RMV has been my favorite spot for so long but it truly deserves the praise. Every single visit has…read morebeen consistently excellent. I've never had a bad meal, and the service is always spot-on, with a thoughtful system that lets you signal when you need something without ever feeling rushed or overlooked. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with great music, fun events, and a family-friendly vibe that makes it easy to relax and stay awhile. Whether you're inside or enjoying the outdoor seating, it's just an all-around great experience every time. Easily a five-star spot in my book.

I attended a wedding at the Red Maple Vineyard this past weekend. It was a beautiful venue and the…read morestaff were superb and attentive. Our day started with a Chinese tea ceremony in the barn and then a catered lunch. About 6:30pm, the ceremony with a live music started followed by passed hors d'oeuvre, fresh oysters, and wood fired pizza. The wood fired pizza was very delicious and I enjoyed the blackened shrimp and the arancini. I tried the cider and the rosé, but they were too dry for my taste. Then at 7:45pm, we went into the reception pavilion. The menu consisted of a salad as first course, a duet plate of salmon and beef short rib for entree, and dessert. The summer citrus salmon with the multi grain pilaf was very good. After first dance, father and daughter dance, mother and son dance, and speeches, the DJ told us to step outside. After a few minutes, the sky exploded with light. It was a beautiful fireworks display from the hillside. The bathrooms were stocked with essentials in the toiletry baskets. Red Maple Vineyard offers a rustic barn and reception pavilion, massive green grounds, and a beautiful garden.

Very cool distillery and restaurant in the Hudson Valley. I can't really speak to the service…read morebecause I was there with a large group of college alumni (nearly one hundred folks). But the food was so well prepared that it should be recognized. We started with a very tasty pork belly bao with hoisin sauce. Their house salad was a very well presented and interesting salad. But they knocked it out of the park with their entrees: roasted branzino with asparagus in a beurre blanc sauce and a strip steak served on a bed of caramelized onions and mushrooms in a bordelaise sauce. In particular, the steak, ordered medium rare, came out tender and perfectly cooked, and was of very high quality. Finally the sticky toffee pudding cake was served warm and was delicious. I would highly recommend the food here. Kudos to the chef!

Title: Exceptional Tour and Truly World-Class Spirits…read more My visit to the Hudson House Distillery was an outstanding experience, elevated by a personal tour with the founder, Charles. The location itself is breathtaking, set in a beautifully restored historic mansion right on the Hudson River. However, the real highlight was getting a behind-the-scenes look at their distillation process. Charles was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate as he walked us through their production of rye, bourbon, gin, and vodka. A must-try is their vodka, which Charles proudly explained is distilled a remarkable 12 times. I can confidently say it is the best vodka I have ever sampled--exceptionally smooth. I was also impressed by their other spirits: Northwest Passage Gin: This gin stands out because it uses naturally soft water sourced directly from their artesian wells. Black Creek Bourbon: I was fortunate enough to sample a limited Founder's Batch of this bourbon. It is truly hand-crafted, made using limestone-softened natural artesian well water. The depth of care and quality put into every bottle is evident, and the personal details shared by the founder made the spirits taste even better. If you have the chance, I highly recommend asking for the tour--it provides an incredible appreciation for the craftsmanship at Hudson House Distillery.

My fiancé and I toured Stonehouse Gardens when we were looking for wedding reception spaces in the…read moreHudson Valley area. Deb and Steve were so welcoming and helpful in answering all of our questions, and their property is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the years of love and care that have gone into maintaining their house and its surrounding land over generations. One of their adorable cats even hopped along with us on our tour! While we ended up going with a different event space, closer to our ceremony site, I would recommend Stonehouse Gardens to anyone looking for a unique and rustic place to host an event, particularly if you are looking to be in the natural beauty of the outdoors. There were so many areas of the property that would have been lovely for photos, it would have been almost impossible to choose!

We had our wedding at Stonehouse Gardens last fall. Deb and Steve were wonderful. Their property…read moreis your canvas where you can have the DIY wedding of your dreams. We had a food truck and food stall, created our own outdoor cocktail hour area with strands of lights and a photo booth, and transformed the barn into an 80s disco. If you can dream it, Deb and Steve can help you make it happen. The venue itself is gorgeous! We had a perfect fall day and the lighting was wonderful for photos. Our guests still talk about how great Stonehouse Gardens was for a wedding. We highly recommend Stonehouse Gardens.

