Luxury Hotel Brand Habitas Struggling in Staatsburg

Luxury hotel brand Habitas made its United States debut in 2022 in Staatsburg, a sleepy hamlet in the Hudson Valley. It’s barely 2025, but Habitas-on-Hudson already appears to be a goner.

The property appears to have closed after being inundated by legal concerns almost immediately after opening, the Times Union reported. It’s unclear if the closure is temporary or permanent; representatives for Habitas did not respond to a request for comment.

In December 2023, the landlord group — composed of a trio including a company run by hotelier André Balazs — sued Habitas over missed rent payments. The hotel allegedly owed more than $300,000 in rent and late fees, plus $1.3 million for failed upgrades agreed to in the property lease.

A federal judge awarded the landlord $3 million in damages last year after Habitas missed a court date.

That’s not the extent of Habitas’ legal turmoil. The Commissioners of the State Insurance Fund sued the property twice last year for allegedly failing to pay workers’ compensation insurance. The state Workers’ Compensation Board also filed a lawsuit in March.

Rooms at Habitas-on-Hudson were going anywhere from $550 to $1,000 a night. The manor house of the property included six guest rooms, while there were another 16 rooms in two satellite buildings.

Balazs acquired the property in 2017, but bailed on his boutique hotel plans when the pandemic disrupted the industry. Balazs ultimately brought in Habitas co-founder Oliver Ripley, who said after the hotel’s opening that the company’s “next step was to spread our mission and ethos to a place one wouldn’t expect,” meaning Staatsburg.

Habitas’ business is rooted in high-end glamping and luxury resort-type experiences. Its properties are located in far-reaching places such as Tulum, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Agafay Desert.

— Holden Walter-Warner