You can escape New York City’s urban jungle any number of entertaining and enlightening ways throughout the Northeast Region. Whether you’re celebrating a special anniversary or simply crave a weekend away from the kids, you will be treated like royalty at the classic Castle on the Hudson. It offers a good dose of privacy, but with plenty to do right outside the front door.
Just a half-hour from the city, you can partake of a grandiose four-course feast, spend the night tucked snug between Frette sheets and goose-down comforters, and revel in over-the-top pampering in a romantic stone castle nestled amid 11 forested acres. With its main tower rising majestically above the trees, Castle on the Hudson has yet another singular distinction: It’s the highest point in New York’s Westchester County.
Brief History Of Castle On The Hudson
How did an imposing medieval castle straight out of the pages of Ivanhood find itself in Westchester County in the first place? Predictably, a very rich, very imaginative man living during the turn of the 20th century decided to build his family a home. Howard Carroll hired one of the period’s most celebrated architects, Henry Killburn, to help him design a house that more resembled a massive Norman fortification from ancient Ireland than the typical Victorians of the period.
Massive, indeed: The house would have 45 rooms, medieval-style towers and turrets, and a surrounding stone wall. Construction on the castle began in 1897, and the building served primarily as the Carroll family residence (known as Carrollcliffe) until the 1940s. In 1997 the house became the Castle on the Hudson hotel. Since then it has earned a four-diamond rating from Triple A and a place on Condé Nast Traveler’s Top 20 U.S. Small Hotels list. It also became a member of the esteemed Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Perfect Romantic Getaway
For many people, a stay at the Castle marks a special occasion—and management offers plenty of celebratory gestures to wow guests whether the occasion is a milestone or not. Classical music is playing in your room to greet you. Bulgari toiletries are yours to use in the soaking tub or the marble-walled, free-standing shower. The ultimate in luxury, six tower suites feature four-poster beds, wood-burning fireplaces, and marble bathrooms—oh, and from your tower window you can practically yoo-hoo to your buddies slumming in Manhattan.
For a real romantic kick, ask to have champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries delivered to the room on a tray adorned with fresh flowers just after you arrive.
GETTING AROUND
Taxis are normally waiting at the train station to pick up passengers. It is common for drivers to group passengers together, even if they are traveling to different destinations. If you plan to travel to and from the Castle premises, allow 10 to 15 minutes’ advance notice for cabs to show up at the Castle or any pickup point in Tarrytown.
WHAT TO DO
Fortunately, this castle has taken entertainment a few centuries beyond jesters and jugglers. The heated outdoor pool cozies up to a 25-person hot tub, bocce court, tennis court, and the poolside Grotto Bar made of quarried stone. Those who can’t skip a workout even when they’re on vacation can reserve an in-room massage after a visit to the 24-hour fitness center. If you prefer to order room service and eat in for the evening, you can watch a complimentary DVD movie. Each room has at least one TV with built-in DVD player; the front desk is happy to deliver their two-page list of DVDs—many released in the past year or two.
Romantic Pro Tip: Inquire about packages that may include breakfast, a four-course dinner, in-room champagne and strawberries, spa treatments, golf, a rose-petal turndown service, complimentary minibar, a suite with wood-burning fireplace, or grand-tour tickets to nearby Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate.
In the summer, make your reservation in the restaurant’s Garden Room,with its day’s-end light, mountain views, and an eclectic collection of potted plants and flowers. In the winter the stately Oak Roomis warmed by a roaring fire in the massive stone fireplace. Let the sommelier select a toasty red wine from the 36-page wine list (which has its own table of contents). The restaurant carries 350 labels from around the world— and its wine list won the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine in 2001. By the way, the Oak Room’s historic feel has not been fabricated: The room belonged in its entirety to Louis XIV and was brought intact to New York explicitly for the Castle more than a century ago.
In any season, the four-course menu (appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert) is worth every penny. The chef even sends diminutive amuse-bouches from the kitchen for tasting. Megafoodies should ask about the six-course chef’s tasting menu and the tasting and wine-pairing menu. Reservations and jackets are required.
You should also reserve a spot for the Castle High Tea, held in the restaurant daily from 2:30 to 5pm. Other choices on-site: For a predinner drink, try the General’s Bar. Outdoors near the pool, the Pool Menu offers oysters on the half shell, chilled lobster, littleneck clams, and other gourmet lunch items. For a quiet evening in, order room service (popular faves are the Maryland crab cakes, baked brie, French onion soup, and a Castlemade selection of ice creams and sorbets).
The grand finale, the Castle Chocolate Cake, never fails to delight— it’s served in a chocolate casing that is decorated and sculpted to resemble the castle’s stone turrets.
Source: Frommer’s Great Escapes From NYC Without Wheels
