Here’s Where to Eat & Stay on Your Next Ski Trip to Belleayre

  |  January 31, 2019

The living room at Foxfire Mountain House.This past week the snow gods prevailed, dumping a foot of pure powder over the Catskill Mountains. While some people grumble whenever they have to shovel out their cars, pack on the layers, and salt the steps, the skiers and snowboarders among us rejoice. If you’re planning to head to Belleayre Mountain Ski Center sometime this winter to hit the sparkling slopes, here are 5 chic and cozy spots to eat and stay between chairlift rides.

The Pines

5327 NY-212, Mt Tremper, NY 12457
Travel time to Belleayre: 20-25 minutes

In 2016, Catskills-bred folk-rock singer Burnell Pines bought the former Tiso’s trattoria on Route 212 in Mount Tremper and began a laborious renovation resulting in The Pines—a laidback roadhouse with lodging, live music, and farm-to-table fare. Bernstein scraped off decades of wallpaper, restored original 1800s wood flooring, and replastered the entire upstairs to create a cozy 5-room boarding house. Great for families and groups of friends, three of the rooms share a hallway bathroom, while two have en-suite facilities. Whether you stay here or not, this is a great place to come see a set of local music while chowing down on pan-Latin American dishes in a shabby chic environment.

Binnekill Tavern

746 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455
Travel time: 10-15 minutes

Natalie Chitwood

On Saturday night, after a tiring day on the slopes. You deserve a delicious, hearty meal. With Binnekill Tavern Chef Bryan Calvert, of erstwhile Brooklyn fame, has reimagined a beloved Margaretville institution. Just minutes from Belleayre, the restaurant offers up mountain comfort food for refined palates in an elegant-yet-laidback setting overlooking its namesake creek. The menu changes on a rolling basis in response to seasonality and availability, but mid-winter, it is loaded with hearty cornerstone dishes. “I wanted to create a menu with something for everyone served in a place that is comforting after long day on mountain, where you can get great drinks and a warm vibe,” says Calvert.

Foxfire Mountain House

72 Andrew Lane, Mt. Tremper, NY 12457
Travel time: 20-25 minutes

Designed to evoke “your globe-trotting uncle’s country estate,” Foxfire Mountain House offers a textured bohemian elegance that is so often missing from rustic ski lodges—think fieldstone fireplaces, leather, Moroccan tiles, sheepskin, well-oiled wood, and velvet. The massive, three-story inn is a set on 10 wooded acres. The whitewashed guest rooms are awash in sunlight with top-notch linen bedding and a mix of vintage and modern furniture that even Goldilocks would find just right. From Thursdays through Sundays, the Bar Room serves up farm-to-table suppers, and all stays include a Nordic-style buffet breakfast.  (Hurry! There are 2 rooms left for their Valentine’s Day stay + dine promo).

The Graham & Co.

80 Route 214 Phoenicia, NY 12464
Travel time: 15-20 minutes

Located 2 blocks from Phoenicia’s adorable Main Street, this single-story, 20-room hotel is a hipster take on the timeless motel concept. With an clean, minimal aesthetic and a deep Catskills influences, The Graham & Co. makes a comfortable, beautiful, and laidback basecamp for your ski and snowboarding adventures. Comfy variations on camping and picnic furniture bring the outdoors inside. Though hardly helpful now, the pool and and the free bikes are a huge draw in the summer months letting you can traipse around town and then cool off. (They also regularly make bonfires and screen movies outside.) For accommodations, there are a range of options from bunk beds to deluxe double suites, and all rooms come with Tivoli radios. Equidistant from both Hunter and Belleayre, you can stay here wherever you like to ski. And on your way out of town, leave time to stop for brekkie at the Phoenicia diner.

Phoenicia Diner

5681 NY-28, Phoenicia, NY 12464
Travel time: 15-20 minutes

Phoenicia Diner is your retro, old school diner with a serious modern twist. The quaint exterior, topped with a huge DINER sign, calls to you from the side of Route 28. Once inside, you’ll find familiar retro comfort in the clear dividers, diner stools, and vintage black-and-white menu boards. The contemporary feel emanates from chic hanging lights, a simplistic color scheme, and smooth, sleek countertops. Plus, the hipster-friendly diner is one of few to serve greasy spoon offerings with farm-to-table sourcing practices—the best of both worlds.

Read On, Reader...