Mini-moon, part 1
S and her parents had been saying for some weeks that they wanted the kids to come the day after school ended, which was Tuesday. Of course this kept shifting and threatening not to happen, but in the meantime I decided E and I should take the opportunity for a mini-honeymoon (minimoon) if it did. And then the kennel decided the day before that Muppet's shots were not quite up to date (a rabies shot in June of 2012 isn't good enough for June of 2013?), necessitating quite a scramble yesterday morning. Sternly worded Yelp review to follow! But dog and kids were away, and we made our escape.
I have had the idea for a long time of coming back up to the Catskills. As longtime readers of this LJ know, my family used to go to the Nevele pretty much every year in the 1950s, and all of the old photos show my parents, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, everybody, year after year at the Nevele. I myself was at the Nevele a few times in the 1980s and 1990s, most recently in about 2002 or so, with my parents. Every time I was there with my parents, they spent the entire time lamenting that the Nevele wasn't what it used to be, and in truth it really was getting run down. But I dug the funky 1950s stylings, the hidden hallways that connected the buildings, the odd cleaning smell that was everywhere, playing shuffleboard by myself, and so on. Well, a few years ago, after the proliferation of negative TripAdvisor reviews, a website dedicated to talking about how the Nevele sucked, and various news stories of bedbug infestations and so on, the owners finally closed the place.
However, I discovered while googling that not all was quite gone. So, the story goes that once upon a time the family that owned the Nevele had a falling out and a fight over control of the resort, and the property was divided. A smaller, lesser resort called the Fallsview was opened right next to the Nevele. Years later the Fallsview was absorbed back into the Nevele, but then a few years ago it was sold off again, and turned into a new resort called Honor's Haven. Fully renovated, and with decent TripAdvisor reviews. I was really curious to see what's going on with the Nevele, and Ellyn has never been to the Catskills. So, a mini-moon.
The Fallsview Honor's Haven has indeed been renovated. I noticed an odd, Asian vibe to the lobby, the fact that yoga is the only activity advertised, the naming of the common rooms (the "Gaia Room"), and the letters "HSP" spelled out in the garden, standing for Harmony, Serenity, and Peace. As best as we can figure out, then, the owners are Korean. But you can still find evidence of how things used to be if you look carefully. Mostly you can see that it is bigger than it needs to be -- the shuffleboard and tennis courts nobody uses, the poolside cabana now storing spin machines.
There's hardly anybody here, which creates a kind of creepy, Shining-esque vibe. There were 3 other people than us for breakfast in the cavernous dining room, and they didn't even bother to open the lounge or coffeeshop. The performance room -- staple of any Catskills resort -- was not set up to be used. Supposedly there is a large ballroom dancing convention coming here tonight, so we'll see if anything perks up.
The abandonment is not all bad, because the intact ruins of the Nevele are right next door. You can see the peeling tiles off of what used to be the Golden Gate building, which was my family's favorite, and the iconic Tower. And then, the falls. The last time I was at the Nevele, your walk to the falls was accompanied by many signs warning you not to go near the falls themselves. Last night we went walking and found that you can reach the falls from the Fallsview property - they even have signs directing to you it -- and the falls are still just as glorious as they are in my memory. And no signs. I was a very happy man. :-)
Anyway, the question lingers -- if there is nobody here, why does this place exist? Some clues can be found in the professionally printed yard signs we started to see as we were driving up - "WELCOME BACK NEVELE" and then signs saying "Two." These latter have, in small print, the URL www.UlsterNeedsNevele.com, which leads to a very slick website calling for the New York legislature to allow a casino in the Catskills. (As of a few days ago, they seem to have succeeded.) We went to Ellenville, the small town nearby, which set up a fancy lobbying office in a storefront, complete with a scale model of the future resort and various pieces of Nevele kitsch (the sign to the Stardust Room) on the walls. (They apparently plan to keep the Tower and Empire wings of the old Nevele and demolish the rest for large gambling halls and parking.)
So, since the Nevele has been owned by a succession of sleazebags waiting for approval of a casino, I'm sure the Fallsview is kept up by some sort of bizarre Korean mafia group waiting for the same thing. This whole place has that waiting-for-the-ship-to-come-in vibe. Ellenville is very sad and depressed, with not so much as a Dunkin Donuts, although there is a renovated community theater (leading to some amusingly grand signs for the "Ellenville Theatre District") and a couple of restaurants.
