We took a little pre-Thanksgiving trip to check out the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY. For years I have been receiving literature from the resort’s marketing director, Nina Smiley, with spectacular images of the hotel, which many believe looks a little like Harry Potter‘s Hogwarts Castle. The sprawling hotel (the first section was built in 1869) has 260-plus rooms and is filled with sitting rooms for reading and relaxing in Old World style. The location is incredible, with painstakingly maintained hiking trails up to Skytop, the resort’s highest peak and the location of a four-story stone memorial to one of the resort’s founding family members (the hotel has been in the same family for 140 years). We took our final hike yesterday through “the labyrinth” and “rock scramble,” climbing boulders that have caved off of the face of the mountain. The high point was the lemon squeeze through narrow crevices and a series of ladders to make the summit. We were quite pleased with ourselves that we beat the average climb by more than 10 minutes. Three meals a day are part of the daily fee at Mohonk, and I have to tell you, the food is superb. There were several selections for each meal. Lunch and breakfast were buffets, and it is obvious the desserts and bread are made on the premises. The rooms follow a Victorian theme with working fireplaces to help warm cool nights. Be warned — there are no TVs in the newly renovated rooms. The owners want the guests to relax and enjoy the great outdoors, an easy thing to do at Mohonk. We found no problem entertaining ourselves in the evening with reading and high-speed free Internet. Modern travelers can wet their whistles at the bar, which is hidden in the very back and looks like an afterthought. That’s because it is. It was added in 2005, as the property was founded by leaders in the Temperance Movement and the property only received a liquor license in 1960. Fear not, drinks are served at dinner, and there is a complete wine list. — Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO