Does Hudson Valley’s Top Hotel Live Up to Its Reputation?
When Manhattanites want to escape the noise of the city, they look north. About 85 to 95 minutes from Manhattan by car, depending on traffic, Wildflower Farms in Gardiner has quickly become the luxury go-to in New York City’s Hudson Valley. It has 140 acres of natural space and feels like a different world that keeps you close enough to city life comforts. But is it worth the hype?
First Impressions
When guests pull up to the resort, opened in 2022 under the Auberge Resorts Collection, they are greeted with an open-air Great Porch with velvet couches and blazing fire pits. The views of the Shawangunk Ridge are sweeping. The property includes 65 free-standing cabins and cottages found between trees and wildflowers.
Its Americana-style features patchwork quilts, handwoven rugs, jewel-toned velvet sofas, and even antique Bobbin chairs reupholstered in Pierre Frey fabric. Standard rooms start around 475 square feet and go up to spacious suites of over 1,100 square feet. Some have terraces with cedar hot tubs or daybeds, while all of them feature floor-to-ceiling windows that bring the outdoors inside.
Things To Do
There are three miles of trails looped around the property, running alongside the Wallkill River. Guests can pick up rackets at The Courts for tennis or pickleball lessons, or join a yoga, sound bath, Pilates, or Reiki session in the movement studio.
The spa, Thistle, was highlighted in Vogue’s 2024 Global Spa Guide and for good reason. Treatments feature local herbs like lavender and rosemary. There’s also an outdoor playground with climbing boulders and even a zipline.
In summer, visitors can wander through orchards and gather fresh tomatoes. They can also visit the working farm and chicken coop, where gathering fresh eggs for breakfast has become a favorite memory for many. Seasonal workshops like pressed flower pottery and bouquet building, as well as bread-making, are also unique and grounding. Visitors can then unwind in a saltwater pool, sauna, or outdoor hot tubs overlooking the fields.
Eating and Drinking
Image via Getty Images/gregory_lee
Clay, the property’s main restaurant, is where the Hudson Valley farming really shines through. The dishes highlight vegetables in ways that might surprise you, like slow-braised cabbage with puffed black rice or a celery root baked twice with black truffle. If you’re in the mood for something heartier, the menu also features responsibly sourced meats and seafood. One of the standouts is a porterhouse steak that’s finished with a punch of Szechuan peppercorn.
The Harvest Dinner Series invites guest chefs like Daniel Humm and Dan Barber to design menus based on produce grown right outside the kitchen. Customers not only eat the food but sometimes help harvest it too. As for drinks, mixology classes walk guests through seasonal cocktails, or they can wander along the “whiskey trail” to Tuthilltown Spirits, New York’s first post-Prohibition distillery.
The Cost
Group gatherings like weddings, birthdays, or family celebrations are common among the meadows, orchards, forsets, and tree-lined clearings. Complimentary coffee in the morning and valet parking are part of the package, which also includes pet amenities. For business-minded visitors, there are meeting spaces with modern A/V setups.
Policies are firm: half the cost of the stay is due at booking. You can cancel up to two weeks before arrival. Pets are welcome up to 75 pounds for an additional fee of $150, which makes it easier for city dwellers to bring along their dogs.
Rooms start at about $1,000 and can climb to $3,500 depending on size and season. Rates don’t include meals. The price comes with privacy and a roster of experiences.
Image via Pexels/Quang Nguyen Vinh
Wildflower Farms is not cheap. The rates begin at nearly a thousand dollars a night, and it is a serious splurge. But what you get in return is a restorative mix of nature, thoughtful design, wellness, and food experiences that are hard to find packaged together anywhere else. For travelers who want to exchange the usual city chaos for farm-fresh eggs, riverside walks, and nights around a fire pit, Wildflower Farms more than lives up to the reputation it’s building in the Hudson Valley.