Catskill Motor Court

I have to give 5 stars to this little hidden gem… I do believe we have found our summer spot…
We are a working class family with not a very large budget for vacation. We work hard and look forward to time away. We have a teenager and a toddler, so trying to find a place to suit both can be challenging. I will begin by speaking about location. It is in the middle of nowhere, yet within driving distance of several things. We spent a day on the lake at the state park, we spent a rainy day in the state capital enjoying a museum, we spent a day in Woodstock and a day on Hunter Mountain. There was something for everyone to enjoy at all locations.
Now for the motel… it is old, outdated and charming as all heck… truly retro:-) It has been meticulously maintained for the past 50 years by the same family… I could not get over how clean it was. The pool was crystal clear without a scent of chlorine, the play area was clean. There is a creek in the back for exploring. Each room has a small refrigerator and the supermarket is 7 minutes away. There are charcoal grills to use and a so so pizzeria (kids liked it) we picked up dinner from down the street. There was piping hot coffee and tea water ready at 730 every morning. There is a communal microwave and toaster available for use. My favorite part is we met people who come back year after year. We hope to make it on the list of returning families.

Really charming and reasonably priced little cabins (where we stayed) and strip-​style rooms (no experience with them) along a country road on the edge of the Catskills: I was hooked. Extremely clean room, great water pressure, friendly and attentive staff, clean outdoor pool, comfortable bed, with all screens intact (important up there in summer). We will definitely be back.

We chose Catskill Motor Court for our slightly-​long weekend trip to the area for our first wedding anniversary… hi Crys! :P
Unfortunately it was a bit far from the things we planned to do while we were away, which was poor planning on my part. It is no less than 13 minutes/​9 ½ miles from Catskill’s city center. But whatever — a «meh. I’ve experienced better» review for my own travel agent services. We were not planning to hit up Bailiwick Ranch and Zoo (which offers horseback riding, scenic mountain trail rides, pony rides, exotic and domestic animal petting and feeding zoo, paintball, horse shows, picnic areas, and train rides, according to its website), but it is directly across the road from this place.
Catskill Motor Court itself was a nice place to stay. A good price and a good bed. The proprietor was friendly, though slow to make her way to the front desk when we arrived to check in (then again, I guess it’s not the busiest time of year?).
You do get a little mini fridge in your room (we didn’t end up using it) and HBO and a couple other premium cable stations. There’s free Wi-​Fi, but my wife couldn’t access it – or even find it on the iPod Touch. Maybe it was on the fritz.
The tap water tasted bad to me. My wife identified it as hard water and while the taste did not bother her, showering in it did. The bathroom door in our room was warped and will take a whole lot of effort to close entirely (and then to open again if you do), but moreover, its mechanics have it opening so that it actually bangs into the toilet. So hey, if you’re using the bathroom, make sure your bunkmate knows you’re in there or you may get hit with a door.

We’ve just gotten back from a weekend away for our first wedding anniversary and this is where we stayed. Overall I’d say it’s an ok place. Why just «ok»?
PROS:
*An A/​C unit in our room.
*A mini fridge in our room.
*Cable with good sized t.v.
*Table for eating
*Thermostat for both room and bathroom
*Good sized shower and water pressure
*Quality hair dryer provided
*Reasonable to drive to several things/​towns worth visiting.
*Rooms was very well kept.
*Wifi name and password provided on info sheet with tv listings
CONS: (These are mostly issues I’m always gonna be aware of…)
*There isn’t usually someone at the front desk, which means a wait of 10mins to check in (for us anyway)
*This time of year the pool was already closed for the season
*The A/​C unit seemed unplugged
*The bed was too bouncy for my tastes
*The only toiletries provided were bars of soap from Days Inn (accd. to labels)
*Pricey (We made a reservation about 3 weeks in advance for a 2 night stay. Our bill was paid upon arrival and was $ 144.)
*I couldn’t find a wifi system of any kind with my iPod.
*The water was SO HARD! I’d have done better using sandpaper and a stone to clean myself…
TO BE FAIR:
This place is run by a couple (I think) and the lady who did check us in was polite and smiled plenty. She DID warn us the room heaters get VERY hot so be careful with the dials and be aware it’ll stay hot if you turn them up. She also DID say the mini fridge was optional and therefore NOT plugged in.
I will be posting pictures of everywhere I’m gonna review the same day I post my reviews, so you’ll see them.
As a place to stay for the weekend as a base camp, not bad and certainly comfy enough.

Overall, our experience here was great. The rooms, though completely outdated, décor-​wise, were sparkling clean and were equipped with AC units, the staff was friendly and helpful, and the water pressure was good. They even had a brand-​new hairdryer in the bathroom!
My complaints about CMC were about the little things: The mattress was not very comfortable and short (full-​size bed); the walls seem paper thin — we could hear people talking in the next room and outside pretty early in the morning; and the pool, which is advertised heavily, is right next to the road so every Joe Schmo driving by can see you in your bathing suit. I suppose on a hot day, beggars can’t be choosers.
In conclusion, Catskill Motor Court was a perfectly acceptable place to stay for our purposes. It didn’t break the bank, and it was about a 25 minute drive from Hudson, which is a very cute town.