The Old Catskill Game Farm - Inn & Campsites — Attraction in Town of Catskill

We rented the entire Long Neck Inn in August of 2025, for 8 days. What a delightful place this was to have a family reunion! It is absolutely charming! And clean. Nineteen of us, including children, with a few additional day visitors, were accommodated perfectly, with room to spare. Each of the six bedrooms has a private bathroom. Each has its own air conditioner...keeping the room cool but also a good white noise machine. The beds are comfortable. One bedroom is on the ground floor, perfect for those who may have a difficult time with stairs. There is a blow-up mattress and a cot also available, if needed. The large kitchen has everything you'd want to prepare a meal...plenty of pots and pans, utensils, dishes, glasses, coffee cups. Two refrigerators. A dishwasher. Two sinks. Lots of room for many hands to prepare meals. There is a coffee maker and coffee grinder available. And also, a lovely separate coffee bar, with a Keurig, and stocked with Keurig coffee pods, teas, an electric tea kettle, and several types of coffee creamers and sweeteners, stir sticks and to-go cups. There is a large living room, with plenty of places for people to sit. Lots of games on hand. This Inn is a large space. Never...not once...did it feel crowded.

We made various day trips to places not far from the Old Game Farm. One day we went to Zoom Flume (a super fun water park); another we went to Howe Caverns (spectacular!!); we had a lake day (at North Lake); and hiked to various waterfalls. We ate our self-prepared dinners at the Inn (shopping at Walmart for most food items...not too far away), and ordered pizza from Mateo's in Cairo one night (good pizza!). Except for the one night it rained, we enjoyed spending time having Giraffe Corn Hole tournaments, and playing lawn Farkle (using giant wooden dice). Especially wonderful was time spent around the fire pit, making S'Mores, laughing and sharing our hearts, listening to the cicadas, crickets, and tree frogs (things we do not have in Alaska), and staring up into the heavens, watching the stars come out one-by-one, showing off their glory. Absolutely magical. After forcing ourselves to go in (it was hard, believe me), some sat and chatted inside, while others played a nightly Monopoly Tournament, enjoying late-night snacks.

This space could not have been more perfect for us. As a little girl, I visited the Catskill Game Farm. Being an animal lover, it was always such a special place to me. What a joy to stay in the very building that housed the giraffes, such graceful, beautiful creatures. Although the entire building has been wonderfully revamped, somehow they have included parts of the old stalls in the decor, which only adds to the charm. There is original signage all over the building. Simply wonderful!

I want to mention Shawn, the host and caretaker of the property. He's just the best. Very friendly, full of information, many stories to tell, and always available to answer a question or to give help if needed. I consider him a friend. My only regret is that we never had the time to take advantage of his offer to take us on a hike with his goats around the 200 acre property. We did, however, meet the goats on a few occasions (Baby Goat is no baby!), and some even got to collect fresh chicken eggs. In fact, there were fresh farm eggs waiting for us in the kitchen when we arrived.

If you're in need of a large space to house many people, do not hesitate to rent the Long Neck Inn. It is...

I will start by saying I have stayed at this site 6x including this stay. I have never had a problem under the previous ownership, I love this place and I hate writing this review. However, this trip was a different story. Upon arrival we found the tent did not match the photos anymore. It had a broken bug screen zipper- so tons of bugs. The wood stove was removed and there was no heater otherwise, and they had carpeted the tent across the entire deck so that it was laying outside farther than the tent. And it was raining and because of this was soaking water into the tent. Upon arrival I asked about these things, I was told tentrr no longer uses wood stoves and they had to go out and buy a heater. They did not somehow realize the carpet was going to take on water. No offer to do anything about it. But it eventually took on enough water the tent was just a lake and it started to smell musty, and we had to specifically say you need to come remove this yourselves, as I think they expected us to do it. I did not book this site to do physical labor. I have a severe back injury and ended up spending hours trying to move the heater around and sop up the water with our personal towels (asked for a mop and was never responded to). You cannot fully carpet a tent. You cannot carpet the outdoors. Furthermore, when they arrived to remove it they were very rude and didn't understand why we would be upset that the rent they are charging almost $200 a night for was uninhabitable while it rains. They threatened to call the cops immediately over us being upset, and never apologized or saw any issue with what was happening. I expect it will be recarpeted as they brought us a new carpet to put down while still wet (we didn't, bad idea). They also have for some reason dug a hole into the fire pit that existed so it fills with water like a well, which we were told to just move the grate wherever. And the grass which was previously kept trim is getting long (tick season) and filling out with weeds, as well as the weeds lining the overlook are so tall you cannot see the overlook any longer. We will not be returning to the game farm which breaks my heart- but onto...

Myself, along with 12 other friends, decided to rent out the Giraffe house for my join bachelor/bachelorette party over the Summer back in July. I can't recommend this place enough. It is one of the most unique places I have ever stayed. Despite the fact that it is "abandoned" the Giraffe house itself is extremely comfortable, updated, and cozy with all the amenities and then some (mini fridge was stocked with water, coffee available, bread, fruit, snacks, and more were all stocked ahead of our stay. The bedrooms were clean and comfortable as was the entire building. Beyond the actual inn, where we stayed, the entire property is utterly fascinating with all the old zoo structures still somewhat intact. Ask the facility manager - Sean/Shawn, for a tour and he will happily walk you through the entire property if you're up for the long trek along with a crew of goats that follow you the whole way. Sean was very accommodating and stayed on site but out of the way, in case any emergencies happened. Speaking of the goats, they are nearby for a visit and also chickens and other fun animals around.

I would recommend anyone to stay at this place, there's no telling how long it will last because it often changes hands and someone may renovate it, but if you're into a very unique stay and seeing a cool piece of history for not a bad price, grab a few friends and stay at this place ASAP!! You won't be...