photos + story by niki@hvny.info
What do Tulum, Saudi Arabia, Namibia and Dutchess County all have in common? They are all now part of a “global home for a global community of like-minded people seeking connection.”
The first North American outpost of the Habitas brand of luxury getaways opened a few weeks ago right here in the Hudson Valley. The property, according to a press release, can “be reached by a 30-minute seaplane ride or by a 25-minute helicopter ride.”
For locals and those with a familiarity of the area, the building atop the hill just off of Route 9 in Staatsburg was most recently operating as the Belvedere Mansion. The Belvedere was a common gathering place for events and weddings, including where Lin-Manuel Miranda married Vanessa Nadal in 2010.
According to records, Major John Pawling, who fought in the French Indian War, first owned the land there. Pawling was the grandson of the original patentee for the northern half of the Town of Hyde Park, and a personal acquaintance of General George Washington. The original house on the site, a two-story stone and log structure built in 1761, was diminished to ashes in a fire in 1899.
A house was rebuilt on the site the following year and owned by Mary Hastings, supposedly a wedding gift from her husband. The stone foundation and large trees on the property were all that remained of the original Pawling Home.
In 1959, the site was the home of the Pawling Health Manor, treating guests like James Earl Jones, Jerry Stiller, Elizabeth Taylor and Charles Mingus to help them lose weight and detox. Stiller even claimed he once lost six pounds on a three day fast there. While the manor was popular at the time, skeptics questioned the owner, Robert R. Gross for his tactics where guests would fast for weeks, some fasting to the point of needing to be “taken to a hospital in Rhinebeck,” according to a New York Times report. 30-percent of fasters at the Pawling Health Manor cheated during the program, according to Mr. Gross, “by driving into Rhinebeck” to grab a bite to eat.
Today, there are bright pink lampposts dotting the drive. The stately Neo-classical columns of the front portico are now painted a royal blue, for no particular reason other than artistic expression, as we learned during a visit to the property in early February.
When guests first arrive to Habitas-on-Hudson, as with all their other properties, they are treated to a welcome ceremony where they choose a spirit animal from a cloth bag and then sprinkle crystals on top of a burning piece of charcoal to watch the smoke and set their intention for their stay.
Adjacent to the bar and restaurant called The Social, there is a foosball table in the library, a dedicated game room with seats that swivel, a ping pong table occupying another area, and plenty of places to sit and chat. Upstairs, each guest room of the main house is named after famous authors. (Kids are not permitted to stay in the main house, though there is family-friendly lodging available.)
While many of the renovations were completed by hotelier Andre Balazs before the property was acquired by Habitas, there are still many original fixtures from the Belvedere days, and maybe even some ghosts leftover, as demonstrated by the orbs appearing in video I took in the bar area, and confirmed by some of the staff on site.
Balazs, an international hotelier who also owns an estate down the road in the Village of Staatsburg called Locusts-on-Hudson, purchased the former Belvedere property in 2016. He renovated the space in the hopes of reopening it as the New Belvedere, Lady Belvedere or Belvedere on Hudson, according to several registered domains. The entity, however, “opened and closed” its doors in March of 2020, before the onset of the pandemic. Balazs, who has been under scrutiny for alleged misconduct at several of his properties for the last few years, then partnered with Oliver Ripley, the co-founder and CEO of Habitas, to open Habitas-on-Hudson, the brand’s first North American property in December of 2022.
“We are seeing a big shift in people rebalancing their lives post pandemic and Upstate NY offers the perfect refuge while giving people the proximity to New York City. Habitas-on-Hudson is a home for a growing generation of people who share similar values and a mindset, focused around human connection, giving back and being close to nature,” said Ripley.
Plans for the Habitas property also include renovating the pond on site to transform it into “a beach club” and other onsite activities including “volleyball, barrel sauna, jacuzzi, cold plunges, XPT training, an outdoor cinema, archery and even ice skating in the winter. Habitas’ immersive programming spans a wealth of interests, including yoga, mountain biking, breathwork, cooking classes, massages, hiking trails, bonfires with storytelling and s’mores and a games room. An outdoor ‘agora,’ or gathering space, will host concerts with Artists in Residence in addition to signature Habitas global rituals, including Baja El Sol concerts on Sundays and communal family meals.”
As it does at its other properties around the globe, Habitas is also planning to give back to the local community through its Rise foundation where a portion of proceeds from each stay will be donated to a community initiative.
“We currently have been researching which Rise project we are going to work with,” according to Taylor Greaves, People & Culture Manager at Habitas. “We are in the process of narrowing down.”
Habitas-on-Hudson joins a wave of businesses touting luxury getaways in the Hudson Valley including Mirabeau Inn and Spa in the Village of Rhinebeck which opened in 2019 and is planning to open a second location in Beacon later this year, Inness in Accord, which opened in the summer of 2021, and the iconic Mohonk Mountain House. The Six Senses, a resort brand known for its secluded locations, reportedly paid $14.75 million for at The Dutchess at Old Stone Barn Farm, a 236-acre biodynamic farm in Rhinebeck. (At this time, there has been no official comment from Six Senses on their plans for the Hudson Valley location, though there are construction signs at the site.)
Habitas’ bar and restaurant, The Social, which touts locally-sourced ingredients – and to be fair, one of the best burgers I’ve had, prove me wrong! – officially opened last week to non-staying guests. Current operating hours at Habitas-on-Hudson are 8am to 4pm for breakfast and lunch, and dinner from 6-10pm. All of the site’s public spaces are available to restaurant guests after their meal if they want to grab a cocktail and sit. More info: ourhabitas.com/on-hudson/
This piece originally published in the free HVNY weekly newsletter, “This week in the Hudson Valley.” Sign-up for it.
“The Sad Happy Story of Twinkle Tee Tum” which tells the story of a shy crab who is too afraid to come out of her shell. Each book is accompanied by a crab keychain which leads to dozens of early literacy resources. This book is excellent for young readers (ages 2-6 years)