The Concord Resort Hotel (pronounced KAHN-cord, (/ˈkɒŋkərd/)) was a resort in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, known for its large resort industry in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Located in Kiamesha Lake, New York, United States, the Concord was the largest resort in the region and was also one of the last to finally close in 1998, long after the others closed. (A primary competitor, Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel, closed in 1986.)^[1] At the Concord, there were over 1,500 guest rooms and a dining room that sat 3,000; the resort encompassed some 2,000 acres (8.1 km²).^[2] The resort was a kosher establishment, catering primarily to Jewish vacationers from the New York City area, and it was more lavish in decor and activities than comparable large Catskill resorts.

A small establishment near Kiamesha Lake called the Ideal House existed during the 1920s and 1930s. Arthur Winarick acquired the property after a default and rebuilt it in 1937 as the 500-bed Concord Plaza. Keeping up with Grossinger's following World War II, the then-renamed New Concord Hotel rapidly expanded and added amenities to match Grossinger's ski slope and golf course. The Tropical Indoor Pool opened in 1951, accelerating the race. Expansion continued in the 1950s, when prominent hotel architect Morris Lapidus was hired to design new modern style guest wings. At the Concord, Lapidus worked with architect-interior designer Theordor Muller on interiors for lobbies, dining spaces and night clubs. A rotunda and promenade, as well as the huge Cordillion Room, Night Owl Lounge and the even bigger Imperial Room night club were added. Lapidus employed his signature floating stair design in the rotunda to give guests an opportunity to make a grand entrance.^[3]

The Concord was known for its impressive entertainment venues. The original Cordillion Room opened in the 1950s with 1500 seats, along with the Constellation Room, with its distinctive undulating bar. Winarick felt that more was needed, and the Lapidus-designed Imperial Room seated three thousand in a nearly-circular space: perhaps the largest in the Catskills, and a popular venue for major entertainers.^[3]

Guest quarters in the tower sections were regarded as impersonal. Up to ten-story guest wings replaced the original hotel in the 1950s. A Lapidus-designed 1959 wing featured 210 rooms with projecting bay windows and his-and-her bathrooms, each with a dressing area.^[3]

Following the construction of an elaborate indoor pool at Grossinger's, the original Concord pool was replaced by the Lapidus-design Bubble, which doubled as a solarium, as well as a large spa.^[3]

The Concord attracted major entertainers who could fill the Imperial Room to standing room-only. Buddy Hackett was a frequently-featured performer, as were Tony Bennett, Milton Berle and Tony Martin. Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland also played the Concord. Martin Luther King Jr. received an award at the Concord in 1963. Following Arthur Winarick's death in 1964, the resort was managed by son-in-law Ray Parker.^[3]

• 1935 – Russian immigrant Arthur Winarick took possession of The Ideal Plaza in Kiamesha Lake in settlement of a debt. This marks the beginning of what would become the Concord Resort Hotel.
• 1950s – With a reputation for sumptuous kosher dining and top entertainment, the hotel becomes one of the top vacation spots in the Northeast. Winarick's daughter, Clara, and her husband, Raymond Parker, take over the hotel operation. The hotel is passed on to Raymond's sons.
• 1960s – The decline of the Catskills resort industry takes hold, as city dwellers move out to air-conditioned homes in the suburbs, affordable air travel makes vacations to more exotic locations possible, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows the Jewish clientele of the Catskills resorts to choose other, previously exclusive domestic resorts for their vacations.
• 1981 - Professional boxing comes to the hotel; on May 16, two future boxing hall-of-famers, Hector Camacho Sr. and Ray Mancini, have bouts as part of a program held at the hotel. Camacho stops Kato Ali in round seven and Mancini, in the card's main event, stops Jorge Morales in nine rounds to win the North American Boxing Federation Lightweight title.^[15] Both Camacho and Mancini would become world champions and they would fight on March 6, 1989, Camacho outpointing Mancini. They both were inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
• January 1997 – Albany lawmakers reject a casino referendum, which Concord owners were relying on heavily.
• February 1997 – Concord files for bankruptcy protection. Sullivan County, owed more than $8 million in taxes, is the resort's largest creditor.
• January 1999 – The hotel sells at a bankruptcy foreclosure auction for $10.25 million, to a partnership led by Joseph Murphy with Westchester developer Louis R. Cappelli as a silent partner. Cappelli later buys out Murphy.
• March 2000 – Cappelli and the publicly traded Reckson Strategic Venture Partners announce a plan to redevelop the Concord as a world-class resort.
• October 10, 2000 – Cappelli and his partners break ground and begin demolition.
• Reported by Concord Hotel: What It Looked Like Inside The Hotel in 2005:^[16] December 2004 – Concord sold by Reckson Strategic Venture Partners/Cappelli, which purchased it out of bankruptcy, to Empire Resorts. Empire owns Monticello Raceway as well as Mighty M Gaming, which operates the "racino" at the Monticello Raceway. It was reported that Empire hoped to locate a casino at the Concord.
• January 2008 – Outside of the golf course, the resort remains an abandoned ruin.
• April 2008 – Demolition begins in the new Concord hotel/Racino. The $750 million project is expected to be completed in five years.^[17]
• May 2011 - Owner enters a joint venture with Mohegan Sun casino to develop a new $600 million Concord resort.
• December 2014 - The Gaming Facility Location Board of New York State chose The Montreign Resort Casino to be built in the Catskills town of Thompson on the grounds of the old Concord hotel. The $630 million project will come with an 18-story hotel, meeting spaces and an indoor waterpark. Its developer, Empire Resorts, operates through a subsidiary, the nearby Monticello Casino & Raceway.
• February 2018 - The Montreign, renamed Resorts World Catskills, opens. (Further history at its own article.)

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