FEATURES | CITY GUIDES
The Maker Knows How to Slow Down
The lavish Hudson hotel provides a seductive home base for a weekend of French cooking, country roads, and very little urgency.
THE MAKER | MAP | INSTAGRAM
By Dana Somerstein | Aug. 19, 2026
The Maker
AUTHOR BIO: Dana Somerstein’s passport is stamped with perfect pizza slices, delicate dumplings, and buttery baked goods. When she’s not chasing her next reservation, she practices real estate and banking law as a partner in Fort Lauderdale.
There comes a point every summer when Manhattan begins to feel like the city that never cools down.
The sidewalks radiate heat, subway platforms feel airless, and the pace that usually energizes the city starts to wear you down. The instinct is often to point the car toward the Hamptons, but with that comes traffic and try-hards.
Instead, head north.
Two hours from Manhattan, Hudson has quietly become one of the Northeast’s most compelling weekend destinations. Hudson offers the chance to slow down without sacrificing style. It’s a place where exceptional restaurants, thoughtful design, independent shops, and easy access to the outdoors create an escape that feels elevated and refreshingly unpretentious.
A stay at The Maker is a fitting Hudson home base. Housed across three restored historic buildings, the hotel is more than a place to rest your head. Every room feels intentionally collected rather than decorated, layered with antiques, rich textiles, art, and European influences that reward lingering. Mornings begin over coffee and a twice-baked pistachio croissant in the cafe, afternoons drift between galleries and boutiques, and by evening, you’ll find yourself reluctant to leave its intimate cocktail lounge.
Scallop Rockefeller at SERRE
Dinner the first night belongs at SERRE. Set inside a greenhouse in the Maker, the restaurant blurs the line between indoors and out, embracing the surrounding landscape as naturally as the menu itself. Seasonal ingredients from the Hudson Valley headline dishes that are refined without feeling overly planned, highlighting the quality of the region’s farms and producers. As daylight fades through the glass walls, it’s a proper introduction to a Hudson summer night.
The next morning, follow your appetite. Begin at Mel the Bakery, where naturally fermented breads, pastries, and brewed coffee draw locals and weekend visitors before the doors open. In a weekend full of amazing bites, one of the best was the square shishito sweet corn cheddar pastry with flaky croissant corners. If bagels are non-negotiable, head to Circles, open Friday through Monday. It’s formerly a pop-up started out of the local cult classic, Lil’ Deb’s Oasis. The hand-rolled sourdough bagels at Circles have quickly earned a reputation that extends well beyond Columbia County. Pick up a few extras—you’ll be grateful later.
Latremore egg sandwich at Mel’s
If the plan for the day is to bop between coffee shops, galleries, and antique stores in town, take a stroll off Main Street to Kitty’s Market, which captures the valley’s relaxed spirit. The coffee is a treat, and there are plenty of locally made snacks in the market. Across from the train station, Kitty’s is a good grab-and-go for the ride back to the city.
Kitty's cinnamon roll
Talbott & Arding matzo ball soup
During adventures outside Hudson, grab a sandwich from Mel’s to bring on your hike, or make a stop at Talbott & Arding, an institution. Equal parts gourmet market, cheese shop, and pantry, it’s ideal to assemble provisions for an afternoon outdoors: crusty bread, local cheeses, charcuterie, fresh fruit, and something sweet to finish.
Then leave town behind. One of Hudson’s greatest luxuries is how quickly civilization gives way to nature. Within a short drive, winding country roads lead to forested trails, rushing waterfalls, and a quiet empire of unmanned farmstands with fresh produce that operate on honor systems. They’ve inspired artists, writers, and weekend wanderers for generations. Spread out a picnic, hike to a cascading waterfall, or enjoy the rare luxury of hearing little more than birdsong and moving water.
Stissing House pot roast vegetables
One dinner worth venturing beyond Hudson is in nearby Pine Plains at Stissing House. The menu changes with the seasons, showcasing vegetables and meats sourced from neighboring farms. Lit almost entirely by candlelight, the restaurant glows amber, like sitting inside a lantern. Flickering candlelight bounces off wooden beams and dances between farm tables full of dinner guests. It’s the “tavern grandma” to Nancy Meyers’ “coastal grandma,” and the closest I will come to eating inside a Jane Austen novel. The cooking is deceptively simple, built on great ingredients and the confidence to let each one shine. This restaurant encourages settling in rather than rushing through courses. Before I knew it, I'd spent the entire evening chatting with our server Eric about the type of olive oil that coated the artichokes and getting a recommendation for a new hike. Whatever else is ordered, finish with the coconut cake alongside a scoop of the restaurant’s homemade ice cream—we chose sour cherry. Finish the feast with a sfumato and then roll home while keeping an eye out for families of deer.
We spent the next day chasing waterfalls (bcc: TLC), and then heading back to The Maker, which has perfected Hudson Valley-style hospitality. I sank into a deep soaking tub before dinner, and while we were out, the staff quietly transformed our room. We returned to find chamomile tea, CBD gummies waiting on the nightstand, and soft music playing through the speakers. It is a kind of understated luxury that made us feel completely comforted and cared for. By morning, a hot pot of coffee and The New York Times waited just outside the door, the hotel anticipating exactly how we wanted to begin the day. Malcolm Gladwell famously wrote that mastery comes after 10,000 hours of practice. If that's true, The Maker has surely put in the time. Every detail feels intentional, every gesture effortless. It's perhaps no surprise that Gladwell himself has been known to spend mornings on the park bench outside the hotel, coffee from the bakery in hand, writing as the town slowly wakes around him.
The Maker conservatory
By Sunday afternoon, the return to Manhattan feels surprisingly manageable, not because we were eager to get back, but because the weekend did exactly what it was supposed to do.
The salon
One of The Maker's 11 rooms
Hudson doesn’t ask to see and be seen. It invites slowing down, eating well, sleeping deeply, and reconnecting with the simple pleasures that city life so often pushes aside. For Northeasterners looking to escape the summer heat, craving something more restorative than another sundown DJ set (no velvet ropes, no impossible beach reservations, and no pressure to perform), few destinations offer a better balance of design, dining, and natural beauty.
Sometimes the best escape isn't the one everyone else is chasing. It's the one waiting just up the river.
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