Stone Cottages at Bear Mountain Inn — Hotel in Town of Highlands

Awesome place: Meaning the geography and Mother nature gifts: trees, birds, flowers. Total lack of information on how to get there, or check-in. Bad experience having to go back and forth from the cottages to the "inn" to the cottages again. If you follow your GPS you will drive along dwindling roads, with little lighting in deserted place. I called to get directions and was sent to some other place in the mountain. It was in the late afternoon and the signage could be highly improved. I finally managed to see a paper taped to a glass door with instructions to go to the Inn for checking-in. The website should mention that the check-in is a mile away in another building for which they should provide the address. I was really worried about the absolute emptiness of the area and the large size of the cottages, to the point of almost cancelling the booking, literally I did not feel safe about staying there as The "stone" cottages are subdivided in several rooms with a central area hosting a stone fireplace, sofas, a large table and a side counter with a fridge and microwave. Outside the cabin there is a terrace with a rustic veranda, with very worn and humongous leather sofas from which you can appreciate the sounds of the river and the forest. There is a building at the end of the road up in the mountain with - I believe has - the most beautiful landscape but not sure how you get to book a room there. Only access is with your electronic card. The cottages are scattered alongside the road and if you keep driving you get to a building that looks like a regular hotel, but there is no staff there and you cannot get in. The actual room inside the cottage is spatious with a full bathroom. Simple, functional appropriate furniture in terms of style. Although they tell you that Wi-Fi exists and is open - unsecure - there is no signal: impossible to get connection. The place was clean and comfortable, no bugs but some mosquitoes. Perfect for vacations and trecking. And get "disconnected". Not for an overnight business trip. The "Inn" has a large restaurant where they offer the complimentary breakfast, with an outdoor seating. The inn is a beautiful building in itself. There is designated parking by the cottages. You have to get your food and/or drinking water before going to the cabin. There is nothing nearby. Perfect place for "outdoors" and...

Rooms are small and simple- not terrible but not great. They had done some basic updates to the small bathroom in our room. Pathways getting to the cottages are not well lit. Walls between units are VERY thin.

The "Spring" cottage had no WiFi signal at all- not sure if any of the cottages get wifi. 1990s era TV with Dish was fuzzy and didn't have the basic network channels (CBS, NBC, etc.). I heard two guests talking at breakfast and one said he had Fox in his room and the other didn't so I guess it's hit or miss depending on your room. I was disappointed because my team was playing Thursday night football on CBS.

There is no phone in the stone cottage rooms and cell service is very poor (Verizon service at least), making it extremely difficult to contact anyone with Bear Mountain Inn if you have an issue.

On the second night, other guests in our cottage kept turning up the shared thermostat for the building to 74 degrees, which was unbearable. We listened to mice scurrying and gnawing on things in the middle of the night (not sure if they were on the floor or in the walls), and guests from a wedding reception at the main lodge returned to the cottage at 2 AM and hung out in the common area yelling and going on. We got about 4 hours of interrupted sleep the second night.

Continental breakfast in the 1915 restaurant in the main lodge was good but was still being set up 25 mins after it was supposed to start. When approaching the staff at the front desk about an issue, they did go out of their way to help and were friendly. That was appreciated and a highlight of the visit.

Bear Mountain is such a cool and historic place. We love going for a day trip, enjoying the grounds, the restaurant/spa in the main lodge. They need a major overhaul in operations, equipment, and service to be a place where I would ever stay overnight again. I hope things improve because this is a...

I stayed at the stone lodge this passed weekend and omg it was so adorable and accommodating. Outside of our room in the stone lodge was a kitchenette area with a fire place, dining room table, and a microwave. Due to Covid the dining hall is closed but we brought food from home so we were able to reheat it there but the front desk also provided restaurants near by that deliver. The day we left we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the inn lodge and than we walked to the zoo. The Bear Mountain zoo was a must with really interesting animals and facts. The front desk was also very helpful with directions and questions involving the area. We stayed in a queen room which was spacious, comfortable and the bathroom was really nice as well. After hiking all day it was the perfect place to shower and relax. I would 100% come back during one of the warmer months and enjoy the front deck of the cabin facing the mountain or the row boats in the lake. I can't say enough about how much I really enjoyed this place but the views are 100% worth it and...