“I want it to be a house way more than I want it to be a hotel,” reflects Jonathan Picco, co-owner and general manager of Round Top resort Glen Falls House. And, indeed, it’s right there in the name.
“Obviously, we have all those basic [hotel] services, but I think the vibe here is a lot less precious,” Picco adds. “It allows people to really get back to themselves, run around naked (when it’s appropriate), let their hair down a little bit, and feel at home.” This is a laidback mission statement befitting of the nearly 150-year-old Catskills boarding house, which boasts 42 rooms (sleeping around 100 guests), multiple event spaces, a soon-to-reopen pool, hiking trails, and two waterfalls spread across its 47 acres.
Picco and his partner Greg Brier, of Brooklyn’s beloved nightclub The Good Room, bought the property in 2017. Under their stewardship, the Round Top resort has careered eagerly toward playground status, becoming known for its vibrant nightlife programming, including DJ-forward, “pseudo-festival” experiences that take over the bucolic property throughout the summer months. Picco’s words indicate a grounding ethos for the historic property—in continuous operation since 1881—encouraging an escape into the casual intimacy of the space they’ve crafted.
Willa’s at Glen Falls House
This spring, Willa’s—a beloved bakery and cafe formerly of downtown Catskill—has joined the complex ecosystem of merriment, becoming Glen Falls House’s onsite restaurant. Greg Hamm, owner and head baker at Willa’s, exudes excitement about the move, which was punctuated by a grand opening on May 20. “It seems to be a really great marriage of sensibility, aesthetic, what we’re going for, and who we’re serving,” Hamm says. “We’ve always said that we want Willa’s to feel like you’re eating in our home kitchen.”
Located in the Main House, just off the lobby, Willa’s is now open from 8am-2pm, Wednesday through Sunday, offering table service, takeout, and grab-and-go options to hotel guests, daytrippers, and locals alike. Hamm’s team—many of whom made the move with Willa’s to Round Top—seeks to replicate the welcoming, down-to-earth atmosphere they sustained in their Catskill space, while keeping an eye on opportunities for growth.
“It’s kind of just gangbusters here,” he says. “Everything we feel we can take on and do, we’re gonna do it.” Hamm and the Willa’s team have already catered one Glen Falls House wedding this spring, and look forward to expanding their operations further into private events, evening cookouts for guests, and potentially a sit-down dinner program in the future. Hamm is thrilled about the kitchen and dining room in the historic Main House, as well as the culinary possibilities promised by the property’s existing edible gardens.
“We’ve always been really proud of our food and beverage program here,” Picco shares, “but we’re more excited than ever to welcome the Willa’s organization to the property and to be working together and collaborating moving forward.” Picco is particularly pleased about adding a morning food option at Glen Falls House, which has, during his tenure, emphasized afternoon and evening festivities and culinary experiences. Willa’s offers a salve to this imbalance, offering breakfast, brunch, and lunch options, homemade baked goods, and much-needed coffee to sleep-weary partygoers, chipper new arrivals, and neighbors driving by on their way down the road.
This isn’t the first move for Willa’s, which Hamm and his partner, Andrew Buemi, originally opened in Hudson in 2019 before promptly shuttering after the onset of the pandemic. Reopening in Catskill in 2021, Willa’s operated successfully on Water Street for the duration of its five-year lease, which came up for renewal earlier this year.
It’s a Small World After All
The timing was perfect. Glen Falls House’s previous on-site restaurant, Trotwood, sadly closed last January after a chimney fire in the Tavern—the hotel’s primary event space and host to their famous dance parties. The fire halted operations in the Tavern and set back plans for the 2025 season, including the long-awaited grand reopening of the pool. Now, over a year later, Picco and his team have their sights set on a big season, marked by an overflowing event calendar and the imminent return of both the Tavern and pool.
That Willa’s lease in Catskill ran out just as plans for 2026 were incubating at Glen Falls House was, in many ways, simply kismet. But the connection means more to Picco and Hamm than that the winds of fate were on their side. It was chef Michelle Williams—once of the now-closed Mermaid Cafe in Catskill, later a member of the Glen Falls House team—who connected Picco and Hamm, recognizing an alignment in both their sensibilities and timelines that promised mutual benefit. “It’s a little bit a reflection of the small world that can be this part of Greene County,” Hamm explains, remarking on the intimate community of small independent businesses that brought him and Picco together. “It’s sometimes a small world, sometimes a big one, but in this case, the small worlds connected.”
The addition of Willa’s to the Glen Falls House campus adds to the sense that there’s a little something for everyone at the historic boarding house. This is a point of pride for Hamm, whose hope for Willa’s is indicated among the sparse text on his bakery’s website: “All are welcome.”
Promises of universal appeal always raise questions of access. Nightly room rates at Glen Falls House range from about $250-350, depending on the season. But while a room might not be in the cards for everyone, there are other ways to engage with all the property has to offer. Locals and daytrippers are welcome at Willa’s, where the cafe menu boasts numerous items at more than reasonable price points.
“I always wanted to make sure that you could get a cup of coffee for less than $3,” Hamm says. Aside from the $3 cup of drip, customers might avail themselves of the bakery’s signature cinnamon bun ($5.50), egg sandwich ($7), trademark “Willaquiles” ($14), or the very popular chicken curry melt ($14). For those looking to get the party started early, the Willa’s menu also includes local beer and cider, as well as traditional brunchy cocktails with a twist (think, bloody mary with a falafel garnish), that can be made non-alcoholic as well.
Visitors to Willa’s are invited to walk the woodland trails on the 47-acre property, and, once the pool is open, non-overnight visitors will be welcome to purchase day passes for $30 a person. Glen Falls House events, including their DJ’d Swim Club series, are open to the public, so long as non-guests check in at the front desk and obtain a wristband.
Hamm—himself a local of nearby Palenville—has long been a frequent visitor to Glen Falls House, where he’s attended parties, enjoyed dinner at Trotwood, and taken his dog, the namesake Willa, on walks through the secluded trails. Now, as part of the resort’s growing family, he looks forward to preserving the property’s community value while investing in a long and fruitful future. “Because you can just go out the back door, and grab whatever’s growing and fresh in the garden, because of the overall ambience, it really does just feel like you’re at home,” he says. “And that’s a really fun environment for a restaurant.”
Over the course of a century and a half, even as the local community, business landscape, and, indeed, even the surrounding mountains have evolved and adapted to a changing world, Glen Falls House has remained a steady (if shapeshifting) pillar of Greene County. It is with both great care and boundless enthusiasm that Willa’s becomes a proud part of its latest (though surely not final) iteration.
