Blue Hill Lodge & Rental Properties — Hotel in Town of Denning

Update in reply to owners: Thank you for the apology and sending over additional toiletries. We were aware the facilities would be closed. However, we were also told we'd be contacted with check-in instructions which never happened.

This, combined with the fact that nobody reached out to us about our terrible check-in before this review contributed to the impression that we are an afterthought, and made us feel unwelcome to reach out directly to the owners for things like that. It shouldn't be up to the guest to phone tag three different numbers to request simple things.

Updated to three stars. Original review below:

Think twice about staying here during "off hours" when the Brewing Company is not open.

We arrived in the evening to check in, only to find nobody on the premises, no access to phone or internet, in the dark in an unfamiliar area. Wifi near the rooms was password-protected. My wife wasn't feeling well and it was getting cold. I was searching under door mats for keys and going into full panic mode.

Luckily, we managed to find an unprotected wifi near the front parking lot. I rang the hotel and got no answer, went through my messages and calls to confirm they gave me no warning of this, and started making preparations to drive a half hour in the dark to the next nearest hotel.

Thankfully, a man came out of the dark and flagged us down. He wasn't supposed to handle check ins, but he was the only person connected to the company on the premises. He said they had made some mistake and there was a problem with their email or something, but that all rang hollow. He didn't know where my copy of the room key was, and left me for 5-10 minutes to look for it. Finally got checked in after an abysmal experience.

As for the actual stay, it's been mixed. The rooms are small and simple; the area is beautiful. We heard an incessant beeping during the first night/day of our stay, but it wasn't very loud and eventually went away. We don't have enough shampoo or toilet paper, but any attempt to ring the main hotel line results in no answer. We have direct lines to the owners for "after hours" calls, but we also get the distinct impression the owners are far away, and contacting them for things like toilet paper seems ridiculous so instead we've been placed in the awkward position of dealing with little things like that with no help.

It seems wrong for this hotel to take money and have absolutely nobody available to deal with the small and medium issues that often come up during a stay. Again, would recommend finding something else unless you're staying during the weekend when the...

This is a terrific place and right up front I want to say that there was a little mixup with my reservation which was their fault, not mine. But my attitude is that you can tell the quality of a place/organization by the way that they handle mistakes......which is something everyone makes now and then. Blue Hill handled their reservation mistake well and they delighted me, and that's all that counts.||||The place is amazing , it's in a beautiful out-of-the-way spot.....with no cell coverage...... but they let you use their landline for free, no questions asked. The rooms are comfortable, roomy, immaculate, and quiet. The "cafe", which is actually a full fledged restaurant, is excellent, although the menu is somewhat limited. We both had a Russian dish called pelmeni which is like little raviolis or tortellinis stuffed with beef, chicken, and/or veal and served with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and sour cream. Yum!! The Russian beer we had with it was great. Good service, friendly staff, reasonable prices, and next door to the rooms.....how can you lose??||||The place also has a little deli, a liquor store, a post office, and a little grocery store. And soon there will be an on-premises micro brewery. If you need anything while in your room and don't want to go out they'll gladly bring it over. How many "motels" will do that?||||While we were there we saw several local folks stop in for dinner......a sure sign that the place is consistently good. This was my third stay here and...

Short Summary: had an absolutely amazing time staying here!||We arrived with a pretty big group in the evening after hiking in the Catskills. We were welcomed warmly and they had our rooms all ready to go, and they worked with us as we had to move around our arrival time. We were able to order food from the restaurant at the Russian Mule Brewing Company, which is an extension of the Lodge, and it was exquisite! There was something for everyone and it was delicious! After a long day of hiking, it hit the spot :) We were also able to try a good selection of beers that were offered on tap. The lodging itself was very clean. We had 3 rooms, two of which connected, which is great if you have a big party/family. The bathroom, also very clean. On the property, there is a small river/stream that you can walk to and bunch of open space! While there is no cell phone service (which in my opinion was truly a blessing), the Blue Hill Lodge has wifi that is available. And at night, if you're lucky and the sky is clear, you can look at the stars as the light pollution is minimal. It was an amazing mini-weekend vacation, and I am hoping to...