Romantic Escapes in Massachusetts
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Romantic Escapes in Massachusetts - Robert and Patricia Foulke
Massachusetts
The Southern Berkshires
The lure of the rural countryside has long been celebrated in England through landscape painting, pastoral poetry, novels, and the journals of travelers. As many modern travelers know, there is much to please the eye in the valleys of the Cotswolds, the rolling downs of Sussex, the blended hills and lakes of Cumbria, and the coastal villages of Devon and Cornwall.
The source of that appeal is a partial taming of the landscape, a subtle blending of human habitation and nature - meadows carved out of hillsides surrounded by rock walls, houses set on knolls against a background of wooded mountains or beside brooks, roads winding through it all with ever varying perspectives. Probably no one who cleared the land and built the walls and houses ever saw it quite that way, but visitors from the city did and still do.
Some regions of America seem cast in the same mold. One of them, the southern Berkshires, caught the eye of wealthy Bostonians and New Yorkers at the end of the 19th century, and their presence brought painters, sculptors, writers, and musicians to the mountains. The result is a treasure-trove of nature and culture. The Lee/Lenox/Stockbridge area is at the center of a remarkable eco-culturalzone and a wonderful place for romantic escapes.
Lee, Lenox, & Stockbridge
Where to Stay
Lee
Applegate
279 West Park Street, Lee, MA 01238
800/691-9012 or 413/243-4451
Web site www.applegateinn.com
6 rooms. $-$$$
If you're looking for a romantic New Year's Eve, try the annual black-tie holiday at Applegate. The house itself evokes elegance with its tasteful decorating and beautiful furnishings. As you drive up to this Georgian mansion you'll feel that this will be a special visit. The inn's New Year's Eve package includes champagne and hors d'oeuvres, a multi-course gourmet dinner and a pianist on the baby grand. More champagne flows for the midnight toast.
Applegate Inn
Another great choice: visit in May for the Renew Your Vows
weekend. After the ceremony you will be treated to champagne and a gourmet dinner.
Each bedroom at Applegate is individually decorated. Our favorite is Room 1, with a queen-sized four-poster bed and kelly-green carpet. The room is huge, and has a sitting area at one end. A two-person steam shower takes the kinks out of any sore muscles. Room 6 evokes memories of grandma's room with a collection of her hats on a stand, a Victorian bed and matching marble-topped dresser.
Bedroom at the Applegate
South Lee
Federal House
Route 102, Main Street, South Lee, MA 01260
800/243-1824 or 413/243-1824
7 rooms. $-$$
This 1824 Greek Revival home still has pieces from the original owner, Thomas Hurlbut. Bedrooms include a favorite, #l, which has a king-sized bed, stenciled walls and rose curtains. Dining at the Federal House is a treat. See Where to Eat for details.
Federal House
Lounge in the Federal House
Lenox
Blantyre
Blantyre Road, Lenox, MA 01240
Summer,413/637-3556; winter, 413/298-1661
fax 413/637-4282
E-mail hide@blantyre.com
Web site www.blantyre.com
19 rooms, 4 suites. $$$-$$$$
You'll think you're in Scotland as you come along the winding drive to Blantyre. The half-timbered Tudor building with its towers and turrets is set in the midst of carefully tended lawns and gardens. In fact, it was patterned after the ancestral home in Lanarkshire, Scotland of the builder's wife. The name Blantyre came from his father's country home.
Blantyre
Step inside and admire the long, beautifully carved library table in the living room, which is set on an oriental carpet and flanked by chairs and sofas. A fresh floral arrangement stands on the table in a gigantic oriental bowl; blue and white antique vases stand on the leaded glass windows lend atmosphere throughout. In the music room a harp stands ready and waiting; large mirrors and a crystal chandelier brighten the room. Walk out onto the terrace to appreciate the pastoral view.
The Cranwell Suite has a high ceiling, queen-sized bed, fireplace, dressing room with chaise and desk and a balcony. Our favorite is the Ashley Room, which has lots of Laura Ashley fabrics. There's a painted arch and a canopied bed.
If you'd like to be near the swimming pool, ask for a Carriage House room. Ceilings and walls are painted with flowers and birds. The Potting Shed, next to the pool, offers a jacuzzi, towels and lemonade.
Ask for a map of the jogging/walking trail on the property. We had a romantic walk early one morning, spotting birds and enjoying wildflowers.
Dining at Blantyre is a gourmet treat to remember; see Where to Eat.
Brook Farm Inn
15 Hawthorne Street, Lenox, MA 01240
800/285-POET or 413/637-3013
E-mail innkeeper@brookfarm.com
Web site www.brookfarm.com
12 rooms. $-$$
Bedroom at Brook Farm Inn
Brook Farm Inn
Enter Brook Farm and you'll hear classical or light music in the background. Musicians who are playing at Tanglewood in the summer like to stay here.Today's poem is displayed in case you want to become inspired, and poetry readings are held on Saturdays. An English tea is served in the library in the afternoon. You can choose to pick out a book, find a few pieces for the puzzle laid out on a table, or just sit by the fire.
Each bedroom is individually decorated, some with four-poster beds, others with quilts and a Hitchcock rocker to relax in. A hammock built for two swings in the back yard and there's a pool surrounded with chairs for a quiet talk.
Brook Farm Inn
Cliffwood Inn
25 Cliffwood Street, Lenox, MA 01240
800/789-3331 or 413/637-3330, fax 413/637-0221
Web site www.cliffwood.com
7 rooms. $-$$$
This 1890s mansion was built in Stanford White style for an ambassador to France. One can imagine him entertaining in this high-ceilinged home with large rooms. The innkeepers have lived in Europe and brought back a collection of paintings, objets d'art, furniture and oriental carpets. The oval paneled dining room is lovely and one of the 10 fireplaces in the house glows there. The ballroom has family antiques, a handsome screen and oriental carpets.
Each bedroom is named for an ancestor of the innkeepers. A biography and photograph of each is in the room. The Helen Walker room has a king-sized bed, Victorian sofa, armoire and a trouser press.
Heart-shaped cookies are a specialty of the house - a romantic touch for guests.
Cranwell Resort
55 Lee Road, Route 20, Lenox, MA 01240
800/272-6935 or 413/637-1364, fax 413/637-0571
Web site www.cranwell.com
65 rooms. $-$$$$
Cranwell is a Tudor mansion that is about 100 years old. The land, called Blossom Hill, once belonged to Henry Ward Beecher, the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
In 1897 President and Mrs. McKinley came to Cranwell for the July 4th festivities. The hostess had a large floral arrangement in the shape of an eagle on the dinner table. As the guests admired the decorations, all at once Roman candles erupted from the centerpiece and Mrs. McKinley fainted.
A resort has sprung up around the mansion with a variety of accommodations. Besides golf, you can enjoy the heated outdoor pool, tennis, rent a mountain bike and go cross-country skiing in winter.
Cranwell Resort
Gateways Inn
51 Walker Street, Lenox, MA 01240
413/637-2532, fax 413/637-1432
Web site www.gatewaysinn.com
11 rooms, 1 suite. $-$$$$
Gateways looks like a bar of soap - rectangular and flat on top. Harley Proctor, of Procter and Gamble built the mansion. The staircase to the second floor is brightened by a skylight.
Ask to see the Fiedler Suite, if it is not occupied, or spend a night there yourself. Arthur Fiedler loved that suite when he came with the Boston Pops in the summer. It has a four-poster canopy bed, separate parlor and a jacuzzi tub. The Proctor room on the first floor is large and recently redecorated. It has a king-sized four-poster canopy bed.
Dining at Gateways is popular with locals and visitors alike. See the Where to Eat section.
Gateways Inn
Wheatleigh
Hawthorne Road, Lenox, MA 01240
413/637-0610, fax 413/637-4507
Web site www.wheatleigh.com
17 rooms. $$-$$$$
Overlooking the Berkshires from Wheatleigh
Some wedding present! Wheatleigh was given to Georgia Cook by her father, Henry H. Cook, for her marriage to Carlos de Heredia, a Spanish Count, in 1893. The design was based on a 16th-century Florentine palazzo; artisans came from Italy to work on the house. The landscaping around the mansion was created by Frederick Law Olmstead, who designed Central Park in New York.
You'll drive up to Wheatleigh, through a gate, and around a circular driveway, past a large fountain, to the front door. The Great Hall has a spectacular marble fireplace, a grand piano, English antiques, and pieces from the owner's collection of ceramics. The dining room is magnificent, with antique Waterford chandeliers, ceramic tile wall plaques that were commissioned from Doulton in 1830, and a fireplace with carved cherubs, grape leaves and fruit. The cuisine is memorable; see the dining section.
A favorite bedroom has a carved mantel, iron fireback, king-sized bed with peaked canopy, an ornate mirror over the dresser, a balcony and great view of the mountains and lake.
Bedroom at Wheatleigh
Stockbridge
Red Lion Inn
Main Street, Stockbridge, MA 01262
413/298-5545, fax 413/298-5130
Web site www.redlioninn.com
108 rooms.