Wonderful rest stop passing through Connecticut on my way to Boston! Why do I say it's wonderful?…read moreBecause their bathrooms are sparkling clean and white. Who wouldn't be relieved walking into a rest stop with no wet floors and toilet paper sticking to your shoes? There's also several vending machines ranging from COFFEE, ice cream, snacks, and bottled drinks.

Very small rest stop with outside porta-potties, which thank goodness for since this rest area is…read moreonly open 8:30am-3:30pm! Signs warn you miles in advance it is closed between 3:30pm and 8:30am. I'm rating this stop 2 stars bcuz of the inconvenience! People do travel at night, and it's not even 10pm. The porta-potties had NO LIGHT inside! There was trash on the floor, it did have toilet paper and hand sanitizer. But closed at 3:30pm and not even a light to use the bathroom. Thanks Connecticut.

Easy off/on. Is clean. Has multiple options such as Panera, Starbucks, burgers, water, and clean…read morebathrooms. I was there on the Thursday after noon before Labor Day weekend and the crowds were what I'd anticipated entering a holiday. Gas for cars and electric chargers were also here. The prices were a little steep but not unreasonable. No issues or complaints from me!

We stopped at the Plattekill Travel Plaza on I 87 on our way to the Adirondaks, which is a sentence…read morethat sounds more romantic than it has any right to be. A travel plaza is a place where human beings briefly admit they have bodies. We eat and drink as quickly as we possibly can, we wash our hands, and then we climb back into our machines and hurtle north or south with emptier bladders and greater optimism. The good news is that after its recent renovation, the Plattekill Travel Plaza looks exactly like every other rest stop along the Thruway. This is not an insult. Sameness can be a comfort. You walk in and your brain says, I know how this works. There will be light, food, and a restroom that I do not have to search for and, more likely than not, will not frighten me. The building is airy and generous with natural light. Due to complete glass walls on two sides, sunlight spills in as if this particular corner of the Hudson Valley has been invited inside to keep an eye on us. There is a modest parade of quick serve restaurants greatest hits. You can secure chicken at Chick-fil-A, provided you're not traveling on the Lord's day of course, bread and soup at Panera Bread, a pretzel the size of your forearm at Auntie Anne's, and caffeine at Starbucks. There is also a respectable Applegreen convenience store, open 24 hours a day, which is where we did our foraging. We emerged with snacks and drinks, the sort of provisions that make you feel prepared for a journey that will last another two hours. The restrooms are large and generally clean. This is progress, particularly when compared to the pre-updated plaza. Not much more you could reasonably demand from a building whose chief purpose is to host people who are in a hurry. Parking is the only real adventure. Spaces are somewhat limited, and at busy times vehicles line the access road like a small and determined migration. The snow and freezing temperatures this winter have not improved matters. Slush narrows lanes and turns simple geometry into a test of faith while snow piles reduce available spaces considerably. You may find yourself circling once or twice, contemplating the nature of patience. On the whole, this is a solid rest area along I 87. It performs its duties without drama. Once inside, you could be almost anywhere, which may be the point. Highways are about going somewhere else. This plaza understands this. It feeds you, tidies you up, and sends you back into the wide and indifferent world with a warm coffee in your hand and crumbs on your shirt. Four stars.

I literally just stopped to use the bathroom, too my surprise there was soft Scotch tissue to clean…read moremy bum. Clearly the owner has class , spent some good money on my way out. 10/10 rest stop!

If you have driven the New York State Thruway recently, you have probably noticed that the rest…read morestops all received a massive facelift. Modena Travel Plaza, sitting at Milepost 66 on I-87 Southbound, is a prime example. It is almost exactly halfway between Lake George and home, making it the most logical place on the highway for my family to pull off, stretch our legs, and regroup. As part of the recent Applegreen renovation project, the Thruway Authority replaced the tired old brick buildings with sleek, uniform structures of glass and steel. At this point, you could drop me blindfolded into almost any newly renovated Thruway service area and I would have a hard time telling you which county I was in. The design has been standardized down to the floor tiles. Once you have visited one, you have essentially visited them all. That is not a complaint. What Modena loses in local character, it makes up for in pure functionality. The building is bright, clean, and flooded with natural light. The restrooms are spacious and modern, which is usually the main priority when you are traveling with family. Outside, there are plenty of Mobil gas pumps and EV charging stations. Inside, you get an acceptable lineup of quick options, including Dunkin' for coffee, Burger King, Popeyes, Pret A Manger or Aunt Anne's for a quick bite, and a well-stocked Applegreen convenience store featuring snacks, travel necessities, and even some touristy hats and shirts. The whole operation is built for practical efficiency. You pull in, handle the bathroom run, grab a coffee, pick up a bag of pretzels, answer the inevitable questions from the back seat about how much drive is left, and get right back on the asphalt. The Applegreen makeover may have wiped out whatever small personality these highway stops used to have, but if the tradeoff for boring uniformity is a clean, bright, and reliable facility, I will happily take boring every time. Not a destination, obviously, but an excellent place to stop when you need a rest area that simply works.

