About Us

By: Mark Kauffman

Growing up as a kid I loved coming to the mountains with my dad and grandfather. Staying at  the hunting cabin they belonged to. I hated going home on Sundays!  

I would tag along with my dad in the woods. Make him take me fishing deep in the woods for  native brook trout.  

I would grow up to make my college decision on my love of the mountains of PA. I remember before the age of cell phones my dad called my dorm room during finals week, asking me to go look at a cabin for sale in Slate Run. I drove up and looked at the cabin. It was a  dump, but the location was great. We ended up purchasing it and had it totally redone.

I was able to spend my free time in the mountains as much as I wanted! In the spring of 1999 while on vacation fishing, I learned that Hotel Manor was still for sale. Later that day while in the local flyfishing shop I asked Tom Finkbiner about the Hotel Manor. I’ll never forget what he told me. He said it has three things: location, location, and location! I stood there looking at him and he continued to explain the location had endless opportunities. While I was helping my father with the family business in Lancaster I dreamed of living in the mountains. With his  blessing and his help, I purchased Hotel Manor in May of 2000. That is where the journey began.  

Sweat equity can you truly put a value on it? I had an uphill battle, so many things needed done but I knew I could do it. To be able to wake up and enjoy your coffee overlooking Pine Creek every morning was worth it. I soon gained the support of the people who visited the area every year. Things were going well until the morning of May 12 ,2004. Fire destroyed the Hotel.  

I had just turned 31 days before the fire. Devastated, I knew I could not be the one to let this  landmark die! After the crying and support from all across the country we got to work. The  amount of help and support from businesses and clients and employees and friends made it  possible. Looking back, it has been worth the struggles to be able to live in the mountains.  Stephanie Farr wrote the following, “A simple business card lists the Hotel Manor as providing  dining, a tavern, lodging and bike rentals, yet what the Hotel and the Kauffman’s provide is so  much more than could ever be listed on a business card. There’s no way to capture the calming  gurgle of Pine Creek, the incredible palette of nature’s fall colors, the sheer grandeur of the  Hotel or the enduring spirits of the Kauffman’s and their children on a business card. What the  business card does symbolize is the endurance of a dream, and the American ideals that make  the dream possible.” It is time to pass the legacy on to the next visionary. For years the Hotel  Manor was known as, “The meeting place for fly fisherman” but has grown to an outdoor  recreation destination! Tonya and I are blessed to enjoy our coffee every morning overlooking  Pine Creek. Reflecting back on the journey, Tom Finkbiner’s quote still sticks with me “It has  location, location, and location!”