Mohonk Mountain House

[alacarte]

The parental units gave Mr. alacarte & me a generous anniversary gift -- a weekend at the famed Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY.

I was really looking forward to this because Mohonk is supposed to be one of the best mountain resorts in the country. We were not disappointed by the grounds -- I have never seen such well-maintained trails, not to mention the beauty of the scenery nature so kindly provided. After a 10-mile hike yesterday, I am paying the piper today.

But the food was disappointing. We hadn't booked a table ahead of time, so I didn't mind taking the last seating at 8:15 PM. But all the food arrived overcooked -- woefully burned and dried-out salmon, greens far over-salted, tepid pasta, as though everything had been sitting around since the first seating at 6PM. And the chocolate desserts were sold out by the time we ordered (they must have just sold out, since the tables around us all had the chocolate layer cake the waitress recommended -- not a big deal though, obviously popular items are bound to sell out by the end of Saturday evening -- but it didn't help the experience). That said, the service was very attentive and we weren't rushed out, and the dining room is extremely well-kept and attractive.

Has anyone else had a similar experience at Mohonk? Were my expectations too high going in? Is it unreasonable to expect a good meal at a big resort like this? I tend to think that I'm not expecting the impossible, as I've had excellent meals at resorts of similar reputation and size (for example, The Greebrier in West VA had some of the best food I've eaten anywhere).

[Fat Guy]

Has anyone else had a similar experience at Mohonk?

Oh, yes.

Some previous discussion of Mohonk:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=8870

[alacarte]

good to know I'm not alone in my assessment.

oh my goodness -- Mr. alacarte made the same observation about being reminded of The Shining!

[scamhi]

... I've had excellent meals at resorts of similar reputation and size (for example, The Greebrier in West VA had some of the best food I've eaten anywhere).

Mohonk Mountain House is not even in the same leaque as the Greenbrier.

I think the Greenbrier won a James Beard award recently.

[MHesse]

We've been going to Mohonk for over 25 years. The grounds and the trails are wonderful. The hotel is cool. The food never has been. Which is too bad, since for many it is a large part of the Honk experience and they promote their meals as a culinary experience. My favorite meal is the outdoor lunch at the Granary, and the evening steak and lobster cookouts at the granary aren't bad either. Being in "the know," we make our dinner reservations either as soon we check in, or call them in the week before. They keep changing the dining systems, but going early speeds up the time you'll spend sitting by a least a half hour. I prefer to eat fish, but find that at Mohonk, steak and roast beef come out consistently good. Great lemonade.

When we first started going, we could get a room for $109 per night with a shared bathroom down the hall. They've "improved" the hotel over the last 10 years, by putting phones in the rooms, then bathrooms in all the rooms, the skating pavillion, and now <gasp> the upcoming pool and spa building in order to attract the wealthier younger NYC tourist set. Can TV in the rooms be far behind? Now that same room costs $400-500. I'd rather just go as a day hiker, all I'll miss is swimming in the lake.

The food is actually better than it was, but seems to be about as good as they can do.

I have plenty of Mohonk stories, they'll have to wait for a face to face conversation.

[balmagowry]

Has anyone else had a similar experience at Mohonk?

Oh gosh, yes. Twenty years ago it was just the same. Of course, the circumstances were different - I was working a traveling show that came in as entertainment for the guests, so at the time I sort of assumed they were feeding us dregs because we were a notch or so below the status of hired help; based on your description, however, I begin to think rather sadly that they must have treated us to their best. Still, what a great old place it is....

EDIT: Oops, posted that before I saw the reference to the other thread.

Edited April 19, 2004 by balmagowry (log)