The 18-room boutique Hotel Lilien is now officially open and features a full renovation and redesign of an 1890s estate in Tannersville, New York.
The property first opened via a soft launch in August for weekend visitors.
Established in 2004 by California-natives David Harmatz, Jason Marcus, Daniel Saxe and Daniel Smetana, Lost Boys Hospitality Group opened eco-hotels and bars in Panama City and Boca del Toro, Panama. After about a decade, Harmatz said he relocated to New York and wanted to bring his team's hospitality experience to the states.
"For us, Hotel Lilien was the ideal setup," Harmatz said. "We're a fiercely independent property. That's how I like to describe us, there's no management group, there's no outside funding, there are no multiple locations; we're really an island unto ourselves when it comes to the typical structure."
Harmatz tapped additional family and friends to help get Hotel Lilien to its soft-launch opening in August. His sister, for instance, owns San Francisco-based design, retail and commercial residential firm Field Theory, which did design work on the hotel.
"It's really a homegrown collective effort," he said, adding his team is singularly focused on Hotel Lilien right now.
What's on Property
The renovation of Hotel Lilien occurred in the midst of the "perfect storm" of the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of quality talent and costly building supplies, Harmatz said.
"We were challenged in many ways, but we did get a fabulous contractor to do the renovation," he said. "A building like ours is like unpeeling an onion, you have no idea what will be found. We had a number of neat finds along the way."
One of the floorboards, when uncovered, was layered with newspapers from the 1930s and one of them had a crossword puzzle that was filled out, he said. There was also a hidden room that was converted into an additional den.
"There's so many little nooks as we did our construction that were discovered," he added.
Hotel Lilien's core guests value experiences, especially given the property's Catskills location, Harmatz said. This is why the staff are hired to be "multipurpose."
"We'd rather bring in someone with a certain secret skill set, who can also act as a receptionist. If the person is an amazing cook, they can bring the guest in and show them local techniques," he said. "[Our mixologist] is also our in-house resident guide."
Guests can take part in a complimentary nature walk along the 2.7-mile Huckleberry Trail in Tannersville.
"We offer that tour twice a week, but if there's a group there on a Tuesday and they want to go do it, of course we will," he said.
An offering the hotel will debut this winter is a collection of five different sleds for guests to loan and bring to the local sledding hill. From its food-and-beverage offerings to an artist-in-residence program, featuring local artisans and makers is also an important aspect of Hotel Lilien, he said.
Utilizing local makers especially makes a difference when hotel staff wants to surprise and delight guests, he said.
"There's an amazing bakery in town, Shandaken Bake, and when we have a special occasion, anniversary or wedding, we like to do something special for guests prior to arrival. We put a little box of pastries in the room," he said.
Ramping Up
Harmatz and his team were able to open certain parts of Hotel Lilien and its cocktail bar to guests during weekends in August without disruption from construction.
The soft-launch period also allowed the staff ample time to train and perfect food-and-beverage offerings before the busy ski season.
"As much as we wanted to jump in as quickly as possible, the learning is really valuable," he added.
Since officially opening seven days a week, Hotel Lilien has experienced an interesting demand mix, Harmatz said. His team has been fielding a lot of interest from corporate groups and others wanting off-site meetings and retreats midweek, "which is fantastic for us to fill those quiet periods between the weekends," he said.
Wedding groups have also been buying out the hotel to host welcome drinks in the property's lounge and farewell brunches.
"One thing that we offer, which I think is unique among the properties in the area, is that we're OK with additional wedding guests being on property, even if they're not staying at the [hotel]. Our occupancy is 42 but if the wedding guest list is 150 people, we're fine with that wedding couple bringing on more people to use the pool or lounge around the fire pit," he added. "It becomes almost like home base."
Harmatz said the typical guests on the weekends at Hotel Lilien include that "trend-setting New York City crowd." Last-minute weekend getaways are also trending. Hotel Lilien is about a two-hour drive from New York City, and also attracts guests from Philadelphia, Boston and New Jersey.
As for entertainment, the hotel often has live music on Saturdays to pair with its high-end cocktail bar, dimmed lighting and wood-fire fireplaces.
"But we try not to be stuffy. Most people who come in who are local know all the bartenders by first name, so it's approachable while still elevated," he added.
