The Carriage House — Hotel in Pocono Township

Went twice with my boyfriend. Never again. The fact that I feel inclined to type so much to warn everyone should say it all...

Not only is this an abysmal, dirty, outdated “vacation” spot, but the new marketing team who took over the place is running a cheap SCAM- anyone involved should be ashamed of themselves- especially for taking peoples hard and honestly-earned money while they try to have a relaxing vacation from work. Not to mention blatantly LYING to guests’ faces and over the phone. This is only after we finally got hold of them. We literally spent the first few hours of our vacation on the phone trying to get a holding of anyone. This was at 330pm, not a strange time, and we were given three different numbers to try. No answer. This is “MH MARKETING” in East Stroudsburg by the way. Avoid at all costs. Completely unprofessional and frankly shady.

So I was suckered into booking a second trip several months after an initial (subpar) visit on the promise that the place was “under new management” and “newly renovated.” I was told this was a real deal & that our room would be a Maxi Suite with a private deck, living room, couch, and separate kitchen. We arrived and it was literally the SAME room, but for about $50 more per night. Quite the opposite of a deal.

The hotel staff tried to claim they had no clue & that it was all on MH Marketin...then MH Marketing tried to place the blame on the hotel. Very bizarre and a clear attempt to get off the hook and get us out. No one took responsibility or tried to remedy the situation.

For a simpler breakdown if you’re still thinking of subjecting yourself to this nightmare, here is my honest opinion of the place, separate from the terrible booking & customer service experience we had:

Location: The location overall is nice, as it’s close to Mount Airy and hiking trails. Not many restaurants or stores in general nearby. The closer nearby area is like a ghost town. It’s all very outdated end the exterior of the building is falling apart along with the hallways, which my boyfriend described as scene from The Shining.

Rooms: Very outdated. The kitchenette is nice, the bathrooms are decent, but overall it felt like going back in time, and I was scared to touch anything everything felt janky.

Atmosphere/Amenities: TERRIBLE WiFi. Essentially nonexistent and the associate admitted to this. Forget trying to plan day trips or find nearby restaurants. Another huge point to note, it’s LOUD everywhere. Kids running the halls unsupervised. The cleaning staff doesn’t seem to care. I saw one maid walk right over fast food wrappers in the hallway. On a positive note, the pool and whirlpool were clean and not too busy! Otherwise the outdoor areas are run-down and overcrowded by people who apparently live there.

Staff: Everyone is very nice over the phone. That’s always easy enough. But in-person the front desk people “play dumb” to avoid any accountability or making an effort to ensure guests stay is comfortable. (See photos/captions on Yelp).

Overall value: I really want to say 2/5 stars...but that would be generous only because my first stay was decent for the room price. The trips were more stressful than anything. I’ve never been treated so poorly as a guest anywhere.

*After speaking to patrons & staff at a local restaurant, we found out Carriage House actually has most of its guests LIVING there...as in renting month-to-month. They’re mostly maids from the nearby casino. That’s fine. But it would’ve been nice to know. The residents clearly are too comfortable there and leave their doors open during parties, have their kids roaming the halls, and leave trash in the common areas. Its a truly bizarre place. In fact our stay was so negative that we chose to take our tent to a local site and camp out for the remainder of our time in...

