We stayed overnight at the Best Western Inn on 121 Burgin Drive in Cobleskill. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Inn situated very near a shopping complex but up a hill where the views are gorgeous.

Best Western Inn graciously provided my large family two adjoining rooms to write this review of their facilities. I had no idea what to expect when we arrived, but I can now say that the place is phenomenal! First things first…

We arrived at check-in time, 3pm. The Inn is a one-story building, featuring a slew of rooms with double beds, a swimming pool, a fitness center, a restaurant, a bowling alley and a lovely lobby! I was wowed by all the amenities. Besides the typical free morning coffee, Best Western Inn gives free wireless Internet service and a complementary issue of USA Today for all guests.

Check in was prompt and I was very impressed with the ladies at the front desk. I’ve been to a number of hotels (my husband has even worked at a few) and we’ve had our share of bad experiences with front desk employees. The Best Western Inn ladies were a breath of fresh, hospitable air. We were all extremely delighted with the friendly, easy-going manner of the ladies. I’m always a little nervous meeting new people, but these ladies put me at ease. They quickly got us settled and made us feel very welcome.

The rooms are comfortable. Very clean (I checked, as I always do). The bathrooms are enormous and well insulated. With the door closed, you could not clearly hear the ventilation fan or other bathroom noises. The heat was comfortable, I didn’t have to adjust it at all. As a matter of fact, the rooms were so cozy and we were so tired after our excursion through Howe Caverns that we collapsed into the chairs and beds and just relaxed for a while.

I perused some of the typical hotel literature in the rooms. The Best Western Inn has a big binder on the table that is filled with information about the community: restaurants, things to do, grocery venues, etc. I was impressed with how comprehensive the information was. Some hotels only give you the bare minimum, but the Best Western binder offered choice after choice for things to do.

Later, we decided to go bowling. The Inn sports a few lanes at the back of the hotel. The hotel actually sprang up around the bowling alley, years ago. The lanes are clean and well-maintained. When we arrived, a large group of kids came in to play, so the place was busy.

After bowling, we wandered around a little, enjoying the peacefulness of the hotel. I love the swimming pool area. Since it was November and I hadn’t packed my bathing suit, I had to forego swimming. But I enjoyed gazing at the water.

The Best Western Inn has a restaurant, called B. W. Delaney’s. I had done some searching of local restaurants but found the menu at Delaney’s to be the most affordable for our large family. The restaurant is comfortable and the meals are good. They have a fine grilled salmon dish and my son loved his fish and chips. If you plan on eating out, I recommend B.W. Delaney’s. The food is good and the prices are the most reasonable around.

The Inn sees a lot of business from the local SUNY Cobleskill facility. There were a number of families and business men staying that night, I noticed. The rooms are well-insulated. I could hear nothing from the other rooms at all. I did hear muffled noises from outside, as our rooms were in the front of the hotel near the parking area. It didn’t bother me as the noises were barely noticeable. If you want a very quiet environment, however, I recommend that you ask for a room in the back of the hotel.

The beds are extremely comfortable and I felt spoiled with the feather pillows. My husband and I got up early the next morning and left to have some coffee at Delaney’s while the kids slept in. It was a beautiful morning.

The location of the hotel is so peaceful. The view outside the restaurant windows is breathtakingly beautiful. We watched the sun appear and the mist rise from the hills as we sipped our coffee. Later, the kids joined us for a big breakfast (waffles, pancakes, eggs, toast, bagels!). The service — everyone at the hotel — is just so friendly and pleasant.

The Best Western Inn touts itself as “your home away from home,” and we really felt that way. Everything was so relaxed! The hotel does a great job of making you feel comfortable and provides everything you need. I can’t believe how friendly everyone is! Even the cleaning lady was smiling and pleasant.

The rates are very affordable, much more than a hotel closer to Albany. Since the Best Western Inn is situated between Albany and Cooperstown, you can save quite a wad of money staying here and simply driving to the city. The drive itself is very lovely, as the views are superb.

Check out the Best Western Inn if you will be staying in the area. I highly recommend it!

Best Western Plus Inn of Cobleskill
website: BestWesternCobleskill.com
121 Burgin Drive
Cobleskill, New York 12043
Phone: (518) 234-4321
Toll Free: 1800-WESTERN

Note: I was given a free night’s stay at this hotel in exchange for this review. My opinion of this hotel and restaurant are 100% genuine and honest. Thanks for reading!

The establishment is owned and run by proprietors Lenny and Boka Baglieri. They have maintained a variety of hospitality businesses (Lenny is co-owner of Villa Baglieri in the Catskills area, and Boka has worked as a cook and caterer and ran her own cleaning business for a while). The couple combines their background in the hospitality industry to make Blue Mountain Rest a really, really enjoyable place. Lenny calls Blue Mountain Rest “your home away from home in the Adirondacks,” and we sure felt that way! We already miss the cabin and the glorious Adirondack scenery.

