Last weekend Taz and I took a trip Upstate with my roomie Laura & her boyfriend Marco who invited us for a camping/Warrior-Dashing excursion. Camping...Yay! Running in mud...Yay! (maybe??) Finding out on Friday afternoon we were heading into a big storm...not so much fun!!! Luckily Marco (who drove up before us and checked out the camping situation at our designated site) was able to find a dry (and affordable) alternative to camping. Strictly by a word-of-mouth situation (that transpired while he was outside a (closed) Catskills hardware store trying to buy a tarp to cover our tents) he was kindly directed to this great newly-opened hotel in Phoenicia - The. Graham & Co. ...
A small group of creatives from Brooklyn (who also run an architecture/interiors/design inspiration website under the same name as the hotel) took over the closed-down Cobblestone Motel & turned it into a smart & simple Upstate oasis. These folks have a great eye for detail, and it shows in both the aesthetic & functional aspects of the hotel.
The four of us stayed in 2 of the standard single rooms. Larger rooms are available with 2 beds and/or kitchenettes, but be warned that simplicity rules at this hotel...rooms are clean, cute, & simple with wood details and new bathrooms, but there's no air conditioning. (I'm more of a fresh-air girl myself so that's fine with me!)
I especially loved the fresh basil plants outside the hotel doors. Another great touch!
A "light" breakfast (coffee, juice, fruit, muffins, hard-boiled eggs) is included and served outside on the lawn. This little picnic-area is the perfect setting for a leisurely breakfast....
Everything is all-in-the-details at this hotel, even their logo (which makes an appearance on post-cards, pens, pencils, shampoo, & coffee-cups)....
After you drink your (really, really good) coffee, you may want to go for a swim
in their perfectly-placed, spring-water fed pool...
An amazing view (even on a no-sun morning when I took these pictures)! Don't feel like swimming? You could just float in the recycled inner-tubes...
Or lounge on these comfy-looking 80's inspired lounge chairs...
Feeling more active? How about taking out one of their "Ninja" bikes...
for a quick ride to the Phoenicia Main Street. Looking for something to do there?
When it cools down and gets dark, take adventure of the backyard fire-pit...
We all really enjoyed our 1-night stay here (the second night we did get to camp!), and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet place to stay in the Catskills area. They are still adding and improving, as they just opened this summer, but so far they seem to really have it all together! We were able to stay for the $99 Weeknight Summer Special price, but check here for room prices & availability.
This was the "clean" part of our Warrior Dash weekend. I'll have a "part-2" post ready shortly with the down-and-dirty details from the mud-run!
