The Erie Hotel & Restaurant

Reviews 4

JO

Jon "maddog" Hall

First of all, let me say I am a 61-year old male who was in Port Jervis on business which will flavor some of this review. I had stayed in another hotel 10 miles away from Port Jervis on a Thursday night, but had car trouble the next day which required my car to be in the shop overnight. So Friday night I decided to stay at the Erie Hotel, which was very convenient to the repair shop. I ate two dinners at the Erie (Thursday and Friday), both of them the largest cut (and it was large) of prime rib they had, and the food was great. The beer was even better, as they had eight craft beers on tap as well as some good "national" brands. The back-bar was great, carved from wood, and the atmosphere was also good. The staff and the clientele were very friendly. Friday night I stayed at the hotel. I asked for a quiet room, but unfortunately the only one left was on the first floor, right at the front of the building, right over the door to the restaurant/bar where the patrons would congregate to smoke cigarettes and talk very loudly. Also unfortunately (for me) it was Friday night and they had live music. While the web site talks about a kitchen closing time of 10 P.M. and the sign outside talks about a closing time of 11 P.M., the band was still playing loudly (I could feel the vibrations of the base in my pillow) at 1:30 A.M. Saturday morning. After the band finished they were playing the house music system, which was still very audible in my room, but after I went downstairs and politely complained at 2 A.M. they turned it down enough that (with earplugs) I could get to sleep. Normally I would not have minded and would have joined in the fun (the band was actually pretty good), but I was tired, and I had asked for a quiet room, which should have clued the staff member to say "Sir, I think you might want to look some other place". I was able to sleep only four hours. The room and bath were very clean, and the bed was comfortable but the room itself was small (as others have mentioned). I regretted having no desk of any type to put my laptop on while I read email. Yes, they had wireless. I do not know if the WiFi reached to the top floor of the hotel, but it worked fine in my room. A good breakfast diner was one-half mile away (15 minute stroll). Bottom line: Probably most nights the Erie would have been a great sleep for the money (half the price of my other hotel room), and having an extensive menu and great beers at the same place you are staying is also good. Particularly if they are craft beers of higher-than-normal alcohol (which they were). If I was not expecting to get up early to try and get my car "in gear" and continue my business, I probably would have loved staying up to hear the band play until 2 A.M. After all, it was a Friday night and only old cranks like me might have to get up early the next day instead of cuddling with a significant someone in a bed to a decent time of the morning. If you are a couple and "antiquing", a night or two in the Erie would probably be right up your alley.

JO

Josh Kimble

Went with my girlfriend for my birthday dinner, cost for 2 was about $50 with a small tip due to server disappearing many times for 20 minutes or more, we almost left the restaurant twice. It was moderately busy and it took 15 minutes for them to even recognise we needed a table because all the severs just kept asking us to move between the please wait here to be seated sign and the door multiple times. After the hostes recognised we needed to be seated it took another 10 minutes to be seated in a backroom near the kitchen that appeared to be best suited to private events and not general dining. Once seated out waitress introduced herself and walked away for 10 minutes to return to take our drink order, we each ordered a draft beer which took a reasonable 5-10 minutes to arrive. After that she disappeared for 25 minutes and we had finished our first round of drinks before being able to place even an appetizer order. We almost walked out at this point but she returned as we were about to get up. We skipped the appetizer, and my girlfriend ordered a chicken finger platter, and I a specialty burger that had BBQ sauce bacon and cheddar cheese, along with another round of beer, though I changed my beer to try another of the craft beer selection. Our beers came at the same time as our food, cudos to the kitchen for speedy service. My beer however tasted like the keg had gone bad and it took several attempts to get anyone to find our server who didnt want to take the beer back without charging for it even with only one sip out of it. After arguing with me for 5 minutes she saw the bartender walking by and asked him and he quickly replaced it with my typical selection of Stella as I didnt want to be disappointed again. In conclusion the foods decent and the kitchen and bar operate well, however it seems the servers and management of the restaurant need improving. I wouldnt dine again if they seemed anywhere near as busy, and would flat out refuse to dine in the back room by the kitchen. Two stars for service, three to four stars for food. Expect a bill slight more expensive than other venues in the area.

4G

4garyian

This review is of the hotel, not the restaurant. We had a wedding in PJ and booked a weekend, Fri-Mon. The Erie’s location was very convenient. First red flag – see bartender for room registration and keys. No hotel desk/clerk. No parking. Park on street at own risk and if you’re lucky you might park near the hotel. The room was on the second floor, over the bar. No elevator. A steep and narrow single flight of 19 stairs (almost two flights elsewhere) led to the room. Pack lightly, because it’s a climb. The room was clean but small; a queen bed, one nightstand, one dresser, and one chair in the closet. Nothing else could fit. Bathroom was tiny with a shower stall – no tub. TV was on dresser but if you watched from the bed, the footboard partially blocked your vision. An A/C was in the only window, and that was right next to my pillow, so it blew directly on my head at all times. The bed, or box spring, creaked loudly every time you sat down or moved. We got back from the wedding at midnight Sat. The adjacent Tiki Bar was in full blast mode, cranked up to 11. When the Tiki Bar finally closed, the restaurant music was still loud. Late night stragglers laughed and shouted outside until 2:30 AM. That happened on Friday night as well. Sunday night it was quiet. We ate only one lunch in the restaurant, and it was good. Would not recommend the hotel, unless you’re part of that late night partying crowd. There’s a reason it was not expensive.

A

A Private User

In May 2008 my wife and I took a motorcycle trip to the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway to get away and relax. The area is beautiful and there is plenty enough to do for all tastes and budgets. The Erie Hotel was VERY clean and extremely kind to the wallet. Since we rode for much of the day, we simply wanted to grab a quick meal, have a few cocktails, and grab some sleep before hitting the road again. We stumbled upon the Erie Hotel and it had everything - all in one building. There was the bar, the restaraunt, the outdoor cafe, live music, and guest rooms.. Perfect... The staff is very friendly and accomodating. The managent noticed we came in on a bike and offered an employee parking spot to us in the back. Extremely nice of them... We passed on the offer though and wound up paking in the lot right under our room - for us Harley guys, being close to the bike is very important. Like I said, our room was VERY clean - bathroom too. The bed was comfortable - I think thats noteworthy. Not the fanciest place out there but I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a CLEAN, inexpensive stay - with friendly service and good food.