We stayed nearly a week here. I wish we could have stayed longer! Blue Mountain Rest is located on Route 30, a mere 1/2 mile from the intersection with Route 28. The Baglieris offer a variety of cabin sizes for every conceivable visitor. There’s an RV camper, two small cabins that can be expanded into larger units, and a small house that is the crown jewel of the retreat. We were blessed to stay in the small house cabin.

The cabin was INCREDIBLE and everyone felt right at home. This cabin features an entry hall, a full-sized kitchen with eat-in dining room, a good sized living room, two bedrooms and 1-1/2 baths. There’s plenty of closet space. Everything is so cozy. The kids really enjoyed relaxing in the living room with its warm pine paneling and the nice wood fireplace. The place was as clean as a whistle– pristine, actually.

Boka does most of the decorating, and she has a real gift. The decor is tactful and is done in an Adirondack theme. The cabin is so cozy.

The windows offer beautiful views of the forest in the back and Blue Mountain in the front. In the mornings, I sat on the couch watching the mist swirl around the mountain’s peak, slowly burned away by the rising sun. It was so peaceful.

In the backyard, the kids explored the pond and the forest while I sat on the deck. There’s a large area for outdoor cookouts. A barbecue grill was available to us, as well. At night, shimmering white lights lit up the deck railing. It was just so beautiful. The place has a lot of lovely small touches that made our stay very relaxing.

The boys liked looking for frogs and fish in the small pond.

The front yard is pretty.

We were actually scheduled to stay just 2 nights and 3 days, but we loved the cabin so much that we decided to stay another night and day, just to enjoy ourselves. I can’t rave about Blue Mountain Rest enough– it was so beautiful and relaxing.

Here are a few details about the place–

Blue Mountain Rest is open year round, one of the few accommodation places open during the winter in the Adirondacks. Winter sports are very popular in the Blue Mountain area, so Blue Mountain Rest hosts a lot of skiers, snowmobilers, fishermen, and other sportspeople.

The Baglieris offer a huge variety of special packages and deals throughout every season. Currently, there’s the Hiking & Biking package, Whitewater Rafting Special, Teacher Conference Week, a Veteran’s Day Special, off-season special rates and more. It pays to schedule accommodations during this time because you can save 10% to 20% off. Blue Mountain Rest also has a very special Gore Mountain Package for skiers, too. You can check out current specials and deals at the Blue Mountain Rest Specials & Packages page or contact Lenny for information (phone number is below).

Lenny and Boka have plans to expand Blue Mountain Rest. They want to offer small meals or snacks (Boka is from Germany and is a superb cook, says Lenny). I am heartily in favor of this. While we loved our stay at the cabin, it was difficult to find groceries and meals. The convenience store down the street closes at 5:30, and there are no restaurants in Blue Mountain Lake. If you expect to stay at the cabin for any length of time, bring your own groceries. I hope Boka has her food service open by the time we visit again– I’d love to try Boka’s cooking!

Cabins are very reasonably priced. I did some comparative shopping for accommodations in the area and Blue Mountain Rest was the most reasonable, especially for our large family of six (and I even brought my cat with me!). Blue Mountain Rest is also in a great location. The public park on Route 28, with beach and lake access, is a 5 minute walk away. There’s a convenience store nearby. The Adirondack Museum (review of that coming soon!) is only a 3-minute drive down Route 28. The Blue Mountain NYSDEC Fire Tower Trail (see my review!) is only a few miles from the cabin. Nearby Long Lake and Indian Lake (10-11 miles away) have restaurants.

All in all, our stay was stellar and we can’t wait to go again! I highly recommend that you check out Blue Mountain Rest. Tell Lenny and Boka that NewYorkTraveler.net sent you!

Blue Mountain Rest
8821 NYS Rte. 30
Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812
Phone: (845) 236-4071

Note: In exchange for this review, I received a small discount on our stay at Blue Mountain Rest. Be assured that my review is 100% mine, and all opinions, photos, and claims are my honest opinion. We really loved Blue Mountain Rest and recommend it!

The Sohotel New York is one of the oldest hotels in New York that is still in operation. Its location in lower Manhattan gives easy access to Little Italy, China Town, Manhattan’s most interesting neighborhoods and the hottest nightclubs, restaurants and entertainment venues. The name of the hotel has changed many times since its founding in 1822. It has been called the Westchester, the Occidental and the Pioneer at different points. The hotel has hosted billionaire businessmen and philanthropists William Waldorf Astor, John L. Sullivan, Gentleman Jim Corbet and politicians Big Tim Sullivan and Pat Forley and many other great and near-great personages.