Anyway, we can use the quiet and relaxation of how things are here now. We took an evening swim and whirlpool after our walk to the falls last night. Ellyn is having a massage and later we're driving up to a nature preserve which is supposed to have beautiful falls and ice caves (we got lost due to Google Maps the first time and had to turn back). Tomorrow we'll hopefully drive through Monticello and see Kutscher's (the last of the Borscht Belt places still open) before driving home. Yay for mini-moon!
I have had the idea for a long time of coming back up to the Catskills. As longtime readers of this LJ know, my family used to go to the Nevele pretty much every year in the 1950s, and all of the old photos show my parents, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, everybody, year after year at the Nevele. I myself was at the Nevele a few times in the 1980s and 1990s, most recently in about 2002 or so, with my parents. Every time I was there with my parents, they spent the entire time lamenting that the Nevele wasn't what it used to be, and in truth it really was getting run down. But I dug the funky 1950s stylings, the hidden hallways that connected the buildings, the odd cleaning smell that was everywhere, playing shuffleboard by myself, and so on. Well, a few years ago, after the proliferation of negative TripAdvisor reviews, a website dedicated to talking about how the Nevele sucked, and various news stories of bedbug infestations and so on, the owners finally closed the place.
However, I discovered while googling that not all was quite gone. So, the story goes that once upon a time the family that owned the Nevele had a falling out and a fight over control of the resort, and the property was divided. A smaller, lesser resort called the Fallsview was opened right next to the Nevele. Years later the Fallsview was absorbed back into the Nevele, but then a few years ago it was sold off again, and turned into a new resort called Honor's Haven. Fully renovated, and with decent TripAdvisor reviews. I was really curious to see what's going on with the Nevele, and Ellyn has never been to the Catskills. So, a mini-moon.
The Fallsview Honor's Haven has indeed been renovated. I noticed an odd, Asian vibe to the lobby, the fact that yoga is the only activity advertised, the naming of the common rooms (the "Gaia Room"), and the letters "HSP" spelled out in the garden, standing for Harmony, Serenity, and Peace. As best as we can figure out, then, the owners are Korean. But you can still find evidence of how things used to be if you look carefully. Mostly you can see that it is bigger than it needs to be -- the shuffleboard and tennis courts nobody uses, the poolside cabana now storing spin machines.
There's hardly anybody here, which creates a kind of creepy, Shining-esque vibe. There were 3 other people than us for breakfast in the cavernous dining room, and they didn't even bother to open the lounge or coffeeshop. The performance room -- staple of any Catskills resort -- was not set up to be used. Supposedly there is a large ballroom dancing convention coming here tonight, so we'll see if anything perks up.
The abandonment is not all bad, because the intact ruins of the Nevele are right next door. You can see the peeling tiles off of what used to be the Golden Gate building, which was my family's favorite, and the iconic Tower. And then, the falls. The last time I was at the Nevele, your walk to the falls was accompanied by many signs warning you not to go near the falls themselves. Last night we went walking and found that you can reach the falls from the Fallsview property - they even have signs directing to you it -- and the falls are still just as glorious as they are in my memory. And no signs. I was a very happy man. :-)
Anyway, the question lingers -- if there is nobody here, why does this place exist? Some clues can be found in the professionally printed yard signs we started to see as we were driving up - "WELCOME BACK NEVELE" and then signs saying "Two." These latter have, in small print, the URL www.UlsterNeedsNevele.com, which leads to a very slick website calling for the New York legislature to allow a casino in the Catskills. (As of a few days ago, they seem to have succeeded.) We went to Ellenville, the small town nearby, which set up a fancy lobbying office in a storefront, complete with a scale model of the future resort and various pieces of Nevele kitsch (the sign to the Stardust Room) on the walls. (They apparently plan to keep the Tower and Empire wings of the old Nevele and demolish the rest for large gambling halls and parking.)
So, since the Nevele has been owned by a succession of sleazebags waiting for approval of a casino, I'm sure the Fallsview is kept up by some sort of bizarre Korean mafia group waiting for the same thing. This whole place has that waiting-for-the-ship-to-come-in vibe. Ellenville is very sad and depressed, with not so much as a Dunkin Donuts, although there is a renovated community theater (leading to some amusingly grand signs for the "Ellenville Theatre District") and a couple of restaurants.
Anyway, we can use the quiet and relaxation of how things are here now. We took an evening swim and whirlpool after our walk to the falls last night. Ellyn is having a massage and later we're driving up to a nature preserve which is supposed to have beautiful falls and ice caves (we got lost due to Google Maps the first time and had to turn back). Tomorrow we'll hopefully drive through Monticello and see Kutscher's (the last of the Borscht Belt places still open) before driving home. Yay for mini-moon!