Fantastic 2 night "staycation" here just before the holidays to celebrate my daughter's birthday! It was one of the most brilliant ideas I've had, an actual relaxing vacation lol. As locals it really felt like a getaway, but we were still close to home. This hotel must be located in a micro-climate, because we had no snow 20 min away, and felt like we drove "all the way to winter" when we arrived to snow & ice glittering on the trees. It was beautiful, plus the roads were clear. Before we arrived we made each other gift baskets & exchanged them when we checked in which was silly but really fun. There was an incredible kitchen in our studio room with every pot, pan & utensil imaginable. We timed & brought a Hello Fresh delivery for food which was perfect & a few things for breakfast, plus milk for my coffee & tea for my daughter. I was able to make fantastic full meals & had everything we needed. The pool was the BEST part! Warm, clean and really pleasant open retro atmosphere. (There is no lifeguard, but it's open 24 hrs & there are 2 hot tubs and a 7inch deep kiddie splash pool.) They also offer pool memberships in conjunction with a local gym, and water aerobics which I think is a stellar offer to the community. I'd definitely recommend this hotel for reunions, short stays for celebrations & peaceful mid week retreats like ours. It looked like they had some fun stuff planned for Christmas & I'd definitely consider staying for a fun New Year's Eve next year. There's plenty of space to gather with friends and family & we were able to sign two other local friends in to use the pool with us during our stay with was super fun. Pro's: -Easy to find, really great staff, convenient to local restaurants & attractions, but perfect for a peaceful retreat. -Amazing kitchen & larger than unusual fridge. Stove, sink, dishwasher, coffeemaker, toaster & plenty of dishes, flatware, pots & pans. There was even a small baking pan, potato masher, dishsoap, dishwasher soap, paper towels, AND a sponge! (Srsly they though of everything!) -Fantastic 24 hour indoor heated pool & hot tubs. -Bathroom was decent with separate baseboard heater. There was also a wooden panel above the shower that was odd but I really liked, it gave it a spa like vibe. Nice toiletries, incl shampoo, mouthwash, qtips & cotton balls too. -Incredible bed that was super soft ultra pillow top, extra blankets & pillows. -Nice dinette & great super comfy easy chair. -Fantastic water pressure & heat. -Pretty frosted arched windows in room. -Laundry right outside the pool near the front desk, so you can throw a load or 2 in while you swim. -Beautiful horse stables across the road & other activities we would love to explore. -Pool/gym membership available to public/locals. -Pool table near pool. -Small arcade -Kids activities (weekends only I think)

Cons: -No on premise dining or free breakfast, but apparently there's a really close pizza place. The walk back to the room from the pool was a bit chilly in Dec, but we didn't realize there was a bathroom closer we could have changed in. -The in room tub was on the small side & a bit claustrophobic sliding door style. Hard to take a decent bubble bath in. But...if they got rid of the shower doors & had deeper tubs it would be possibly one of the most perfect hotel rooms ever! -No black out curtains...or curtains at all actually.

Highly reccomend this hotel & suite style room, we feel like we discovered a whole new area to explore in the warmer...

We stayed here one night for my daughter's 16th birthday. Unfortunately, we were having so much fun enjoying the amenities, we only have pics of the room. We stayed in a room with a full kitchen (utensils and plates/silverware were provided along with cleaning supplies). There was a living area with a couch (which pulled out) and an extremely comfy chair. There was also 1 bedroom, with 2 beds and a beautiful view! The bathroom had the jacuzzi tub (took us a minute to figure out how to turn the jets on) but also had a separate shower and a nice vanity next to the toilet. The wooded pictures were taken from the outside balcony of our room!!

The pool area was nice. The hot tubs by the pool were perfect temperature, and they do enforce the rules of no children (under 16) in the hot tub/jacuzzi. The jacuzzi got HOT. I mean HOT. It felt AMAZING. But I could only last about 5-10 minutes. I went into the pool to "cool down."

We did not get to enjoy the formal movie theatre there (you can ask at the front for a movie and go watch it in style), but we did enjoy the ping pong table VERY MUCH (just asked at front desk for paddles and ball). We also liked the arcade area, but didn't have a lot of cash on hand to spend in the machines. Both pool tables appear to cost money to play on them. Unless supplies can be obtained at the front desk for that too. The gym area wasn't all fancy, which made it more desirable for me to use. We did not check out the sauna that was back in the gym room. The gym was nice, had a separate door for male/female. The main door could be locked and gave you access to a bathroom, a shower in the bathroom and then the sauna further back.

There were a wide variety of menus/eating options and the pizza place we choose did deliver. I told the front desk attendant (sorry I forget her name now!) who was SOOOO HELPFUL. I told her we would be in the pool keeping an eye out for the pizza and she got me from the pool when it arrived. That is ABOVE & BEYOND.

The only downside is we only booked 1 night!!! It was amazing. We originally booked this via Groupon but I will definitely be calling the Manor in the future to book a longer stay at some point. We live about 2 hours away and frequent the Paradise Stream Adults Only Resort, so it was MAGNIFICENT to find a family friendly hotel now too. We often wondered about The Great Wolf due to the indoor waterpark, and we may try if we can catch it on Groupon. But the normal prices for there are STEEP. And may be well worth it.

But if you are coming from out of town/state and want to stay a while, Please consider booking here. There are great activities right nearby (horses, outdoor activities, etc). We stayed in the jacuzzi room which was one of the more expensive rooms, but still totally reasonable and well worth it!!

I edited because I forgot to add...