Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden

Fun time, make sure to check the tour times so you don’t have to wait. $15 for admission.

Most modern New Yorkers would have difficulty fathoming the notion that when the original structure was built in the 1790s this area was out in the country. This was still the case when this carriage house was converted to a hotel in 1826; it was a country escape for the day from the dirt and bustle of the city, which was, at the time, still a carriage ride away to the south. It really is a site to behold as it emerges from the neighborhood surrounding it when you approach the first time---such an out-of-place beauty amidst the concrete rectangles surrounding it.

This little museum in Manhattan is a must for anyone interested in heritage! It was a refreshing change to the major museums. As a heritage manager it was fantastic to see.

Lovely museum, interesting, nice atmosphere. Only guided tours

I tried to take a peek but was told they don't allow people to walk in. Strange for a museum.

Such an interesting piece of history of NYC. Very informative tour and an enjoyable way to spend an hour.

I can appreciate a historic site but maybe 19th Century houses and hotels are not really my thing. It was a bit small so looking through everything was pretty quick. It was interesting to see how life was back in the day and my favorite was the game room but I wasn't particularly impressed with the plastic props used throughout the rest of the house, like the food in the kitchen. It made it a bit cheesy in my opinion. The staff was very knowledgeable though and was not pushy about offering information and answering questions if we had them.

A hidden Upper East Side of New York gem that gives a glimpse of what the area was like in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. It's open all year. They hold seasonal events too and every tour guide gives their own point of view on the house's history. Admission is only 8 bucks for adults. Tours take about an hour. Well worth it.

It's too bad this site is only open on weekdays, but if you have a chance to go, this is a great historic site in Manhattan and a rare surviving 18th century building. First built as a "country house" of Abigail Adams Smith and her husband (hard to think of midtown being the country) it went through a lot of iterations as a house, a carriage barn, a tavern, a day hotel, and then saved and preserved by the Colonial Dames a hundred years ago. Surrounded by skyscrapers now, it's amazing that some history loves had the foresight to save this when so much progress and replacement developed around them. The tour started with a short informational video, and our tour guide took us through the rooms and explained the history of the house and what a day hotel was (just a place to get away from it all and hang out doing some indoor and outdoor activities, but not to stay overnight (except one guest who wrote extensive notes on how life was like at the time). The guide was pretty informed but stuck closely to a script. Any questions she kind of walked around and went back to her script, but it was still a lot of good information on a unique building. This place doesn't seem well-known and that's a shame. I think if they added tours on the weekends, they would really increase their awareness. Still, it was a unique spot in the city, and it's worth the visit.

First, here is a little bit of history I learned from the guide here that gives you an idea of this place. Back in the old days, the most northern point of Manhattan was Union Square. North of it was just the countryside and woods. It was considered a vacation back in the day to get on a horse carriage or take a boat up the East River to this part of Manhattan (which is now the east 60s). The Mount Vernon Hotel was built in 1799 and operated as a hotel at the time. It has been preserved as a museum. This place was so cool to walk through. It is actually pretty small with only a handful of guest rooms. There are several common rooms located throughout as well. There is a lounge area where guests were served drinks and would sit and play cards. There is also a dining room and an outdoor courtyard where guests would hang out.The furniture and all the decor have been maintained in an 1800s fashion. Being in here made me feel like I had gone back in time.

My friends and I attended one of the Halloween murder mysteries and we had a really good time. It's crazy to see this kind of building amidst the tall, shiny and new skyscrapers, but it has remained and serves as a lovely little recluse from the chaos of our present day city. The hotel museum is from a way, way bygone era, however I can only really speak to the murder mystery as that's what we had done (and i didn't learn much about the house) The murder mystery was a lot of fun and it was a bit challenging. We won within the first hour. It started on time, where the museum guide started explaining how it works, however, a lot of people arrived late, and it became a nuissance to stop every so often to restart. They can remedy this by just giving everyone 10 minutes to warm up, use the bathroom, read over the materials and then go into the explanation.

3.5 Stars Small museum that shows what a country hotel looked like in the 19th century. There's a dining area, kitchen, and men's parlor downstairs, while the upstairs has a ladies' parlor and single bedroom. In the back is a small, casual garden. This place was built in 1799 as a carriage house and converted to a hotel in 1826. There's not much information to read about the individual rooms but the docent told me that the furnishings and carpeting were much more luxurious than what the middle class would have had in their homes. People came up for the more lavish feel of the rooms, to have tea or drinks, to sew, chat, or play games and to get away from the city in general. Back in the 19th century, Manhattan ran up to 14th st so beyond was countryside. I would have given this museum 4 stars if there had been more information posted about the rooms and if pictures were allowed. I still enjoyed the visit, it's very quick, takes about half an hour. Skip the introductory video, it's super boring and doesn't focus enough on the subject of day hotels.

What a hidden gem in the UES! I've decided I like house museums, haha. This place is normally $8, but we came here for the free Smithsonian day. We luckily came at a good time (3pm), when the last tour was. Apparently, you need a tour, you can't just breeze through the rooms like I usually do, with my short attention span for museums. We had a very quick, ~25 min tour of the place. I liked how our tour guide was super quick with talking, and didn't drag anything out. She answered all of our questions as well. We saw how a turtle's shell was used as a baking dish, ways people kept their feet warm, I also liked seeing how people used a toaster back in the day (you turn it around by kicking it with your feet), the old playing cards, etc. The outside garden was small but pretty nice as well. She did, however, turn away people who came in at 3:30-she said they were done with tours, even though this place is supposed to be closed at 4pm. When we left at 3:35pm, she already put the "closed" sign on the window.

