Carl's Rip-Van Winkle Motor Lodge, Leeds

The people were very nice, friendly and easy going. It was spotless and the buildings, while having decor that was a bit dated, were extremely well maintained. You could tell then had been recently painted. The decor made me feel like I as back in the dirty dancing days (though this place is not that big), very charming. We had 4 cabins with our group and all were good. Very easy to get to. We were there a week after Irene and you could never have guessed that a few miles away was a huge disaster. It is rustic & rural and you should keep your food cleaned up and sealed, but that's just common sense in the country. I would definitely go back there again. It was a good value. The only things I didn't love was that we could hear the interstate noise (trade off for easy to get to), and it would have been a perk to have a fridge. But we did ok w/o the fridge as you are close to restaurants. Koch's was great food, but the service was a bit slow. There is more stuff in Catskill.

The 1st cabin we had was rustic but very run down & small even though this was the bigger of the 2 cabin sizes we were offered for double occupancy. The bed was horrible; it was very shakey & felt like it was about to fall apart. This is the 1st time I've ever stayed in a room where my back hurt when I woke up in the morning. The bathroom was old w/a low ceiling for the shower & rust stains in the sink. My fiancé's head almost touched the ceiling when he was showering & he's only 5'10". On our 2nd night there, when we came back around midnight from a day out, we discovered a rodent had been in our room because there was a hole chewed into a bag of pretzels we had bought. The next morning I brought the bag to the guy in the office & all he offered to do was set a trap! He said that's what happens in the country. Well this lodge is right off the highway & main road so it's not that much in the "country" & I wasn't staying in a tent or hut so I don't expect rodents in my room. Even though we only had 1 more night to stay, I told him I wanted another room so he had 1 smaller cabin available which we looked at & liked better than our "bigger" cabin. The bed was better & neither the bedroom nor bathroom was run down (the shower was of normal height also). All the cabins are named & this was called "Heart's Content"; it's very small but clean. The 1st cabin w/the problems is "Cliffside". I don't know what the motel rooms are like but the office guy said they're the only rooms w/King beds; everything else has only full size beds. I wouldn't recommend staying at this lodge mostly because of the unfriendliness of the guy in the office. I don't know if he's Carl, the owner, but he wasn't welcoming when we 1st arrived & it was like playing 20 questions to get any info out of him about the other cabins. Other places I've stayed at on vacation are very accommodating & always give some type of compensation for the inconvenience when a problem occurs on their part. This place didn't even offer to pay for a new bag of pretzels & we were charged the higher room price for a "bigger" cabin on our last night although we went to the smaller cabin. The lady at the tourist info center off the highway had told us how friendly/nice the owner of this lodge was but that was not our experience w/him or whoever was managing the front office. I got the feeling he didn't care for us because we're an interracial couple. My fiancé is a very friendly, talkative guy but that front office guy would barely answer his questions. The last point of contention is that the pool doesn't open until noon so no morning swims folks! Next time we go to the Catskills, we'll try Astoria Park which is a very short way down the road & their prices are about $85/night for a King bed & fridge in all the rooms. Their pool opens at 9am.

It felt immediately right as soon as we opened the door to our cabin. Clean, woods all around, comfortable, convenient. Everything we needed to relax and enjoy our vacation. It is close to the throughway so you will hear traffic, but the way it is situated, you are really in the middle of the woods. Highly recommend!

My Dad vacationed in Leeds as a child and stayed at the Carl resort. Two generations later, I stay with my children year after year and would not go anywhere else. I know of and have stayed at most of the other places in the area, as I have family living up there and we've gone my whole life. HOWEVER, for cleanliness, comfort and charm, you can't beat RVW lodge. ANYONE who says that the Carl's aren't kind needs to have their head examined! I've been there enough to tell you it's some of the GUESTS who are rude, not the management!!! They treat me and my little one like family - so much so that we feel we are. Going back Labor Day week! Can't wait!! GREAT Mexican place next door - Sue and Steve are the BEST! A MUST when you're there!

My husband and I and our two children have been staying at Carl's for our summer vacations. My daughter loves it and doesn't want to go anywere else! The cabins are very clean and it has a yesteryear charm to it. It is a great place for a family to hang out together and have fun and enjoy just being together. It is also very affordable especially if you get a kitchen unit for the week. It is also a great place to stay in the fall.

This place was awful! The people who ran the place were very unhelpful and rude! If you want a broken back the beds and pillows are like stones and you will NOT get a good nights sleep here we are so happy to be home in our warm beds!!! No outlets and we had to buy extension cord to one outlet to plug in phones etc...It is near the turnpike so you will hear some traffic not feeling very outdoorsy or that feeling of gettin away.

The place is very quiet and clean. My wife and I will stay again and next time will bring friends also Would recommend to everyone Jim McNulty

We are originally from Catskill, NY and when ever we travel back to Catskill - we ALWAYS stay here. It is a nice, quiet, clean place and all the owners and staff are extrememly friendly. Looking forward to our stay this year!

Only have good things to say. I'm a pharmacist working "on call" at the local "super store" (you can figure out which one, I'm sure), and they don't pay much. I've stayed many places and this is by far the nicest place I have stayed in the area for the money. I've been there twice and I'm going back again.

my wife and I were there on our honeymoon 46 years ago, we hope to go back.