Located along I-84 between the Hudson River and the Connecticut border, there is one rest area for…read moreeastbound and another for westbound. For today's visit, I was heading westbound at around 6:30pm. The entrance ramp area was pretty crowded with tractor trailers on both sides, but the car parking area was clear. I was able to stop and visit the clean restrooms before heading onwards. Note that New York law has a three hour limit on parking at a rest area. You can absolutely not spend the night in your RV though I don't know how well that is enforced. I did not stay long. [Review 1703 of 2024 - 548 in New York - 22726 overall]

It's got the standard stuff…read more Plenty of room for a walk and to walk the dogs. The bathroom were okay.

Decent gas prices for the highway. The main building has a bunch of options for food like Sbarro,…read morePanera Bread, Chipotle, Subway, and Dunkin Donuts. They have a huge parking lot and lots of fill-up stalls for cars. Didn't use the bathroom but I'm sure it's probably decent as well. Happy travels!

We often stop by at this rest stop on I-95 in Darien! One…read moreof the reasons is because they have EV chargers here, as we noticed that not all the rest stops have them. They have Tesla chargers ($0.37/kWh) & Apple Green Electric chargers (level 3 @$0.59/kWh). It's super clean inside and they've got a great selection of different food options to choose from (Subway, Auntie Anne's, Cinnabon, Dunks, Panera, McDonalds, & Chipotle), clean bathrooms, and convenience store inside for quick drinks + snacks.

Still a nice clean service area. Minimal choices, with highway prices for McDonalds. Dunkin had…read moreseveral kiosks to use to order. We decided on a couple use coffees to get. Tasted good.

Often find myself at this rest stop when headed south on Rt.95. The building is always clean, as…read moreare the restrooms - which are 'hand free' for the most part. A diaper station is across from the sinks. Free wi-fi available. Remember to use your VPN if you need wi-fi. Two sandwich shops, burgers and coffee are available in the main building. A separate Starbucks building has been added in the parking lot. Both Starbucks and McDonalds have drive-thru service. Mobile has several gas and diesel pumps available. There are multiple Tesla charge stations along the back side of the parking area. Two universal electric car charge stations are available on the roadside of the parking area. There is a good sized parking lot for cars and another lot for commercial trucks and buses. I imagine RV's would park in that area behind the building. Easy on/off to 95sb. Large, clean restrooms. A good sized dining area inside, plus a few outdoor picnic tables. A convenient stop.

My experience with rest areas, for the past several years anyway, has been limited to the crowded,…read morefilthy monstrosities that populate the NJ Turnpike. During the past few years, when I made monthly trips down to the Delaware/Maryland border area to visit my late father (he was living with my sister during his declining years), these establishments were a necessary evil. By the time I reached the lower portion of the Turnpike, nature was calling...urgently...and I'd pull in. I found them distasteful-- crowded, with filthy bathrooms, and horribly overpriced "junk food" chains. Yesterday, Thanksgiving, I had been invited up by my brother (half brother technically, but we're no longer strangers, as we were when we first met as middle aged adults; we're truly family now, and half brothers and sisters are just regular brothers and sisters) to spend the day. Usually, my birth mother would do the driving, as she can navigate the back roads on the NY/CT border with remarkable precision. Unfortunately, she was working, and I was making the trip solo. The last time I made the trip solo, I became hopelessly lost once I left the main highway and tried to navigate the back roads. I decided to bypass her route this time, and take 684 North to 84 East...which I am familiar with, having often traveled in my younger years from Beacon, NY, to Danbury, and up towards Litchfield, and Salisbury beyond...to Rt 7 South. Make a right onto Bennetts Farm Rd., and I'm almost there. Unfortunately, I again became hopelessly lost once I turned off onto Bennetts Farm Rd. (I did get to my brother's place eventually), but that's probably the subject for another long-winded review on another day. As I traveled up 684 North, nature once again called (as it does increasingly as I meander my way into my so-called "Golden Years"), and I pulled in to this particular rest stop (which they also promote as a safe place to respond to texts on your phone). Given the day, it was pretty crowded with vehicles, but didn't seem as hectic and hellish as my memories of the NJ Turnpike rest stops (as an aside, if there is an afterlife, Clara Barton and Walt Whitman are probably thinking, "What a way to honor my achievements in life, by naming a festering, congested travesty of a rest stop in NJ after me! Thanks loads!"). There's a grassy area with benches, where I guess you can have a "picnic," if you so desire. I guess if you need to catch a few ZZZZs in your car, you can, although I'm not sure what the laws are, or how closely they monitor you (thankfully, I've never been in a situation where I need to catch a few ZZZZs in my car. Not yet, anyway). The men's room seemed relatively clean. There are stalls, and urinals (not to provide the reader with TMI, but I answered nature's call at the urinal). Water and soap provided, and a hot air blower to dry the hands. Nothing extravagant, but it provides the service it's supposed to. Outside the structure housing bathroom facilities for men and women were 2 vending machines providing snacks and beverages. I wanted a bottle of water. I found it mildly confusing (then again, I find GPS confusing and usually have to rely on a print out of GoogleMaps, which...take my word for it...is not infallible). I couldn't find any prices listed and took a chance, feeding 2 dollar bills into the machine. Jackpot! I got my bottle of water with no change coming (2 dollars seems really excessive for a relatively small bottle of water, but it is what it is, I guess...). They even have a slot where you can use your credit card, but utilizing a credit card for vending machine candy and water seems ridiculous to me. You have to use care when backing out of your spot, as vehicles zip through here with disturbing speed and recklessness (then again, I guess that's true anywhere). This seems to be a pretty spare facility, but I found it immensely preferable to the NJ variety. You're not going to be able to get a Starbucks mega-coffee, or a Roy Rogers burger and plastic-wrapped cookie for $15 dollars, but if you need some sugar, need to micturate or just stretch your legs, or answer that "urgent" text message...this is a more than adequate place to do so.

