We are three couples who have been vacationing and going on overnight stays for 30 years or more. We saw this Hilltop Lodge Glamping Resort offer on "Deal Chicken.com" and thought we'd give it a try. We have all camped for many years, so we are familiar with the concept.This place made it sound a bit better than camping,by offering motel style rooms and a Lodge to have dinner and breakfast ,(part of the overnight package). We we not expecting a chain hotel type of stay, but we were expecting a clean and relatively updated accommadations . Unfortunately that was'nt the case. The rooms were from the sixties and had never had anything done to them. Rugs were stained and filled with dead bugs, which must have came in the 2 inch gap under the door. Tile was lifting off the floor, bugs in the bathrooms, and cobwebs lining the old curtains.None of us were willing to stay even though it was already paid for. Also as I mentioned before, the package offer included dinner which was advertised as off the menu. Upon arrival,(before seeing the rooms), the owner/chef told us dinner would be a buffet including Meatloaf and possibly Turkey. There was no mention of a menu. We were trying to be congenial and said ok, but after seeing the rooms that were offered, we told them we couldn't stay. Their response was "it's glamping, and the sheets are clean". Needless to say this "Deal was a Dud"

My husband and I got a Groupon and thought we might try this for a one night relaxation trip, not too far from our home in the Rochester NY area. We are NOT campers, but have done similar trips when our children were young in W. Virginia state parks, renting a cabin and hiking in the woods (highly recommend W. Virginia state parks, btw). The photos on line made me a bit skeptical, but dinner & breakfast were included in the price, so we thought, "how bad could it be?" Well, let me just say that the people were very friendly. The owner is the cook, and apparently this used to be a public restaurant and bar. The dining room is rustic in a 100 year old redwood building. Lots of animal heads on the wall of the dining room, and a very nice stone fireplace which was lit for us. We arrived at 2 p.m. and were told where our room was. The photo that is on the Hilltop website of the cabin is accurate, and the room picture, was as well. It smelled of a freshly cleaned bathroom, which was good; however, the tile of the floor was circa 1960 although the tub/shower was new fiberglass. The sink was ok, but there was a rusty stain in the area of the spillover drain and it leaked water when the hot spigot was turned on. Other than that, the carpeting was old, marks were on the walls and the furniture was in desperate need of replacement (holes in the furniture from where other things had been) and the decor was a throwback to the orange/gold of the late 60's/early 70s. The beds were ok for sleeping. Clearly this was not "glamorous" camping. Far from it! It was adequate, and we put off spending much time in the room! There was a nice gazebo to sit in on the property and an artificial pond with a tiny bridge. Nearby was a campground that we walked to for a nice view of the hills.

The dinner was ok. There were friendly servers, who also take care of the room cleaning. They were very accommodating. There were 5 choices for dinner. My husband had the halibut in lemon-butter and I chose the Chicken Parmesean. My husband said the fish was rather tasteless (it came with a baked potato, and corn on the cob, plus onion soup and a salad with Italian dressing). My Chicken Parm was rather bland, but I must credit the chef for not making the sauce too salty. The entree was also served with spaghetti and corn on the cob. I, too had the onion soup (I believe it was freshly made and not at all salty) and the salad (served in a large bowl that you could dish out yourself with the dressing already on it.) We also were served garlic bread which were actually round rolls split in two (quite tasty). For breakfast we had our choice of 3 different omelets or French toast. I had a bacon & cheese omelet, and my husband had a cheese omelet. These were very good. We were served toast and hash browns on the side. A 4 oz. orange juice was also served and coffee/tea were offered.

The location of this was quite a rural area of NY with not too much to do other than explore elsewhere. We took a trip into Olean (14 miles away) and saw that town. There was a maple syrup restaurant that we found along the way that looked lovely (Spragues). The Pennsylvania line is close by as is the Allegany National Forest. Some other folks who were visiting brought bicycles and apparently were happy with the opportunities in the area to do some biking.

All I can say is that I felt that I was not in a clean enviornment and I couldn't wait to get home!

We visited the Hilltop Lodge using a Groupon -- we paid $135 for a "getaway package" which included lodging, dinner and breakfast (billed as a $275 value). This was a fair price to pay for the experience - $275 would have been a bit pricey! One needs to think of the accomodations as being "glamorous camping" (as Glamping implies) and not a resort! Our room was clean and the bathroom had been updated. In general, however, the furnishings were dated, including the TV and microwave. There were 2 double beds. Our room did not have air conditioning, but did have a ceiling fan, and was surprisingly comfortable given that temperatures were in the 90's that day - but much cooler on the hilltop. The owner told us that only one unit has air conditioning and offered to move us (we were the only guests on Wednesday evening), but it was not necessary to do so. It was interesting to walk about the property, which included a gazebo (comfortable but could have used a good cleaning), a look out with a "long view" and a pond with a fountain. These features contrasted with the rusty implements, couple old cars and old RV parked on the property. One could walk or drive over to the neighboring Sunnyhill camping area and use their pool for $1.00, if so inclined (did not look that inviting to us). The best part of the experience was definitely the meals - cooked by Richard and served by Ronda. Richard asked us what we would like to eat from a few choices - and prepared a very good shrimp scampi, salad and pineapple cake. For breakfast we had ham and cheese omelets, home fries and toast. The Lodge where we had our meals used to be a "fine dining establishment" open to the Public and had a lot of interesting history connected to it - there was a scrapbook to read all about it. Apparently, Richard is "retired" now and only cooks for his guests. The walls of the Lodge were adorned with several wild game trophies - not our thing, but would be very interesting to some. Alcohol was available in the Lodge but Richard told us we could bring our own wine to dinner. As we were to be the only guests for the evening, Richard called us in the morning to confirm and told us to just let ourselves into our room if he wasn't there to greet us. He was there when we arrived, however, and provided us with a wine bucket and wine glasses. I would probably go back here if another deal were offered. Richard was a most gracious host and it was very relaxing!