A guide to hotels upstate

Notes from a local.

This is a rundown of upstate hotels and inns. Read through and be the judge. As someone who is from upstate and blessedly uses her parents’ house as way station, I am highly critical of these lodgings. As a friend and I agreed, given that these places can run a few hundred dollars a night (and sometimes upwards of a thousand), it’s a loss that’s hard to stomach—especially because when it comes to hotels, you really want the very best.

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Piaule

Designer cabins elevated off the ground and with picture windows into the forest off a random dirt road.

The vibe: Design nerds, people who spend too much time on instagram, people who love Lichen.

The crowd: People trade Crypto and wear $600 hiking boots; moms in fedoras and lightwash denim; the odd nyc couple who can only afford one night; Frank Ocean.

The food: Much to be desired.

Why go here: Complete silence. To take a selfie in cramped spa-building before you wedge yourself into the three person sauna box. Best treated as an in-between stop before venturing further north, since the space and food isn’t quite good sustain you for a top-tier stay, which should kind of be the point.