A new clutch of hotels with modern treehouses, day spas and award-winning restaurants make the classic New York getaway more appealing than ever.



Ah, upstate. That sylvan stretch of land two hours north of Manhattan, where New Yorkers traditionally go to learn how to light a fire, roast marshmallows, leaf peep, go for walks we call ‘hikes,’ suddenly decide flannel is fashion, and pretend we know how to relax.



In the mid-20th century, this was the Borscht Belt, a popular vacation spot for Jewish families from New York City, evoked in the television series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. When that golden era ended, the region reverted to moonshine mountains with bare-bones lodging. There were no new age spas, no pressed flower pottery, no mocktology classes, no guided goat hikes, and absolutely no one wrote home about the food… But in the past two years, a few ambitious hoteliers have managed to recast old, overgrown rustics in a shiny new patina with ‘luxury wellness retreat’ price points.



Here’s where to stay this fall:



The Chatwal Lodge | New treehouses, outdoor adventures, all-inclusive



The Chatwal Lodge is an all-inclusive hotel built on the banks of the Toronto Reservoir on a 100-acre site. It opened in 2022 with 11 suites and cottages, and recently added three new modern treehouses, which sleep four