The Dutchess Inn & Spa: Beacon — Hotel in City of Beacon

This place is just ADORABLE! The Vogue article was spot on! My husband and I needed a long getaway weekend, and we chanced on the Vogue article, which described this as "The perfect weekend getaway for New Yorkers". Exactly that! So Charming and welcoming! From the moment we walked in, we felt so welcomed by the staff, who went out of their way to make us feel at home. Meghan recommended wonderful restaurants, and guided us to the various points of interest in Beacon. Samantha worked with us to help select our spa treatments. And we do love this spa! I have to give special reference to Kathleen. I have had hundreds of massages, but none as good as Kathleen's. My husband also reported that his massage with Christine was superb. It's a small spa, but, as Vogue says, top-flight. I certainly will return for the spa. The hotel itself is such a little gem. I was incredulous to discover that what I thought was a beautifully renovated historic building, was actually all new construction. The owner is an architect, as is my husband. They had a nice chat. My husband was impressed at the solidity of the construction, which is so rare these days in new buildings. The detailing throughout the inn is exquisite, and does a wonderful job of blending the old and the new. The colors are so restful, and the décor is charming. We particularly enjoyed sitting out on the roof gardens which afford beautiful views of the mountains and the river. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of house wine from a local vineyard, and watched the sun go down. So lovely. Although I couldn't convince my husband to join me, I thoroughly enjoyed sunset yoga on the roofgarden, taught by Victoria. We're told that they are starting up with waltzing under the stars on the roof, in a few weeks. We'll be back for that! We hadn't been to Beacon in so long. What a transformation! We had a lovely dinner Friday night at The Kitchen Sink, just two doors down from the Inn. This little restaurant could hold its own in Manhattan. It's a farm to table New American cuisine with a touch of Yiddish in the menue. Very delicious. Five Stars for Kitchen Sink! On Saturday, we had another lovely dining experience at Café Amacord, down the street. For a town of Beacon's size, the quality of the restaurants and shops is a bit astonishing. We went hiking along the most wonderful river trail Saturday morning. This is a very beautiful stretch of the Hudson. We saw a bald eagle, and various long-necked fishing birds. I strongly recommend the Denning's Point nature preserve on the river. It's a comfortable walk along a well groomed path. I have to say, we found parking a bit of a challenge. The hotel is small, and there's no off-street parking. We were traveling with bags, and expected a hotel parking lot. But I have to give high marks to Jacob, who directed us to available parking, and helped us with our bags. The bed was queen sized, not king sized, but extraordinarily comfortable. I don't know where they found those sheets. They were so soft. We are used to king sized beds, but the rooms are so cozy and comforting that we really found that we didn't mind the queen bed. The rooms are immaculate. These folks really have their housekeeping down! We were delighted to learn that the art on the walls was for sale, and we purchased two lovely photographs of the Hudson which were hung in our room. The hotel lobby is also a fine art gallery, hung with the most restful and contemplative fine oil paintings. All in all, this little trip to Beacon was a wonderful experience. For a hotel and spa which has only been open for one year, I think that they do a lovely job, and Robert and I hope that they prosper. They deserve it! I'll be back in August with my bridge group for a girls' vacation! Highly recommended. I wish there was room...

Please do not stay here. The owner does not value guest experiences. We were very disappointed by how disrespected and disregarded we were during this stay. Apologies for the long review but it was needed for perspective.

I booked the trip 4 months early to celebrate my Mother’s birthday weekend. I spoke to a very nice woman at the front desk, discussing how to best accommodate my mother, my sister and myself. We discussed, the suite (too small for us), two queen rooms (couldn’t be on same floor) and a queen and snuggery room on a higher floor right next to each other (perfect!). I knew my mother would want a quiet high floor room and to be next to my sister and myself. I paid for two rooms (explicitly stated as 301 and 302) for two nights and booked 6 spa treatments back to back for Saturday afternoon.

Two weeks before our stay I was called and notified they were overbooked and my sister and my massage would be in the same room... strange for siblings... but nothing we were going to complain about.

One week before our stay we received another call that they were overbooked again and needed to move one of my treatments to the morning and 4 hours earlier than the others. My issue with this was that we booked 4 months early to accommodate our large booking. Why are we getting bumped? Additionally, we came for a mother daughter weekend. The point was to spend time together not get ad hoc treatments throughout the weekend. After going back and forth for 2 days we found a more appropriate solution where one person would end an hour later. (Great!)

Then we arrive on Friday at 7pm. We get room 301 but then our print out has 302 crossed off and 102 written instead. Clearly someone complained about 102 (the last room available in the inn that night) because it was right next to the loud front door which slams, has a full size bed and no windows. They broke up our joint booking from 4 months prior because someone arrived earlier than us that day and complained. When we complained to the owner and managers, apparently nothing could be done (no treatment or anything comped) and we didn’t even receive an apology. The owner explicitly said that he can’t do anything and we are free to write a review. So here is it.

Time with family is so precious, and I really wanted a nice stress free weekend with my mother. Instead we were shown multiple times that our business was not valued and our experience was less important than other guests.

Aside from this experience, here are other notes for guests: This is not a Spa. This is an Inn with two treatment rooms. Before our treatment we were invited to wait in the Solarium which has 4 wooden chairs. Then after my first treatment, I was asked to stand in the hallway while they cleaned the next room for me. That said, the two massage therapists we had were excellent

-The coffee served in the morning is a Keurig machine. If you’ve come here for a relaxing weekend and enjoy your coffee in the morning you will need to go out and get it. I’ve never stayed at an Inn that didn’t brew its own real coffee

The beds are very soft and very small

The people working the front desk were very kind and tried to be helpful but I think the lack of organization and lack of responsibility given to them makes them powerless to help guests

The food in Beacon was outstanding with excellent and friendly waitstaff

I was hoping to turn this place to a frequent weekend getaway for my husband and myself but clearly we would not be welcome here. I will try Roundhouse or The Beacon Hotel next time. Hope this place doesn’t ruin celebrations for others...

I just read the most recent post and the owners response. Very disappointing, and not one that would make me come back. This was my experience: I booked a girl's weekend away and requested a specific room - the Queen Anne suite(I would have left and required a refund if we didn't get that room as there was no mention of no guarantee of a specific room. Other inns show you your options and you book that room - and don't have it taken away) . The room was perfect for the two of us. Nice bathroom , very comfortable beds, etc. The front staff was friendly, but are in need of additional training in customer service. They mixed up/changed the times on our spa treatments so suddenly we had to rush back from our walk around town. NO ONE at the front desk gave us any information around our appts when we checked in, so we had no idea the appts were moved up. This is basic customer service they need to be trained on. I also was surprised at how unknowledgable the staff were about the town and where things were or what was going on. We were getting pedicures at the only nail salon nearby and they said it was a 10 min walk when it turned out to be around the corner! In general, they didn't seem to know a lot . I would suggest there be some training in local stores and restaurants, etc, or print something out for guests to help them have a more enjoyable experience. Our visit, in general, while a bit flawed was still very nice. This really is the best place to stay in Beacon. But if you move people around and don't give them the rooms they booked, that will kill your business. And while it might not be a true spa experience, I still think the services were well done. So if you're going to Beacon, I would say this is the place to stay. Also, it's centrally located. But do yourself a favor and be VERY clear about your needs and expectations up front so they know and also know that there will be an issue when you arrive if things suddenly change. If they start sending messages before you come that they are moving your room or changing spa appts, you may want to reconsider as it sounds like more...