Scott Conant and Fellow Celeb Chefs Power the Second Catskills Cuisine Festival Looking for a quick getaway from NYC this coming weekend? Here’s a great last-minute option: the Catskills Cuisine Festival, featuring Scott Conant, who runs the Italian steakhouse at ResortsWorld Catskills, Cellaio, will return this weekend after a successful launch last year. The event kicks off Friday, May 10, with events running throughout the weekend, including tastings, cooking demonstrations, meet and greets, a celebrity chef golf tournament and even a Mother’s Day brunch. The fest will be split between events at ResortsWorld and the iconic Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, site of the original Woodstock in 1969. Conant and Marcus Samuelsson will cook a quattro mano dinner Friday night following the golf tournament, while Saturday will feature tastings on the bucolic grounds of Bethel Woods, with bites and appearances by Andrew Zimmern, Anne Burrell, Michael Symon, Melba Wilson, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Conant and Samuelsson. Tickets and more information are available at catskill-cuisine.com; Sullivan Catskills and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts are the co-sponsors.

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The newest all-inclusive wellness resort on this list just opened in October 2023. Hemlock Neversink is situated on 230 acres of land in the Sullivan Catskills, about two hours northwest of New York City. Your stay includes all meals and non-alcoholic beverages, programming, and on-site amenities. The prix fixe menu at the on-site restaurant Bittersweet highlights plant-forward cuisine, including options like enoki mushroom and warm spinach salad and roasted cabbage or skirt steak. Enjoy spa treatments such as the 90-minute Return to Nature Ritual, which exfoliates with berry seats and white peat, then hydrates your skin with organic mushrooms, helichrysum blossoms, and berry oils. Then float while breathing in birch extract and other aromas. You’ll find a variety of workshops, yoga and meditation classes, and there’s even a goat sanctuary on site (you can go for a daily goat hike for some animal therapy), as well as tennis courts and hiking trails. This summer, nationally recognized guest instructors will teach classes and lead workouts on mat pilates and dance cardio in the honey-toned wood Movement Building, and in the Activity Building, do a Catskill honey and tea tasting, join a Shamanic drum circle, and make a vision board. Main Photos: Lake Austin Spa Resort Follow along for all your travel needs with our Flights of Fancy series and Jetset Journeys series.

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Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA) President and CEO, Roberta Byron-Lockwood, was one of the supporters of the local law aimed at altering two properties to be a part of the Resort Hotel (RH) zoning.

LIBERTY — A local law poised to switch two Grossinger properties from residential districts (R1) to Resort Hotel districts (RH) in the Town of Liberty received support from members of the public.

If approved, the proposal, Local Law #3 of 2024, is set to change Town Code Chapter 147 by “adding several parcels to the Resort Hotel (RH) Zoning District, as well as revise the definition of destination,” and removes certain uses from the principal permitted use column and special use column of the Schedule of District Uses for the Resort Hotel RH zoning district.” Those who offered support for the proposed legislation included town residents Allen Werlau, who said that Liberty is “long overdue for healthy growth,” and Cora Edwards, who said she would like to see an increase in tax dollars from a growing hotel and tourism industry in the town.

Also speaking in favor of the local law was Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development President and CEO, Marc Baez, and Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA) President and CEO, Roberta Byron-Lockwood.

The Town Board accepted the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) parts two and three in the process of making that switch Monday night, making the town lead agency.

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Resorts World Catskills opened in 2018 on the site of the historic Concord Hotel in Monticello, New York. (Genting Group’s Resorts World Hudson Valley and Resorts World New York City, have since opened in New York State.) There’s a different feeling and more Asian flair at this hotel and casino resort.

Like its competitors, Resorts World has hotel rooms tucked into a modern tower above a sprawling base full of gaming tables, restaurants, shops and activities. Unlike them, it’s in The Catskills, a well-known resort area packed with other family hotel and attractions options.

This East Coast casino resort is also not easy for families to navigate. The awkward layout puts more emphasis on gaming facilities for day-trippers than destination resort amenities. However, if a live show at the 2,500-seat RW Epicenter appeals, you might enjoy a night here.

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For the second year, Bethel Woods invites local food lovers to celebrate all things gourmet with famed chefs and restaurateurs.

