A Design Lover's Guide to the Hudson Valley
Klocke Estate, Hudson, NY. Photo: Opulist
The Hudson Valley has quietly become one of the Northeast's most compelling destinations for those who chase beauty in every corner of their lives. Just a couple hours north of New York City, this region unfolds across rolling hills, pastoral farmland, and historic river towns where design-forward hotels, restaurants, and bars have taken root in converted barns, restored carriage houses, and reimagined estates. Here, the landscape itself sets the tone (mountain views through floor-to-ceiling windows, wildflower meadows framing bespoke cabins, waterfalls rushing past treehouse-style buildings) while interiors lean into everything from maximalist European elegance to Scandinavian-inspired minimalism. Whether you're planning a weekend escape or mapping out a longer exploration of the region, these are the Hudson Valley's most beautiful places worth knowing about, from Accord to Woodstock and everywhere in between.
Wildflower Farms | Gardiner, NY
Set on 140 arcadian acres with sweeping views of the Shawangunk Ridge, Wildflower Farms offers 65 bespoke cabins nestled beneath tree canopies and wildflower meadows that shift with the seasons. This Auberge resort pairs natural luxury with thoughtful design, where each cabin feels like a private sanctuary surrounded by miles of trails that invite you to slow down and sync with the rhythm of the landscape. The property's working farm supplies the on-site restaurant, and the spa draws from the same source-origin philosophy that defines the entire experience. From the moment you arrive, there's an unmistakable sense of place where beauty isn't manufactured but cultivated from the land itself.
Photos: Opulist
Clay | Wildflower Farms | Gardiner, NY
Clay is Wildflower Farms' rustic New American restaurant where the Shawangunk Ridge views through floor-to-ceiling windows make the landscape the undeniable main character. The space is immersed in reclaimed wood planks and anchored by a central four-sided fireplace displaying a custom tapestry illustrating the four seasons, with integrated banquette lighting and an open kitchen humming beneath high beamed ceilings. It's a lodge-meets-farm sanctuary serving hyper-seasonal cuisine sourced directly from the property's working farm, where every dish feels connected to the earth just beyond the windows.
INNESS | Accord, NY
Situated between the Catskill and Shawangunk mountain ranges, INNESS sprawls across 220 pastoral acres that house a hotel, restaurant, spa, member's club, golf course, and abundant leisure activities. The property strikes a sophisticated balance between upstate tranquility and cosmopolitan polish, with modernist architecture softened by natural materials and surrounded by landscape that shifts from manicured fairways to wild woodland. Every corner of Inness feels intentionally designed, creating an environment where you can golf in the morning, lounge by the pool in the afternoon, and settle into the restaurant for dinner without ever feeling like you've left a single cohesive world. The vibe is understated luxury with impeccable taste applied to every detail.
Photos: Opulist
The Restaurant at INNESS | Accord, NY
The Restaurant at INNESS offers Mediterranean-inspired dining where simple, rustic dishes (handmade pasta, fresh vegetables, fish, and meat) showcase seasonal ingredients sourced locally whenever possible. The menu draws from diverse regions around the Mediterranean, with Executive Chef Gabriel Salazar bringing a keen sense of flavor developed across stints at Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain and acclaimed New York kitchens. The space itself complements the food's approach, creating an atmosphere that feels both refined and relaxed, where the design lets the ingredients and the pastoral surroundings remain the focus.
The Maker | Hudson, NY
The Maker brings a bespoke experience to hospitality and a bohemian sensibility to design, collaborating with creatives native to the Hudson Valley and beyond to create something truly distinctive. Comprising just 11 spacious rooms spread across three historic buildings, this intimate sanctuary is a sophisticated curation of different periods where eclectic design and comfort exist harmoniously. Every room is completely unique with its own story to tell, creating the sense that you're staying in a beautifully curated private residence rather than a traditional hotel.
The Maker Restaurant | Hudson, NY
The Maker Restaurant celebrates upstate Italian cuisine in a glass conservatory enveloped by layers of greenery that blur the line between dining room and garden. The seasonal menu honors the simplicity of high-quality local ingredients paired with regional Italian cooking techniques, creating dishes that feel both familiar and revelatory in their execution. Sunlight filters through the glass and foliage during the day, while evenings transform the space into an intimate, candlelit sanctuary where the greenery creates a sense of dining within a private greenhouse.
The Maker Lounge | Hudson, NY
Housed in a converted 19th-century carriage house, The Maker Lounge is an intimate cocktail bar where leather-clad walls and grand ceilings transport you to candle-lit corners by the hand-carved fireplace or seats at the captivating bar. The space unfolds across multiple atmospheric zones where you can settle into a velvet banquette by the fire, claim a spot at the curving marble bar, or relish the evening on the patio when weather allows. The menu offers an enticing selection of craft cocktails, wines, and local beers alongside a tempting array of savory plates that encourage the kind of slow, indulgent evening where time seems to stretch and soften.
Photos: Opulist
The Henson | Hensonville, NY
Nestled in the Catskills, The Henson is an adults-only boutique inn where elegant yet cozy design meets mountain charm through skylit living rooms, a meditative library, and an honor bar that invites lingering. With on-site dining at Matilda, a garden deck overlooking rolling hills, and interiors that balance warmth with refined restraint, the property feels like home the moment you arrive. The Henson's design philosophy leans into natural light and organic materials, creating spaces that feel both elevated and effortlessly comfortable, never precious or overly formal.