Heartsease Mansion is a beautiful estate located in the Hudson Valley on the west side of the…read moreHudson River, directly across the river from the Vanderbilt Mansion. A historic estate once co-operated as a girls home by Eleanor Roosevelt and and owner, Hilda Smith. It is a great place for a family getaway, reunion with friends or small intimate special events such as weddings and anniversaries.

Bad experience!!! Heartsease cancelled on us 3 weeks before…read morewedding and we found out via email, they didn't even have the courtesy to Call. They won't answer phone and their voicemail is full I wonder if a celebrity needed the place We booked this place over a year ago with previous owner and was told it would be honored 16 people displaced now and all hotels in area are full! They didn't even offer up a solution One star is being too generous I wonder if I will even see my refund! Shame on the new owners!

I recently stayed at the Inn at Bellefield while I was in the Hudson Valley for work and had an…read moreexemplary experience. The folks at the front desk were super helpful and kind throughout my stay. What lovely people they have working here. The lobby is chic and lovely and the restaurant looked upscale as well. My room was on the fourth floor and had a lovely view of the lush green fields and trees below. It has a king bed which was very comfortable throughout my stay. It also had a nice little kitchenette with a closer to full size fridge than you normally get in hotels. It als had a small seating area with a sofa and desk. Both of which came in handy for hotel working. It was clean and had everything I needed for a comfortable stay (including Starbucks coffee and Coffee-mate liquid creamer in the room!). Get to it!

The venue is absolutely beautiful! Beautiful architecture, beautiful grounds, nice spots for…read morephotos. The bar is lovely, cocktails were delicious. The food however was subpar. We went for a brunch event and we're truly disappointed with the price we paid. Bites were tiny, food seemed dried out, not fresh. Maybe it was a new facility learning curve, but truly disappointed. The staff were great, friendly, and great service. Possibly would try again in the future, maybe once they've been open for a while longer and have more experience.

Did the tours of the three historic sites in the Hyde Park area. We were lucky as it was Fee Free…read moreday so we were able to visit the Presidential library as a bonus. The house holds so much history and covers Franklin Roosevelt's life from childhood to his older years. He is buried on the grounds. The Rangers give a detailed history and answer questions concerning the estate.

First time visiting a presidental library and opted to tour the FDR home because we have the…read morelifetime park pass. Yes, sometimes I'm cheap . While we waited for the tour, we walked the grounds which includes a working vegetable garden and rose garden that was being re-done. FDR and his wife are buried there. The house is very cool because it takes you back in time and the guide was very knowledgeable. It's a nice historical stop on a great piece of land. Beautiful in fact! Parking is free, nice visitor center with a cafe and short movie that runs every half hour. Enjoy!

Fantastic local hidden gem! Cellars, is a sister property to Red Maple Vineyard, which is across…read morethe street and offers a wonderful farm to table menu featuring fresh, local ingredients at both locations. The atmosphere is relaxed and rustic. During warmer months, you can enjoy the outdoor space, which includes games, comfortable seating, fire pits, and an outdoor pizza oven. They also host live music on most warm nights, you can find the artist line up on their website. Primarily open weekends. They have a unique and efficient service style, where the entire waste staff assist your table. You simply flip a can on your table to green when you need service. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and they offer a great selection of local draft beers and wines. I highly recommend the wings. They are perfectly sauced and delicious. Primarily beer and wine as options as well as a few spirited cocktails. Great local spot to meet up with friends and family!

Beautiful ambiance and great food. Attentive service. Gluten free options available. A must when in…read morePoughkeepsie!

