Welcome to Lilac House: a modernized HudsonValley 1890 Cape Cod farmhouse with garden: private, tranquil, close to the best Catskill villages. Made for family&friends. Pets & kids welcome. Year round hot tub. 4 uniquely styled BRs, large living room +“keeping room” w original FP. Chef's kitchen. Hosts 8 and still feels spacious. Lots of in/outdoor spaces, firepit, screened gazebo for outdoor dining, Insta-worthy organic flower garden. Main floor BR/bath. Read my reviews and book with confidence!
Lilac House: This modernized but classic country home is made for reunions, celebrations, and get togethers for people who care about each other. It is a paradise for birders, and in season, often hosts bluebirds,cardinals, goldfinches, and dozens of other species. The native garden and cutting garden were created, and are maintained by an award-winning garden author. (Well, me, but the award-winning part is true.) The chefs’ kitchen is equipped with everything you need to whip up great meals served on the long farmhouse table— or just rely on the area’s fantastic assortment of restaurants. (Ask my friend, the owner and chef of several well regarded Philly restaurants, who gave this kitchen the stamp of approval at a recent stay.) Coffee (Keurig, Nespresso, French press, Mr Coffee, pour over— and a burr grinder) all here. Pantry staples provided.
Great for families. Baby supplies include a highchair, kids dishes, a pack and play with linens, baby monitor, blackout curtains, and multiple safety features. There are games and toys for all ages.
Cozy in the winter, with a smart thermostat, working fireplace, and portable ceramic heaters in bedrooms. Easy light kiln dried firewood for the fireplace provided. Beds have down comforters, luxury cotton linens, and down pillows, with synthetic bedding available on request.
The natural stone terrace provides lounging space with chaise lounges under umbrellas, Adirondack chairs in season to sprawl in with friends, a garden bistro table, hot tub deck, and a hammock and lawn swing among the wildflowers.
There is a year round carefully sanitized hot tub with room for 8!! Enjoy the barbecue and fire pit in season, play croquet, badminton and corn hole, or slide down the small hill with the kids on snow tubes during snow season. Enjoy the dawn chorus of birds in spring, milky way and fireflies in summer, and blazing color all around you in fall: you're all alone in nature with the people you care about.
The "Frame TV" is art until you turn it on, and streams Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon prime, Netflix, and HBO max. PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO CABLE TV. Apple Homepods with Apple Music provide great stereo sound quality as well as letting you take your music anywhere in the house, and access smart features like lighting and climate control by voice. A SimpliSafe system provides security.
Just five miles to NY State Thruway for easy access to points North and South. SOME ROAD NOISE UNAVOIDABLE.
Blazing fast Wi-Fi, verified by Airbnb. Great for streaming or multiple users without any slow-down.
COVID safety/ allergy friendly features include hi Merv HVAC filtration, an I-Wave device that ionizes aerosols, CO2 monitor that lets you monitor air quality and safety, portable HEPA filtration unit, UV wand, and of course especially careful disinfectant cleaning and all the supplies you need.
Please note that Lilac House is in the country: mountain wildlife, including BEAR, DEER AND SNAKES MAY OCCASIONALLY BE PRESENT. TAKE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS WITH YOUR PETS AND KIDS.
Full access to entire home. Parking for at least 4 vehicles. To get here, a car is best, although Amtrak has stations in Hudson and Rhinebeck.. 20- 30 minute drives from the house. Bus service in and out of Woodstock.
I'm always available by text and phone, although usually do remote checkin via an August smart lock. I value your privacy so you probably won't see me, but I'll be thinking the whole time about how to make your stay more fantastic than you can imagine.
You will be just minutes to Saugerties on the Hudson with its historic lighthouse, and funky/artsy Woodstock , with its tie-dye 60's vibe and a cupcake shop that won the Best Cake in America award in 2019 from the Food Network. Plunge into nature in Catskills Park or Falling Waters on the Hudson, wonder at the Opus 40 sculpture park, check out the live music and theater scene, go snow tubing or skiing a short drive away, graze the farmers markets in both villages. My favorite places to poke around are the knitting/ tea shop and bookstore in Saugerties, and the art galleries and antique shops around Woodstock-- to say nothing of the cosmopolitan selection of intriguing food venues. The Hudson Valley has festivals and fairs almost every weekend-- you'll never lack for something to do.
You can arrive by bus to the Woodstock bus station, but given its rural location, a car is highly recommended unless you prefer getting around by bike. Bicycle rental available in Woodstock. There are Amtrak stations about 20 miles away in Hudson and Rhinecliff, and an airport in Newburgh New York.
NOTE: The fireplace works and wood is provided, but it is important to be sensible about the amount of wood you burn-- no more than three logs at a time, or the bricks above the fireplace will get sooty and stained. And NEVER burn anything but wood and the provided newsprint in the fireplace!
The enclosed garden is organic and you should feel free to enjoy herbs and berries, and pick your own flowers for bouquets.. Please be sure the gate is always closed so that the deer do not enjoy the garden more than you do.
Backyard tubing subject to weather and snow/ice conditions, of course.
Proud to say that care has been taken to make the house safe for kids and ecologically sensitive (solar, Tesla Powerwall battery, organic garden.) Also multiple COVID and allergen precautions in place including iWave ionizing filter in HVAC system.
Of course, you will need to clean up after your pets-- doggie bags provided, but you must use them.
NOTE: Lilac House has a great hot tub! And as with all hot tubs, you MUST follow some important health and safety rules, which are posted near the hot tub. Shower before using the hot tub, to avoid a buildup of body oils on the filter, and eventually in the water. YOU MUST AGREE to SECURELY LATCH and LOCK the cover with the key hanging on the entry coat rack when not in use. This is for safety reasons to prevent drowning by children or use by trespassers. You must observe safe temperatures and occupancy times, especially for children who may overheat, pregnant women, and individuals with health conditions or taking medications that could make overheating risky. The hot tub cannot be used by more than 8 people at a time. Do not sit on the cover, and do not take glass in or near the hot tub, because broken glass could cause injury to you or another user. If broken glass does get into the tub, let me know right away so the tub can be drained before anyone is injured. Add one capful of chlorinating crystals after each use, and run the jets to dissolve it. You will find these near the front door or on the hot tub deck. This will make sure that there is no bacterial buildup in the water, keeping it crystal clear and inviting for you and others.
My lovely neighbors are Airbnb hosts and NEED their privacy. Please do not trespass on their property, which is essentially all the wooded area that surrounds the cleared space around Lilac House, behind and to either side of the back lawn. There is a chain that blocks off the private road that leads to their property, which you must not stray beyond. Thank you for respecting their space.
YOU MUST AGREE to SECURELY LATCH and LOCK the cover with the key hanging on the hooks near the front door when not in use.
The hot tub cannot be used by more than 8 people at a time.
Do not sit on the cover, and do not take glass in or near the hot tub.
Shower before use and do not use oils or other products in the tub.
Pets may not be left unattended for more than four hours.
Pet waste must be picked up and disposed of with provided bags in the outdoor waste receptacle, which must be emptied as you leave.
Garbage and recycling is to be placed in the dedicated containers near the road as you leave.
Any furnishings that are moved must be replaced in their original positions