Photos: Opulist
Matilda | The Henson | Hensonville, NY
Matilda is The Henson's intimate on-site restaurant where farm-to-table dining meets Catskills warmth through candlelit tables, warm wood interiors, and a bar that opens before dinner service. The space balances rustic charm with refined touches, featuring seasonal menus inspired by the surrounding landscape and a cozy fireplace glow that makes lingering inevitable. Dining at Matilda feels like being welcomed into someone's mountain home for a thoughtfully prepared meal, where the menu changes with what's available from local farms and the atmosphere encourages you to settle in for the evening.
Feast & Floret | Hudson, NY
Feast & Floret occupies a renovated 19th-century blacksmith shop where Italian-inspired cuisine meets a light, airy design softened with pastels and abundant flowers throughout the space. The restaurant houses a working flower stall in the middle of the dining room, with buckets of frothy, paper-wrapped bouquets creating the feeling of dining inside a garden even in the dead of winter. Designed by Brooklyn's Islyn Studio with dried flower installations by The Quiet Botanist (including a stunning chandelier above the bar), the space celebrates the bounty of the Hudson Valley through both its seasonal menu and its commitment to filling every corner with natural beauty.
Photo: Opulist
Hotel Kinsley | Kingston, NY
Hotel Kinsley is a collection of four restored 17th to 19th-century buildings in Kingston's historic Stockade District, where each of the 42 rooms feels like a private residence with original fireplaces, vibrant European fabrics, and curated artwork. The property is a design lover's dream that balances historic charm with Scandinavian-inspired minimalism, honoring the buildings' centuries-old character while introducing clean lines and contemporary comfort. Walking through Hotel Kinsley feels like moving through different eras of design history, where colonial architecture meets modern sensibility and somehow everything works in harmony.
Photo: Hotel Kinsley
Klocke Estate | Hudson, NY
Photo: Opulist
Klocke Estate in Claverack offers a luxurious dining experience atop a hill with panoramic views of the Catskill Mountains and surrounding vineyards across 160 acres dedicated to brandy and vermouth distilling. The estate emphasizes sustainable agriculture while crafting spirits that reflect the Hudson Valley's terroir, with a restaurant serving seasonal fare specifically designed to pair with their house-made brandies and vermouths. Dining here feels like discovering a private European estate, where the views stretch endlessly and the meal becomes an education in how local ingredients can be transformed into both food and spirits that capture a sense of place.
Woodstock Way Hotel | Woodstock, NY
Photo: Woodstock Way Hotel
Woodstock Way Hotel is an eco-luxe collection of treehouse-style buildings nestled creekside around a cascading 80-foot waterfall, just steps from Woodstock's town center on Tinker Street. The oversized rooms feature private balconies and decks with playful accents, turntables with artist-curated vinyl selections, natural light pouring through expansive windows, and thoughtful amenities like heated bathroom floors that elevate the experience from rustic to refined. Guests wake and sleep to the sound of rushing water, creating a soundtrack that anchors you completely in the natural surroundings while still being walking distance from Woodstock's shops and restaurants.
Good Night | Woodstock, NY
Good Night is a glamorous Southeast Asian restaurant in a historic barn where Hollywood elegance meets Upstate New York ease through plush velvet banquettes in coral and cognac tones, vintage chandeliers, and a stunning curving bar topped with pink Italian marble. Bright, feminine, and designed for romance, the space combines hyper-local Pan-Asian cuisine with a modern twist, creative cocktails, and a covered outdoor patio that extends the dining experience into the surrounding landscape. The design plays with contrasts (rustic barn architecture softened with luxurious materials, bold colors tempered with thoughtful lighting, Asian influences filtered through an unmistakably American lens) creating an atmosphere that's simultaneously transporting and grounded in place.
Photo: Opulist
Chleo | Kingston, NY
Photo: Opulist
Chleo is a modern wine bar in Kingston's Uptown District where an open-fire kitchen and refined design by Brooklyn's Islyn Studio create an intimate, elegant atmosphere that celebrates the Hudson Valley's bounty and makers. The interior features limewashed walls in pale gray, hand-carved wood detailing from local spalted maple, warm pendant lighting, and dried flowers suspended throughout the space, creating an earthen warmth that invites lingering over small plates and curated wine selections. With marble countertops, wide-plank wood floors, and an open kitchen where flames dance behind the grates, the design merges old-world warmth with contemporary flair while sourcing over 85% of the space's elements from Hudson Valley craftspeople and makers.
The Hudson Valley rewards those who approach it not as a collection of destinations to check off a list, but as a region to explore with curiosity and attention to beauty. Whether you find yourself drawn to the pastoral luxury of Wildflower Farms, the bohemian charm of The Maker, the sophisticated ease of INNESS, or any of the other design-forward spaces scattered across these river towns and mountain valleys, you're participating in a larger story about what happens when hospitality, design, and landscape come together with intention. These aren't just beautiful places to eat, drink, and stay but evidence of what's possible when people who care deeply about aesthetics choose to build something meaningful in a region that inspires their best work. So take your time, follow your eye, and discover your own favorites among the Hudson Valley's most beautiful offerings.
All locations featured here are Opulist picks and can also be found when searching for "Hudson Valley" to help plan your next memorable getaway.
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