We were married this past September at Timber Lake Camp and had the wedding (and weekend) of our…read moredreams thanks to Sandra O'Connell at Hudson Valley Ceremonies. If you don't get to the end of this review and only read one thing: Hiring Sandra was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. She is beyond dedicated to giving you the wedding of your dreams, and her ability to execute and make it ALL happen is nothing short of extraordinary. Every wedding needs a Sandra! We had the pleasure of working with Sandra from the beginning of our wedding planning journey all the way through our 3 day wedding weekend. When we were stumped looking for venues that could accommodate our large guest list AND a weekend-long celebration. Sandra approached us with a "think outside the box" venue: Timber Lake Camp, a beautifully serene summer camp nestled in the Catskills. We were unsure about the idea of a summer camp wedding but trusted her instinct - and thankfully we did. The day we visited the camp we knew it was PERFECT. 500 gorgeous acres with plenty of room to accommodate ALL of our guests, that we could have all to ourselves for an entire weekend - camp cabins, facilities, staff, and all! It truly felt like she had pulled a rabbit out of a hat and that was only the start of Sandra's magic! Throughout the entire year and a half long planning process, Sandra lent us her ear and expertise: she listened to our wishes, concerns, thoughts; guided us through a million different decisions; provided alternative options/ideas to meet our budget; and found the perfect vendors to bring our vision to life. She sat in on our calls with the coordinator at the camp, and even made visits to the camp with us - including one visit during a snowstorm! She also managed our multitude of vendors (including 3 separate caterers!) from the initial inquiries all the way through to the end of packing up after the wedding. When the wedding weekend came around, Sandra stayed on site all 3 days and made every event run smoothly - we felt like she was somehow everywhere all at once! We had multiple events, including our rehearsal, a Welcome BBQ, Karaoke Night, late night bonfire, and activities throughout the camp. If there were any hiccups, we didn't know about them! The day of the wedding, between everything she was coordinating and the multiple vendors on-site, she somehow still found time to check in with us to make sure we were okay. But honestly we truly felt at ease with Sandra running the show. Her professionalism, calmness, and get-it-done attitude made every part of the weeknd run seamlessly! And on top of it all, she made our marriage official by signing our marriage license. :) A total bonus that she is ordained and a special memory to share with her as she was such a big part of our special day! Our guests are still talking about how magical the weekend was. Many specifically commented that even with so many events and activities going on, it was one the most well-coordinated and organized weddings they'd attended. It was definitely a huge effort to pull off a 3 day wedding weekend on a 500 acre camp, but teamwork truly made this dream work! We could not be more grateful to Sandra, her team, and all of our amazing vendors for giving us a wedding better than we could have ever imagined! We can't recommend Sandra and HVC enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sandra O'Connell or Hudson Valley Ceremonies. Not only did she…read morestreamline the bride's "to do" list by recommending musicians and florists, her excellent knowledge of wedding-day requirements helped ,  my Daughter in Law Amanda immensely, saving her lots of computer search time and false-starts.  Her help walking us through the rehearsal was vital, getting us organized the day of and "on our spots" at the right critical time. It's all such a whirlwind of activity. And the logistics at our farm were challenging, to say the least. I also greatly appreciated how, during the actual wedding and party afterward, Sandra and her assistant were there, in the background, keeping the caterer happy, moving tables, shuttling slightly inebriated guests to their cars, (thank you, especially for that. I think I would still find people walking the horse pasture fence, looking for their cars.) And for doing the behind-the-scenes things that rarely are noticed, unless they're not done. (For example, one of the porta potties malfunctioning). Sandra handled that with quiet speed. And mostly I appreciated how she took care of Amanda's mother's doilies, the family mementoes, tucking things away in the pool house for safe keeping. And for a good, general tidying up at the end of the night.

Get. Married. Here. We did. 13 years ago…read more Best day of our lives. Lou - the owner - is one of a kind. We'd stop by as we were planning out wedding, and he'd bring us down to the kitchen, open up the fridge and pull out food for us. He'd open wine (of course) and we'd hang out. It has now become our annual tradition to head up to West Park on (or around) our anniversary for a visit with Lou. And now it's not just us, but first one daughter, and then our second. How often would you go and visit a catering hall? Just be prepared... Lou likes a good joke, so be ready with one or two, and be prepared to wince at his!

As a wedding professional in this buiness for over 15 years, I have yet to find another venue's…read moreowner with just an absolute disregard for people. The owner of this property is just that the owner, he has no experience with weddings, and has no manners, no people skills, and cares only about the bottom line. I have yet to bash another wedding vendor, as it's just not good practice, but after the last experience I had, I feel I have no choice but be vocal and public about this man. He not only went through 4 (yes, four) head waiters, in less than a year, but actually told my bride that she was difficult, needy, and had the smallest wedding ever! This was 3 days before her wedding, when we all know a bride is fragile as it is, but to have an email from this man, basically bashing her.... WRONG! He also promised her the moon, and then would take it back, then give it again.... he is like a selfish child, just wanting to toy with every bride and groom. Once he gets your down payment......... watch out. Don't get me wrong, the staff in wonderful, the venue is wonderful, the food is good and the overall experience the bride and groom had on their wedding day was great......... but at what cost. Most venues should bend over backwards to keep thier clients happy, not make them feel bad or worse make them cry!