Photography: Sean Davidson

Since the 19th Century, the Catskill Mountains have offered a serene reprieve for the urbanized Northeastern seaboard of the United States. Thomas Cole enshrined the landscape into the American conscious by painting its grand sylvan panoramas, inspiring a generation of artists known as the Hudson River School. The Piaule Landscape Retreat was designed to immerse visitors into that same natural setting while emphasizing the region’s pristine beauty.

The hotel is comprised of 26 buildings, with 24 individual cabins accessible via short footpaths. The buildings are on a secluded, west-facing hill that overlooks the Catskill Escarpment.

Each cabin utilizes operable glazing to create window walls that are sliding doors, designed to present visitors with the sensory atmosphere of outdoor camping from the comfort of an indoor cabin, and awe them with the views of the sun setting over the picturesque mountains.

The central hub of the hotel is a 3200 square foot main house, which can be utilized as a library, dining room, or a reception area, and contains a gift shop, lounge, fireplace, and bar.

Hidden downhill from the event space is a 3000 square foot spa that visitors can walk to atop its extensive green roof. The spa contains a steam room, sauna, massage, yoga and fitness room, changing rooms and showers, and a large deck area with a pool and hot tub which overlook the western view.