A great deal of poison ivy along the fence and up above in the trees. It seems like a family…read moreletting their dog out on a long trip will let their dog use the area and then it will track poison ivy in the car onto everyone and everything.

Just as expected. Large hall, clean, indoor dining area, some outdoor tables, drive thru, electric…read morevehicle charging stations (2 types), plenty of fuel pumps, pricy. Restrooms on south side (opposite main entrance?) are touchless w/self flushing, auto water & soap and auto hand dryers. Food & beverage options include Mc.D., Dunkin, Sbarro, Subway and Starbucks. Easy on/off rt. I-95. Plenty of parking on sides of building for cars, trucks and RV's.

All service plazas should use this as the model. Compact and clean, features gasoline, a Dunkin and…read moreclean restrooms. Only drawback is the VERY short merge lane back into the highway.

I have not been in the area in quite some time so it was really nice to stop at a rest stop that…read morewas just so clean and updated. I did notice that they had changed the name from the previous New York State rest stop and they had did a lot of remodeling to the inside and outside. They had a lot of great things to offer like a Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Shake Shack, Starbucks and they even had an espresso bar station. It was really high end looking and a lot better than what I expected. The bathrooms were very busy, but they were also very clean. I also like that there was a lot of seating and a lot of tables for people to sit down and maybe work or eat with your friends and family while you are on the road. I also felt like the prices were pretty reasonable compared to what I've noticed, just coming from the airport.

Dried out food , every table is dirty, place was empty apparently after 8pm no staff working the…read morefloor. Panda Express gave up making any food or replacing the dried out food they had sitting out. The Starbucks employee was so zoned out I think they chasing unicorns if you know what i mean. At least chick-fil-a had service on point. The plaza itself is an absolute abortion parking lot a garage mess , inside a mess , bathrooms disgusting!!! Send help. All the money they spend remodeling this is probably the worst one I been to!!!

Ok...I really don't know where exactly this is, but if you are going north toward Bear Mountain on…read morethe Palisades Interstate Parkway (if you cross the GWB go towards NJ and you'll see a sign toward the PIP..you'll start at exit 2 so keep goin!), you cannot miss this sign. Its the only "visitor center" posted on some wood or something on that parkway. I know I shouldn't share this with random readers, but I have to explain it for you guys to understand why I reviewed it. I have a weird thing for rest stops and 24/7 gas stations no matter where it is. I have no idea why. Maybe its b/c time seems to fall back at rest stops, or the fact that you stop there in transit and it becomes a community of drivers in one, creepy location. Whatever the reason, I love stopping at these places. So anyone as odd as myself, I had to share. Okay this is no ordinary rest stop. First, if you need to use the john don't bother going here b/c they have port-a-pottys and they do not smell "potty". This is for the sheer enjoyment of going to a random linkin log place in the middle of Rockland County, and saying "hey, I could use a shiny rock." Also, this place closes early. I think 6. Alright so there is the most RANDOM load of fun filled crap here. It's like a local street fair from 1987 threw up here and nobody bothered to clean it up. Finger traps, rock shiners, an assortment of rocks, camoflage toilet paper on a ROLL, candy that belongs in a museum..It's awesome here. It's bizarre and so creepy, but it was friggin super. I think I even bought a couple of rocks (I'm a science nut; what do you want from me?). Anyway, everytime I pass that place I feel like I'm hitting the twilight zone because it sure as hell isn't 2007 over at that joint. CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!

We used to drive past this alllllllll the freakin time (and stop there too) when we had a summer…read moreplace and we had to get over Bear Mountain (for some reason always reminds of the song, The Bear Went Over the Mountain) to get to it. Convenient spot for bathrooms. Notice I said convenient, not clean or good. And odd info abounds.