The Bear Mountain Inn, the Cottages and the Overlook Lodge are all beautiful.
However, Bear Mountain State Park right next to Hessian Lake is absolutely filthy. People barbecue and picnic and they leave a terrible mess.
Another issue when we were there was a very loud wedding party in our building. The party did not run late by adult standards for a weekend night, but we have young children and early bedtimes, so we think we should have been informed about the party in advance . That way, we could have chosen a different building, if available, or a different weekend.
In our view, the main draw to this area is the natural beauty. We enjoyed hiking in the forest, and the views of the mountains and the Hudson River very much.