Hi, I will be attending the Irish Arts Week in East Durham in the Catskills in July. This will be my first time there. ( Very much looking forward to it!) Can anyone offer a recommendation on reasonablly priced lodging in the area?
The CIAW site offers some accomodations, but never having been there I have no idea on the places. I 'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks, Vince
Lance,
For the true budget minded you can stay at one of the campgrounds nearby. I did that last year (the Pot 'o Gold), but won’t repeat there. It was too far to drive back and forth to after the late sessions and I found myself crashing too early to enjoy the full event worrying about finding my way back. Many of the better/more central hotels are already booked, most times a 1/2 year or more in advance. The Shamrock is central and includes a “meal plan”, though it is under new management. There is another campground nearby, I think the Blackthorne http://www.greenetourism.com/listings/blackthorne-campgrounds, that a lot of attendees seem to stay at and is local enough to be a fair walk from many of the evening activities. If you plan on attending sessions thoughout the week, and drinking in the bars they are held in, you might want to stay somewhere fairly close to Gavin’s or Furlongs. My recommendation is to not go for the false economy of staying far out of town at a motel; you may end up missing out on the good crack that is a big part of the attraction. I’m sure others will have suggestions as well.
Good luck with whatever you choose.