Review: Beautiful Mount Airy, reinvented

Heart-shaped tubs a thing of the past, new resort aims high with fine dining, gaming, golf and a spa

MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — TreKKen’ followers of a certain age, namely my own over-35 (all right, all right: 40-plus) set,  who grew up in the New York and Philly metro areas will likely recall the once ubiquitous local TV commercial, with its ear-worm of a jingle, of decades ago for former honeymoon hideaway Mount Airy Lodge in northeastern Pennsylvania’s beautiful Pocono Mountains. The worse-for-the-wear lodge of heart-shaped bathtub fame is now long gone, torn down almost 10 years back. But the name remains, if in a slightly altered, updated and ameliorated form. What has changed is the game — literally.

A new, reimagined Mount Airy Casino Resort has risen on the same scenic, lakeside slopes, built from scratch to the tune of more than $400 million by new owner Louis DeNaples and his family. The 188-room resort now features a 62,000-square-foot casino with more than 2,500 slot machines and table games, as well as five restaurants; a spa, salon and fitness center; gift shops; a nightclub/theater; meetings and events space; and an 18-hole golf course.

Four Diamonds for Mount Airy

Investment is ongoing at the property, which sports an elegant mountain lodge look and feel that’s jazzed up on the exterior at night with changing multicolored lighting and, inside, by (mostly) tasteful contemporary decor and furnishings. It opened its state-of-the-art doors in November 2007 and within just two years was awarded AAA Four Diamond status. Whereas the focus of the former lodge was kitschy romance en suite and then a little outdoor fun, Mount Airy Casino Resort aims higher … and higher end. Fine dining, high-stakes gambling and luxuriant spa treatments are offer to today’s guests.

That’s not to say guest accommodations are an afterthought. Mount Airy’s oversize king, double queen and king suite units are spacious, “airy” (thanks to cathedral ceilings in many rooms) and sumptuous. All room categories boast a large bathroom with Gilchrist and Soames amenities (king suites have walk-in showers in addition to tubs), pillow-top beds, dresser and desk with leather chair, 37-inch LCD TV with pay-per-view movies, free high-speed Internet access, irons and boards, hairdryers, coffee/tea makers, minibars and safes.

I was invited to stay at Mount Airy on the occasion of the opening of its high-stakes poker room in late February, and was impressed by just how new the place still felt almost four-and-a-half years after it opening. I’m talking “new-car smell” here, if you know what I mean. Amazing, considering that, thanks to its full-service casino, Mount Airy hosts an awful lot of drive-in auto and motor coach day trippers from surrounding metropolitan areas — and therefore experiences its fair share of wear-and-tear. In fact, the casino was undergoing yet another round of renovations during my stay. (Improvements were being artfully handled with aplomb and expertise, so as not to impede on any gaming.)

Other works in progress or about to break ground back in February included construction of a Starbucks outlet (now open, java fiends!), new guest units and an outdoor pool, to be attached to the ground-floor spa, salon and gym complex. The pool will be a welcome outdoors addition to a main resort complex that’s still – what with the casino, restaurants and shows on offer inside – a largely indoors experience. After all, this is the beautiful Poconos we’re talking about.

New heights in mountain dining

Not a huge gamer, I pulled a few one-armed bandits during my two-night stay but steered clear of the tables (particularly those in the high-stakes room), opting instead to watch other gamblers while nursing drinks at the casino’s glitzy central Glass Bar. Where I did let loose was in four of the five on-site restaurants. Service and selections were top-shelf at both Red Steakhouse and Italian eatery Le Sorelle Cucina, which share a common bar with live music. (Food this good, in the “wilds” of Pennsylvania? Manhattanites will be pleasantly surprised.) A breakfast at Betty’s Diner of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries, washed down with a huge glass of OJ and a pot of coffee, more than satisfied, as did the nostalgic 1950′s-style decor (a huge print of the original Mount Airy Lodge that dominated one wall, meanwhile, warmed the cockles of my heart.)

Lunches were taken at The Buffet; need I say more? Regular visitors to casino resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City know what to expect from the eatery’s seven serving stations, as well as its Sunday Signature Brunch. Top-notch, reasonably priced self-serve eats for the (all-you-can-eat) picking. Pace yourselves, folks. With all the gobbling I did, I couldn’t squeeze a visit to Mount Airy’s fifth restaurant, the Noodle Bar — or, in fact, another bite at all — in.

Given the dusting of snow on Mount Airy’s grounds the weekend I stayed, I didn’t bother with golf (well, the course was actually closed and, anyway, I don’t know how to play). I did book a sports massage and much-needed manicure at The SPA at Mount Airy, the resort’s serene, silent and surprisingly under-utilized (at least during my stay) wellness center. Folks, I encourage you to take advantage of the place. Staff are warm, welcoming and adept at the art of inducing relaxation. It’s a good place to reinvest some of those casino winnings on site.

Or, come evening, you can instead buy a round of drinks, kick up your heels or secure tickets to one of Mount Airy’s regular headliner shows at Gypsie’s. Upcoming performers this summer include actress and singer Sandra Bernhard, pianist and composer Michael Feinstein, comedian Colin Quinn, KC & the Sunshine Band, R&B singer and songwriter Brian McKnight and even — attention, reality TV fans — Real Housewife of New Jersey Teresa Giudice and Jwoww and Vinny Guadagnino of MTV’s “Jersey Shore.”

Something in the air

So, who will you be rubbing elbows with while playing slots, downing filets mignon or taking in a show at Mount Airy? During my stay, clientele ran the (encouraging) gamut in age, ethnicity and apparent income level, from senior slots fans arriving by the busload from Brooklyn and Bayonne, N.J. to twenty-something locals out for a drink and a dance. Hotel guests checking in and out of reception, largely well-heeled, included both couples and families of all shapes and sizes. There’s something special for everyone — and in the air — up at the new Mount Airy. I give the place 4 out of 5 “toKENs.”

toKEN rating:

 

For more information such as rates, directions and bus-service schedules, or to book, visit www.mountairycasino.com.

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