Day 1:
I recently had the good fortune to spend the weekend at Resorts World Catskills. New York’s newest casino and resort had tons to offer for a relaxing and exciting trip, perfect for anyone who is looking to escape the city for the weekend! It has become somewhat of a ritual for my boyfriend and I to visit Atlantic City every summer for a few days, but now having Resorts World Catskills just a beautiful, scenic, short drive away, I think we found our new ritual. Passing through the undulating tree lines, which have made the Catskills the destination spot it is, beats every other casino drive I have made. Hands down. Plus its only approximately 2 hours from NYC! Short and sweet – the perfect mini road trip to turn up the new Drake album too and for some off-road photoshoots!
As difficult as it was to initially walk past the blackjack tables without playing, the first stop my boyfriend and I made was to one of the multiple restaurants inside of the casino; Lotus. This spot offered an authentic Chinese dining experience with both family style and individual entre options. Despite being 20 feet away from the casino floor, the open style room was quiet and elegant, allowing us to enjoy a delicious meal before exploring the rest of the premises. The staff was super accommodating to my Vegan diet and made me the most delicious vegetable fried rice while my boyfriend enjoyed the Sichuan pepper shredded beef and honey lemon chicken.
After stuffing ourselves into mini comas and once again being painfully teased by walking past all the action at the blackjack tables, we checked in to our rooms with a very pleasant and helpful hotel staff. To be honest, I was not expecting the rooms to be as nice and stylish as they were. Huge bed, lots of closet and storage room, good view of the Catskills, and most importantly, an enormous bathroom with ample room to do my makeup. All in all, a very clean and sleek setup that happened to have the lamp I had been thinking about all week (recently bought and have in my home now). My boyfriend took this as an auspicious sign that we were destined to have a great weekend at the casino! To prove this theory, we left our temporary digs and hit up that sweet sweet casino.
After testing the gambling gods and having great experiences at the tables, almost all of which had very friendly dealers willing to help you learn to play along with pleasant senses of humor, we stopped at the 24 hour diner style restaurant for a late night (early morning) snack. Satiated and with a slightly heavier purse we retired to our bed for a very cozy nights sleep with the AC cranked up.
Day 2:
The second day was spent relaxing by the indoor pool and hot tub, next to cabana style tents with a full cocktail bar a stones throw away. Need I say more? Time floated by while sipping on spicy bloody marys in this mini paradise until we had the pleasure of going to the grand opening of Cellaio. Cellaio is RWC newest restaurant opened by celebrity chef Scott Conant. One might recognize Conant from his multiple appearances on the Food Network including his role as a judge on Chopped and Top Chef.
Day 3:
The last day was spent in peak relaxation mode. After a complimentary brunch and dip in the pool, I enjoyed a full body massage at the Crystal Life Spa while my boyfriend enjoyed a few last hours in the poker room. Afterwords I kept the self-care Sunday vibes going strong by enjoying their sauna and steam room in their relaxation lounge. If you’re like me, you’d want to leave plenty of time for this because you’ll never want to leave! I recommend getting a massage whenever possible. The stress of work and life weighs on all of our shoulders and therefore bodies. Taking the physical tension out easily translates into taking the mental tension out and this was just what I needed. A sublime ending to a wondering weekend at Resorts World Catskills!
…Until next time!