Best Inns and Bed and Breakfasts in the Catskills, New York

Attracting visitors to its medicinal springs since 1865, the Bavarian Manor was taken over by the current owner’s family in 1931. It’s now a homely inn with a German restaurant, ideally located for walking 100 acres (40.5ha) of the nearby country trails. You can also fish on the property’s 6-acre (2.4ha) lake, naturally stocked with bass and catfish. Book a second-floor room on the east side, if you can, for views said to stretch for 40 miles (64.4km).

Follow in the footsteps of John D. Rockefeller by staying in this immaculate Victorian inn, now joined to a more modern motel strip for those looking for a little more space. Right on the main street in Roscoe, the inn is close to Beaverkill River and within easy walking distance of the town’s restaurants and antique shops – so, you get the best of both worlds.

It’s all about the personal touch at 19th-century Sedgwick House. Innkeeper Cris is always on hand to share local secrets, cook hearty breakfasts and help with directions, while the wraparound porch and snug living room make you feel at home in no time. If you can tear yourself away, the main entrance to Hunter Mountain is a short walk away for skiing, restaurants, the unmissable zipline and summer music festivals.

On Scenic Route 23A on the outskirts of the villages of Hunter and Tannersville, the Washington Irving Inn pairs old-fashioned charm with an outdoor pool, a cocktail lounge and heavenly mountain views. Guests are also treated to a delightful daily afternoon tea, where dainty finger sandwiches, warm scones and exquisite pastries are served with imported teas to a soundtrack of tranquil classical music.

If the walls here could talk, their tales of ghosts and gangsters might seem fanciful but are testament to the colourful history of this 19th-century inn. Once a speakeasy, jazz club and regular haunt of prohibition gangsters such as Legs Diamond, the fully renovated property now offers just four simple rooms that can be hired together for the ultimate family getaway. Just don’t be alarmed if the old honky-tonk piano starts playing all on its own.

A traditional B&B with added pizzazz, this 18th-century Dutch Colonial farmhouse is the dream rural idyll for city slickers not willing to forgo hotel luxuries. Think Instagrammable farm-to-table produce, a tea and coffee bar, crisp Frette bed linens, goose-down comforters and iHome docking stations. Surrounding Rondout Valley is equally appealing, mixing traditional towns and unspoiled forests with gourmet restaurants, live music venues and vintage shops.