If you could envision your perfect food festival, what would it include? There’d be incredible food, to be sure. Perhaps you’d also throw in a dash of demonstrations, a sprinkling of celebrity chefs, and a good pinch of local talent, too. It’s a recipe for success, and one that Catskill Cuisine follows to a tee.

What is Catskill Cuisine?

Planned for Friday, May 10, through Sunday, May 12, the second annual Catskill Cuisine is a one-of-a-kind food fest at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, in partnership with the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association. It’s a full weekend of drinking, eating, learning, and meeting, with an impressive slew of top-tier culinary talent on the lineup. “We are thrilled to bring our community together for an even more multifaceted destination event this year,” says Roberta Byron-Lockwood, the president and CEO of the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA). “From our craft beverage trail to our James Beard-recognized chefs and breadth of farm-to-table offerings, the Sullivan Catskills continues to draw regional and national recognition for our culinary offerings, and we can’t wait to showcase it all to our guests.” If the Food Network is your jam, you’ll be more than a little excited to watch demos from the likes of Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Symon, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Andrew Zimmern. Plus, true foodies will adore spotting Melba Wilson, the restaurateur behind Melba’s, which boasts multiple locations around Harlem and Manhattan. The schedule features a medley of local, state, and national talents, so there’s truly something for everyone here.

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Craving inspiration for your next adventurous getaway? These recently opened hotels have arrived at the perfect time. Hemlock Neversink opened its doors last October, and you’ll want to spend much of your day outside its physical ones on this distinctive, 230-acre property. Enjoy sunrise walks accompanied by resident goats, rally on the tennis courts, and tread upon trails galore throughout the day—which include guided nature walks and yoga hikes. Nearby, there’s Holiday Mountain if you can’t imagine a winter trip to the majestic Catskills sans skiing or snowboarding. The hotel is big on the self-care beat, equipped with its own 14-treatment-room spa and pool facility, a creative studio for mindful activities like pine needle weaving, quilting, and pottery classes, and a movement/fitness space.

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If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you probably know that I’m a big fan of New York’s covered bridges. However, I also love finding other types of historic bridges to check out, which is what led me to Stone Arch Bridge Historical Park on a beautiful October evening. Stone Arch Bridge Historical Park is located along Route 52 just north of Kenoza Lake in Sullivan County, New York. The focal point of this 20-acre park is the stone arch bridge that passes over the East Branch of the Callicoon Creek. This bridge is 98 feet long and was built sometime around 1880 (some sources say 1873) by Swiss immigrants Henry and Philip Hembt. It features three stone arches that carry this wide bridge over the creek below.

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LIVINGSTON MANOR – The Sullivan County Dove Trail just got a little bit longer. A handful of people cheered as the 74th Dove along the trail was unveiled at the Arnold House in Livingston Manor. The co-owners of The Arnold House and founders of Foster Supply Hospitality Sims and Kirsten Foster appreciated the new dove created by artists Michelle and Bradley Silver. Sims Foster is glad to be part of the Dove Trail. “In May we will be celebrating 10 years since the start of the Arnold House and we have a new dove to help bring in the next decade. One of the phenomena that we were pleased with is that the Dove Trail works because people go and take pictures with them and we know people who have seen all the doves so it’s become a phenomenon here in Sullivan County,” he said. Kirsten Foster says that the dove represents her love for Sullivan County. “We started The Arnold House which was our first because of a fundamental love for this area, which is our home. Our kids are fifth generation, Livingston Manor and we think it’s such a wonderful place. Part of what we want to do is encourage more visitors to come and discover how beautiful it is here in Sullivan County. The doves help show all the wonderful things we offer in this area,” she said.

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VinePair got an exclusive pre-release taste of this gin from distiller Brian Facquet and chef Rachael Ray. One thing is clear: This upcoming release should be on your radar. Its profile will satisfy London Dry enthusiasts and dazzle with the clarity of its aromas and flavors. Even more interesting is the way those notes develop and evolve, allowing each botanical an opportunity to shine solo. Then there’s the texture: Facquet told us that he and Ray decided to try and capture the experience of enjoying a Castelveltrano olive. It’s a pretty esoteric ambition and strange concept to wrap your mind around. But sample this gin and it’s immediately apparent they nailed their brief. Bravo!

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