BEAR MOUNTAIN INN: WHERE HISTORY UNFOLDS

Nestled at the base of Bear Mountain along the Appalachian Trail, the historic Bear Mountain Inn is the idyllic getaway for any adventurer, romantic, or outdoor enthusiast. Between the natural splendor, historic lodging, and three convenient dining facilities, Bear Mountain offers one of the best respites from the buzz of the big city.

Just 45 minutes from New York City, the property provides a collection of unique accommodations, including the Inn itself, the Overlook Lodge, and the Stone Cottages, all with their own charming personality. We also provide three recently revamped dining facilities; Restaurant 1915, Hikers Café, and Stand 10.

Bear Mountain Leadership

Bear Mountain is led by Seif Fakhoury as General Manager and David Reguerio as Executive Chef. Since joining Guest Services in 2021, the property has made outstanding improvements to its facilities, staff, restaurant, catering, events, and more.

“Seif brought in a brand standard strategy that hadn’t really been experienced at Bear Mountain before… He’s fostered a more detail-oriented, cohesive team. This is a tremendous improvement to the guest experience, and it’s something very noticeable both on property and online as we’ve also seen reviews improve,” says Laura Sherman, Vice President of Hospitality.

“He was hired on the back end of the worst of COVID, which enabled him to take lead on a lot of projects that needed attention at the property. Throughout this past year, the team was able to upgrade many of our facilities. The Overlook Lodge, Restaurant 1915, Hiker’s Café, and many other customer touch points received new flooring, paint, and an overall refresh,” says Sherman.

A Revitalized Restaurant

The Restaurant 1915 is a New York State staple and an incredibly historic place to enjoy a delicious meal. David Reguerio was hired to lead the revitalization of this beloved restaurant and bring the Bear Mountain culinary experience back to its pre-COVID glory.

“David re-opened Restaurant 1915 and created a completely new menu with items from scratch. He also rejuvenated catering menus with better products and modernized offerings, leading to higher quality and guest satisfaction,” says Fakhoury.

Tracey Burns was recently introduced as the Sales & Catering Manager and also played a significant role in the 2022 successes at Bear Mountain. “Tracey oversaw the sales and catering teams. She led the modernization of catering menus to meet market demands, and did an outstanding job networking and connecting with the local community,” says Fakhoury. “Tracey and David were also pivotal in the development and execution of our first Oktoberfest in years.”

Oktoberfest Returns

This grand event had run for more than a decade leading up to the pandemic. After almost a full year of preparations and cooperation between nearly every department at GSI, the Bear Mountain Inn team put on an exciting, successful 2022 event. Complete with a tasty beer selection, pretzels, bratwursts, and other delectables, live Volksmusik, themed activities, assorted vendors, and much more, guests were welcomed by a barrage of German culture celebrations.

The event didn’t come without challenges, including parking problems, IT complications such as Wi-Fi in a remote area, weather, and other unanticipated hurdles. It was paramount for Seif Fakhoury and his team to learn from each weekend and train staff members to maintain a steady operation.

“I think what went operationally well was that we had everyone trained in all the different areas that needed help, all team members and managers. So whenever there was a call on the radio that a station needed support, we could send people over. Special thanks to all team members who really helped us focus operationally each day, including Sydney Mazzei, Ricky Straniere, Daniel Regueiro, and Tracey Burns. They helped us set up, clean up, and ensure all guests were happy and having a good time.”

Thank you to all Bear Mountain team members who went above and beyond during Oktoberfest!