You really don't feel like you're in NYC when you're here. If you've run out of stuff to see in the city, or looking for something off the beaten path, head over here. There's a tour you can take and check out the garden. We got some nice history of the island and the nearby Roosevelt Island across the river. Fun fact, people used to vacation across at Roosevelt Island to get away from it all.

Our tour guide was so uninterested in our presence. She did not look like she wanted to be there. Our tour was half-assed and rushed through. No refreshments when we went. There were children in the museum having class which was sweet, but it did take away from the tour since they took up the room and we couldn't really get a good look. The experience was not worth the $7 (and this was the reduced student price!) it was overall a letdown. The backyard is beautiful though?

The concept of a day hotel seemed interesting to me. So this is what this place was once upon a time. It has quite some interesting history. Denise was the docent who conducted my tour. She's very knowledgeable and really into history. I gave it four stars and not five because the tour was a bit rushed and absolutely no pictures were allowed to be taken during the tour, only in the one exhibit room upstairs.

Very cool historical museum and event space. It's set so far away from things that you almost feel like you're not in NYC. Definitely not widely known, I'd never heard of this place before until I attended an event here. I came here for a tasting and talk on restaurant and dining history in NYC (what can I say, I'm a sucker for food and history). I was probably among the youngest people there by a good 30 years, but hey, that's cool. (Fun fact: Old people are just as grabby and food-hoarding with the edibles as the young whippersnappers they love to complain about.) The event itself was fine, although a little overpriced. The aforementioned refreshments were somewhat depleted by the elder folk by the time I got there, although I still managed to get a decent sampling. And while the speaker gave a nice talk, it turns out that I'm pretty knowledgeable of a lot of the content, cuz you know, I'm SO cultured and well-read. Nonetheless, the space is pretty nice and I do like that they have a lot of interesting events. I might even go to another one.

Worst museum ever! 1) The tour guide sucked. 2) They don't allow you to take pics. 3) Overcharge for what it is worth.

Went here last night for a murder mystery night. SO MUCH FUN. The museum itself is a beautiful piece of history. I will definitely go back and visit for a full tour but the night was a blast. The employees are awesome (Kaitlyn or Caitlyn or however she spells it lol) rocks! Really a great group of people who made the event even more fun. After the mystery, there was a cute little wine, cheese and cracker reception. Good times for sure. :)

Delightful oasis in Manhattan (formerly Abigail Adams Museum). Talk of not knowing you're in NYC... http://www.mvhm.org/

Hard to describe, though some of the other reviewers inadvertently did a good job. They used to call it the Abigail Adams house from 1939 to 1988 , but then they decided, since Abby never set foot in the place, that the name was a little misleading. So now it is totally focused on the one thing they know for sure, it was a day hotel for about 7 years (1826 - 1833). It's a whole museum dedicated to that period. They recreated what they think it looked like in that period and give tours focused on that concept. Sounds terrible right? Actually, it's adorable. The house itself is beautiful and completely out of place on 61st and 1st, which is cool. It's practically free ($8 per person) and you get a personalized tour for that price. We had a lovely asian woman give us an hour tour and she was so sincere and so sweet I tipped her a sawbuck at the end. When you feel like you've seen everything else in NYC, head over here.

Fun museum to visit to see what old New York City looked like.

This was a really charming way to spend an afternoon! We arrived forty minutes before the museum closed, but they were happy to have us and even offered us a private tour of the museum. Our guide was cheerful, informative, and super friendly with us throughout the tour, answering any questions we had as best as she could. I had never heard of a "day hotel" before this experience, and the history behind this type of business was really fascinating to me! The gardens were beautiful, and the price to see the place with a tour is very reasonable at $8 ($7 for students).

This place is such an amazing experience and such a wonderful piece of history. It's all around modern time and it's like a place stuck in time. If you love history and learning. You'll love this place.

Wonderful museum - a hidden gem. Friendly staff and the tour was informative. Would recommend! A must-see for history lovers.

Cool little museum that could be easily overlooked. It is worth stopping in and checking out, if only to get an idea of what a day hotel was and to try and imagine what it was like when this hotel bordered an empty field and stood alone in the wilds of Manhattan.

Wish Smithsonian Day Live was in the summer, because the garden definitely would've been our favorite part, but we were happy to settle on a nice tour of this esoteric spot.

Passed this place for years and was interested in what it was. It isn't anything at all. They advertise saying John Addam's daughter, Abigal, lived there but apparently her husband couldn't afford the place after it was built. So they never even set foot in the place. After that, it was turned into a carriage house. After that, an electric company took over clearing everything out so nothing at the museum is original. All of the rooms are made up of thrift shop buys and designed on what they thought used to be there years ago.... I really wanted to like it, but nothing there was original and there isn't any interesting history at all. Quite small too. You would have a much better time going to the Frick or the Morris-Jumel Mansion where Washington actually lived during the Revolution. Looks nice on the outside, but that's about it.

An exquisite experience! Extremely under rated- probably because of location which can't be changed in a landmark. I really really enjoyed this as a native New Yorker studying interior design. This really is a MUST see for anyone in the design industry or any history buff. It really gives you insight into how Manhattan was, transporting you back in time. A great spot to hit up if you are visiting the city and going to Central Park, Serendipity, the D+D building, Eileen Lane Antiques or Bloomingdales. I am really upset I waited until now to see this as it's always changing and I work nearby.

Great $8 tour with lots of history here - carriage house, stables, day hotel, family residence and more. Too bad you can't take photos inside here.

As someone else beat me to saying, a lovely oasis on the east side of Manhattan. Worth seeing, and the guides are very nice, informative and helpful.

Especially for a European, affects the functionality and comfort of visiting this interesting artistic and cultural center. Add value to the city and from the point of view of culture, in addition to the University, does not offer much.