Effective January 31, the Honor’s Haven hotel complex in Ellenville will no longer be honoring existing memberships for those using any of its facilities, which include a gym, spa, jacuzzi, and one of the few indoor tennis courts and indoor pools in the area.

Members were informed via email that their access to all facilities would end on January 31. Some people reached out to the reception staff, who have been there since before the ownership changes, and reported that reception said they “didn’t know anything.” The resort experienced a wave of memberships as the New Year turned over, and people were looking to move around as part of their New Year’s Resolutions or to escape the intensely cold weather.

The cancellation of memberships was surprising, but there were signs that new ownership had other plans for the facilities, particularly the tennis courts. There are three courts inside the building, in one large room. In November, tennis classes were cancelled because the rooms were being renovated and their contents were stored on the tennis court. Afterwards, ownership began parking cars on two of the three courts, leaving just one for players.

Some members said that people, believed to be staff, have sat in their cars and let them idle in the building, “smoking out” the players.

Attempts to reach out with staff to ask for an extension have been fruitless, as members say they’re not even sure who to speak to and can’t get past the generic inquiry email for the facility. We asked Honor’s Haven staff if these cancellations were permanent or temporary, and staff couldn’t answer.

Kamel Ibric, who signed up for a membership last week, after having realized that they’ve reopened from renovations and Covid closure, is frustrated by the news. “We just haven’t been told anything except, ‘unfortunately, we have to shut it down,’” he says. “Like, did we do anything wrong? … I don’t think [any of the members] would do anything wrong, but we never got a warning that we did anything bad.”

He had planned on reconnecting with tennis because without an indoor sport “there is literally nothing to do” in the winter months. But it’s not just himself he’s concerned with. He said a number of senior citizens used the pool and it was “the best exercise they could get” in this stretch of the county. The next nearest indoor pool we’re aware of is in Middletown, and the nearest indoor tennis court is in Goshen. That court, Matchpoint Tennis, charges $94 a month for court access. Honor’s Haven charged $70. Several members said they would have happily paid more, if that was the problem.

Honor’s Haven’s new ownership group, which took over in the summer, is a Buddhist group from Prince Edward Island, Canada. They have been a controversial presence in the province, which is investigating them for alleged violation of land ownership laws.

The group has said they intend to continue running Honor’s Haven as a hotel, but for the past few months it hasn’t accepted reservations for individual rooms, only for blocks of ten or more rooms. The group is also running a fundraiser for the construction of a monastery on a pre-selected parcel in upstate New York. There are some indications, but no confirmation, that it’s Honor’s Haven.