn serving hearty fare…read moresourced from local Catskills purveyors. For starters we had their incredible house-made Parker house rolls with cultured butter garnished with salt and thyme. They came ripping hot out of the oven with the perfect flaky texture. These could've be served at the best steakhouses in NYC for how perfect they were. We also had the Caesar salad and ricotta and spinach dumplings. We were particularly pleased with the dumplings which were accompanied by tender baby hakurei turnips. We split the Wagyu burger with crispy, pressed fries for our entree. The burger was juicy and topped with caramelized onions and tangy thousand island sauce. Dessert was a spectacular sticky toffee pudding which was perhaps the best sticky toffee pudding we've ever had. It was generously portioned and swimming in toffee sauce. We had an awesome meal here and Shandaken Inn has quickly risen to one of our favorite restaurants in the Catskills

My girlfriend and I did not stay at the inn, but we did come to the restaurant for dinner on a…read morefrigid Saturday night in February. From start to finish it was truly a wonderful experience. Absolutely a night of classic elegance and decadent food. We arrived 30 minutes before our reservation to sit at the bar and have a pre-dinner cocktail. We each had an old fashioned, which were excellently made by the very friendly bartender. The bar area was small and intimate with small side areas with high top tables, couches and armchairs. We could have happily spent all night in this area. We were later seated in the restaurant area and had another round of drinks, an appetizer (roasted pork terrine) and two entrees (chicken Milanese and the lamb shoulder ragu). Each dish was rich and flavorful. Great food, great service, beautiful building and grounds. Easy 5 start review.

Loved it here! I'm so glad I stayed here. I chose this hotel for it's pool…read more The location is great. It's very close to the mountain and a couple blocks from the main street in Windham with restaurants, coffee shops, and more. The rooms were updated and nicely decorate. The front desk employee informed me that they're shutting down for a month in a few weeks to complete more renovations. I can't wait to stay here again! They had a great breakfast, movie room, fire pit, pool, sauna, and more! Highly recommend!

A beautiful space. It has a great vibe…read more The staff was so friendly and the room was lovely. Breakfast in the morning had fresh pastries and great coffee. The grounds were nice as well and well kept. I highly recommend a stay

We came upon Mary's Cookin Again at Phoenicia's Fall fest and their rice and beans and mac and…read morecheese are all my daughter has been talking about since. She had an expander put in her mouth the day before so could not really eat much until we came across their stand and she absolutely loved it. Such sweet service and we are looking forward to the next time we see them!

Mary catered our wedding and the food was delicious and she treated us fairly and was accommodating…read moreof our needs. Thank you Mary!