The Pines Resort – Another Notch on the Borscht Belt

Greg McAvoy
November 23, 2022

So Which Notch is This?

The lesser known, younger brother to the Grossinger’s Resort – The Pines Resort. And what do these two resorts have in common? They both look like trash and are beyond abandoned. It was one of the many resorts located within the Catskills that has now fallen into disrepair. These resorts, based on their alignment within the Catskills, welcomed the nickname the “Borscht Belt”.

Another nickname, which for the record I absolutely did not coin, is the “Jewish Alps”. This was due to the resort’s popularity amongst the wealthy Jewish families hailing from New York City at the time, who still faced prejudice from the war. The Pines Resort, amongst other resorts at the time, provided a nice summer and fun winter getaway for these families from the city. Not to mention escaping all the unnecessary antisemitism the city had to offer.

From Humble Beginnings

Located in Fallsburg, New York, the Pines Resort was originally known as the ‘Daisy View Hotel’. It offered something precious that not many places in 1920 could compete with – running cold and hot water. After a devastating forest fire attacked the Daisy View, it was replaced with a new hotel known as the “Moneka Hotel”.

[Just as an aside, let’s touch back on this place being favored for having hot water. Imagine how drastically different your life would be if you did not have zero hot water. Cold showers. Cold ramen. Hot chocolate that isn’t hot. Crazy, but that is why we have the microwave.]

The Moneka was later sold to Harry Cohen and May Schweid, and from there, the Pines Hotel was born. It was later renamed the ‘Pines Resort’, and it quickly became one of the heavier hitters with the Catskills resort population.

Kids - Young and Not Dumb

There was not one single reason in particular for the decline of the ‘Borscht Belt’. Keep in mind, what made these resorts so popular in the 1940-1960s was the lingering antisemitism from World War II. These resorts were an escape from that. As those feelings from the non-Jewish community, gentiles one might say, began to dissipate, the resort’s popularity dissipated with it.

Soon, the younger Jewish population began to seek more air-travel-necessary destinations. As they should by the way. How dare anyone be mad at these young men and women doing their thing on a beach in Aruba as opposed to upstate New York. C’mon. The nerve. Anyways, as popularity decreased within the generation responsible for keeping the Pines Resort alive, so did the upkeep.

It began experiencing structural issues that they just did not have the revenue stream to accommodate and correct. Eventually, the roof of one of the hotels located within the resort collapsed in 1996. Shortly after, the resort permanently shut its doors in 1998. It was later bought by the Fallsburg Estate LLC to redevelop. They actually did the exact opposite. Instead, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fully missed their mark.

The Pines Resort Now

As of 2022, the Pines Resort lies in complete shambles. Due to the amount of water damage and decay, the resort is permanently damp and moldy. Other parts of it look like they have fallen victim to arson – nothing new if you have read any of my posts before this. Whether it be arson or water damage, the Pines Resort has seen better days.

Our Experience

We pull up in my late grandmothers white 1997 Volvo that still uses the cassette-aux cord and we park on the side. The only signs of civilization are the houses we pass that rested in the neighborhood behind. We walk down what I imagine is a drop off luggage-type area and into the lobby.

The entire place is stripped. Metal beams and other types of scaffolding hang real low from the ceilings. Per usual, the air was incredibly chilly. Chillier than the air outside to say the least. When it is time to walk on any floor that isn’t concrete, our feet sank right into the floor. The entire floor feels like an old wet sponge, but it looks like the sponge had a child with some diseased moss. I do not recommend going alone into the building due to the structural hazards.

There are many places we could not explore due to how much decay the Pines has experienced. Many floors are collapsed in the middle, and at the time we were just not ready to find out how close to the doorway that decay extended towards. Therefore, a majority of it is ground floor and outdoor exploration. Like the idiots we are, we forget flashlights and like the clams we are, we didn’t go into the basements because of that.

This. Damn. Pool.

From the jump, the indoor pool is a concept we find very intriguing. From the pictures we saw on the internet about it, it looked awesome. However, it became impossible to find. We search for almost an hour and a half. I am losing it at this point. I could not discern between reality and illusion because everything else was literally right there. Where the f**k is this indoor pool? Eventually, and to our dismay, we realize the ‘indoor’ pool is no longer indoor. The building around had been demolished, leaving just another regular old outdoor pool. Real neat.

Haunted Basement or Baby Rat

Cangro and I actually ended up going back a second time with my brother, and with flashlights of course. Luckily for us, he has no disregard for his safety as well as no disregard for any paranormal activity that could possibly occur in the basements of a place like this. As we crept down, the sound of dripping water only got louder. When we reached the basement, we stood there with our flashlights, illuminating every corner possible and joked why we hadn’t come down earlier.

Then, we heard a plastic can slightly move across the floor in the back behind a corner we couldn’t see around, and we booked it out of there. Clams. Other than that, the Pines Resort has nothing supernatural to offer. It was a happy place that offered an oppressed group of people at the time a chance to have a ton of fun. It makes sense it would be quiet.

Overall...

Regardless of the indoor pool now being an outdoor pool, the Pines Resort was an incredible place to check out. As I said before, the entire place itself is relatively unstable in some locations. If you do ever get the chance to check it out, there is a lawn chair laid right outside the highest door of this one hotel building. IF you ever have the opportunity to climb up there and lounge out, even if only for a second, we would love to know. We could not find it. Amateurs, right. [Just make sure you’re making your safety a number one priority.]