Residential hotels in New York are sometimes palatial manors which encompass several floors and are served by staffs of butlers, maids and chefs trained to provide unsurpassed service to the guests. These suites often boast Persian rugs, classic furniture, impressive dining rooms, fireplaces, gardens and incredible vistas of the New York skyline. The concierge at a good residential hotel is part manager part magician. It is said a good New York concierge can get a guest anything, including an audience with the pope. Residence hotels provide world-class cuisine and easy access to the best entertainment New York has to offer.

There are also a number of excellent chain hotels in New York. These hotels provide consistently superior atmosphere and service. High quality linens, towel and robes, large comfortable beds, state of the art bathrooms, large flat-screen televisions, Wi-fi, Skype and all the other latest technologies come standard in many rooms. Rooftop pools offer respite from the hectic pace of life for which New York is known. Many of the hotels offer media centers where traveling business people can continue to transact international business while experiencing the quality of life only New York can provide.

If you are looking to have a truly unique hotel stay consider one of the New York boutique hotels. Boutique hotels generally host very few guests at one time. Some boutique hotels never serve more than a dozen guests a day. This allows them to provide an unmatchable level of personal service. Guest can call ahead and have special meals, linens, decorations, technology and anything else imaginable prepared for their arrival. These hotels are located in some of the best locales in the city.

Are you ready for a spectacular hotel experience? Take a trip to New York and relax at a New York hotel.

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The Soho is located in Manhattan’s trendiest neighborhood, intermingling with various row houses, studio lofts and apartments nearby. The hotel caters to the young professional with its straightlined chic appeal. The hotel is decorated in good taste, in neutral or natural colors with sparse whispers of utilitarianism about it.

I was greeted at the door by a very young lady who handled my check-in well. The young people at the front desk seemed a little distracted, or perhaps they were so accustomed to guests who knew what to do and where to go that they overlooked my hesitation and need for guidance. The girl handed me a small package of tea soap and a brochure about room service and nodded at me that I could go now. A young doorman intervened and escorted me to the elevator and my room. All very perfunctory.

The room is small. I had a room on the 7th floor, with a poor view. But hey- this is New York– few views are going to be rose gardens.

The bed was incredibly cozy– I took that photo the next morning after I’d enjoyed a sound slumber in it. The pillows were feather, and the down comforter was clean and fresh. There’s a television and DVD player, but I couldn’t get it to work. Maybe I had to pay for it? Alas, I wasn’t interested in watching movies– the Soho Grand has free Internet service, so I wired up my netbook and was online quickly.

Despite its smallness, the room was very quiet. I hear nothing of other guests, not even hallway doors opening. It was luscious.

The bathrooms are very small but clean.

I ordered room service that evening, not wishing to delve back onto the streets in search of food. The meal came very quickly and was tasty, but like all things in New York, it was very expensive: $50. I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet repose of the room after a busy day with advertisers, and slept soundly.

Next morning I ordered breakfast: eggs benedict and the complimentary New York Times. The meal was absolutely scrumptious (but expensive).

Checkout was very easy. I left my keycard at the front desk and said my goodbyes. Nice and simple.

This was a basic, one-night stay. Since it was just me and not the husband or kids, I was not as picky or attentive to details as I usually am. I didn’t take advantage of the luxurious, trendy dining room nor the various other hotel amenities available to me. In that respect, I don’t feel I got the full flavor of the Soho Grand.

But I came to Manhattan needing a clean, quiet place to rest while I was preoccupied with other things. Soho Grand fit the bill. A basic Superior Queen guest room runs over $400 per night; larger suites are anywhere from $500 to $2000. For a luxury hotel room in New York City, that’s not unreasonable.

When I was a young person, I wanted to do just that– travel the road, be a missionary. I never did become a “real” missionary, but I am more an “armchair” missionary and “backyard” traveler. I decided to start up this blog to keep a journal of all our homegrown travels. I could never be much of a world traveler, but I could still travel, even if I did travel only in New York State. Who knows, I still may travel the world. The most difficult part, I imagine, is finding accommodations. In your own country, you can rely on familiar brands… but how on earth do you go about finding, for example, reputable villas in France? How can you tell by saint topez pictures online that what you see is what you get?

This, I believe, is the beauty behind rental property providers. I have discovered quite a few myself, so should we decide to leave our native boundaries, I have an arsenal of reputable and reliable companies that can offer us good information and deals on lodging, food, and sightseeing. See– I’m all ready to go. I simply lack opportunity (and finances!).

If you own a home and would like to rent it to considerate travelers such as me you can also list your home for rent. I think that’s a great idea– renting your own home, earning a little money from it to enable you to travel further. I’d love to do that!

Anyway, rental properties are the creme de la creme when it comes to holiday accommodation. Make sure you make your plans with a reliable company that has a history of providing outstanding service and listings.