Location: Sloatsburg
Top Things to do in Sloatsburg
Top 5 Things to do in Sloatsburg, New York (NY)
Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. Located east of Orange County, it is at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,152 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Stephen Sloat, an early European landowner.
Restaurants in Sloatsburg
1. 7 Lakes Drive
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 29 reviews
Reviewed By ajmineola
Searched for magnificient Fall Foilage drives in NYS and came across this one which travels beautifully through Harriman State Park from Sloatsburg alongside picturesque lakes. Short trip - but so peaceful and a photo haven - with stop off areas. We came to the end of the route - and just had to turn around and travel back! Worth the ride for the scenery!
2. Character's Bar and Restaurant
3. Valley Rock Inn & Mountain Club
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 28 reviews
Valley Rock Inn is an Urban Oasis in the middle of 70,000 acres of Park land located less than an hour from New York City. We currently feature an organic market, garden café and bike shop and opening soon there will be our hotel rooms, art gallery, gym and book store. The Inn's rooms which will open late fall 2017 are all within four historic homes, there are 17 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. On the property there are five historic barns that house our organic market and soon to open bar and fine dinning restaurant. The compound also features a bike shop with top of the line bikes you can take out on the endless miles of road and trails all within a short distance from our back door. Opening late 2017 is a full gym with spin classes and complete weight program, an art gallery and book store. Opening late spring 2018 will be our bar and fine dinning restaurant, pool and spa.
Reviewed By 649ic - New York City, United States
Our family stayed here for 2 nights in one of the 4 houses. Our house had 4 bedrooms. We only needed 3 of them but they cap the rate at a certain point whether you take all rooms or not, which is a good thing. The houses are brand new and well constructed. We loved the fluffy cushions in the living room, the beds were comfy, showers good, and the lighting was good. Nice furniture, books and decorations and some real pretty trees to look at just outside your windows right now in peak foliage. There are a few issues: Most rooms had no closets and no real drawers bedside, so you either live out of a suitcase, make piles on the floor or, in our case, use the chest of drawers in the hallway. One shower was running water all the way out onto the bathroom floor but I was told that would be fixed (although I was surprised nobody noticed or reported it). The lights are hard to operate and I never really figured out how they worked, and the A/C on the main floor is also hard to figure out. When someone brings you to the house, they ought to show you these things and it would also be nice to "prep the house" to a comfortable temperature before guests arrive so that, for instance, you don't walk into a cold house and have to wait till the heating comes up. The floors are all wooden, so it's smart to bring some slippers or maybe they should provide some. Moving on, the owner must be a fitness fanatic because he built a beautiful gym which is much more than you'd expect from a small place like this and much more than many larger places that disappoint in this area. If you're like me and the first thing you want to know when you look at a place to stay is "Is there a decent gym?" will find this place heavenly. Much of the weight training equipment is Hoist which I've seen in Equinox gyms and it's a bit different but very good. There is also standard stuff there and something for every kind of weight training enthusiast including a Smith. The gym is also accessable 24 hours a day which is something I really liked. Only problem is that unless you know to bring a water bottle, there is no water and it's on two floors so I kept going upstairs to the bathroom to drink water from the sink which was a real pain. Either a water machine with some cups or putting a water bottle in the house with a note explaining that you need it would be helpful. Food was really great. We are pescaterians and had no problems with the menus. Lots of fruits, veges, unusually good pizzas, yummy crispy potatoes, and the desserts did not disappoint such as some nice fruit pies. Some really good breakfast pastries are available in the resort's market (you gotta try the blueberry danish), the croissants had perfect crunch, and the staff was very accommodating at the restaurant in terms of getting us whatever we wanted. We ate all our food on property from Friday evening thru Sunday morning. The monthly farm dinner was also excellent; we found plenty to eat. Putting a species of flowers all around the eating area that attract bees might not have been the most clever thing to do but we were lucky that weekend. We thought the outdoor dining experience was interesting, might not like it all that much during the height of winter or summer, but otherwise it is a great al fresco dining venue. All the fruits, veges and desserts were farm fresh and home-made. Right outside the resort's entrance is a local eatery called Village Blend which we thoroughly enjoyed; they have great soup and oatmeal, some yummy home-made ice cream and pastries, and we couldn't get enough of their stuff during our stay; the proprietor was a people person who seemed to be enjoying running this cafe. Prices in the cafe and at the hotel for food and beverage were all very reasonable especially for what you get. In the morning, someone comes to your house and sets the table with fresh bakery, a pitcher of freshly squeezed blood orange juice (the real thing), a really nice fruit platter, and some yogurt with granola and fruit. We all enjoyed it and we've been to other places where they bring you virtually nothing for breakfast in your house so this was quite good. This place is probably 500 feet from the Sloatsburg New Jersey transit train station and that makes it a very easy place to get to from the tri-state area. The station is 35 minutes ride from Secaucus station so you can reach it from New York's Penn Station in about an hour at a very reasonable price (one way tickets for a family of 4 was about $40). Uber operates in the area sporadically but the hotel can arrange a taxi to get you off property if you didn't come with a car and need to go somewhere. We enjoyed hiking in nearby Harriman State Park. I would not recommend hiking without one of the hotel's guides; you could really get lost there and the park is a drive from the resort. Sally and Tim run hikes and the kids had a great time with Tim (who also looked like he genuinely enjoyed our kids), and Sally was also a great guide. The two of them also run boot camps and Sally teaches classes in the gym. We would really like to return in the summer when you can go kayaking and even swimming in the nearby lake. We are told they have spiked shoes or cleats for winter hikes as well. The resort has bicycles but nothing for short people or for children. That's something they should consider, and having some lawn games that kids could play would be a good addition, such as bean bag toss. If you cycle, you have to go out on a 2 lane highway to get to where you'd probably be cycling so it's not for beginners or for children in any event although I'm sure kids would enjoy cycling in the immediate area where there is no real traffic. You can walk across the street to a grocery store that has the major print newspapers. This place will benefit from having a spa and a recreation room, which I am told are both in the works. The hotel is not really the crux of their business at this time, but it makes for a nice resort feel with plenty of landscaping and trees around to make it feel private and pretty. To sum up, what makes this place particularly interesting is that it is a start-up independently run property much like how many now-grand places started a century ago. The owner is hands-on and plenty of family members are contributing services to the property and at least for now, the focus is on providing a great guest experience and not trying to squeeze revenues out of every guest at every moment. Everything is being done at a high quality level and profit does not seem to be driving the resort portion of this enterprise; it is impossible to profit off the fixed expenses of caring for guests in 4 small houses on a rather large well manicured property. But additional houses and a more standard type hotel building as well as a fully indoor fine dining facility and spa will fill out the property. An indoor swimming pool will enable that amenity to be offered 8-9 months a year and I would really enjoy that. I don't know of any other place within 100 miles of New York City that offers overnight accommodations in a house for a family along with food and full service amenities at a high quality level. I've had to fly to Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina to get this kind of weekend and certainly welcome any suggestions closer to home from fellow Trip Advisor readers. This kind of offering is something that I figured Four Seasons might have figured out by now; they have not but the owner of this place has and I hope there is ehough of a market for it to make the effort worthwhile.We certainly enjoyed it; I am afraid that a nice review here will make this place too popular and that we may not be able to afford to return. Glenmere Mansion is about half an hour from here; I've stayed there and think it is really overpriced for what you get, and this was much more interesting for a family and at a sustainable price and easier to reach.
4. Baker Camp
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
