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The Berkshires Some 25 years ago, Bradford and Leslie Wagstaff parlayed an abandoned 1760 inn on the old Hartford-Albany stage route into the centerpiece of a growing complex that included sophisticated lodging complexes on either end of the off-the-beaten-path village. The success of the Old Inn on the Green led the couple to develop luxury rooms and an event space in a complex of great Normandy-style barns called Gedney Farm on the eastern approach to town. They followed that by opening a country-house hotel and spa in their latest acquisition, the gilded-age estate called Mepal Manor on a hilltop at the west end of the village. They sold the Old Inn in 2005 to concentrate on their more recent holdings and the new spa. The Gedney Farm restoration – the inspired re-use of a former dairy farm – is a sight to behold. The former horse barn has been transformed into a magnificent event barn suited for private dinner parties and weddings in particular. The lower floor along with the courtyard and garden terrace are used for cocktail receptions and breakfast service for house guests. The upper two floors of the event barn are used for dinner, dancing and entertainment. Beneath the dairy barn's soaring, 30-foot ceiling is a lineup of sixteen guest rooms and suites. The rooms are built on two levels, the second floor fashioned from the old hayloft and reached by a private staircase. Most have sitting rooms with granite fireplaces, and some have indoor balconies looking onto the barn lobby. The modern baths are outfitted with Neutrogena amenities; some have deep, two-person whirlpool tubs under glass domed ceilings open to the roof structure. Leslie has decorated each room with panache in styles ranging from French provincial to Moroccan. Oriental and kilim rugs are on the floors, woven or fabric coverlets are on the beds, exotic wreaths adorn the walls and country antiques abound. Twelve guest rooms are available in the restored Mepal Manor, an imposing, stone Berkshires cottage/castle off by itself on rolling grounds with super vistas of the Berkshires. The operative words here are large and grand, from the fireplaced great hall, library, oak-paneled dining room and patio terrace to the best of the Victorian-era guest rooms, individually decorated in rich fabrics and furnishings appropriate to the Gilded Age. The manor was built in 1906 by The Wagstaffs ingeniously turned an unlikely looking gymnasium building into a spectacular spa and fitness center. Four serene rooms for body treatments, massages and facials are nicely tucked away next to a large, quiet meditation space with a whirlpool and cleansing steam room. A radiant-heated maple floor provides year-round comfort in the yoga/pilates movement studio. A generous continental breakfast – including fresh fruits, cereals, hard-boiled eggs, pastries, toasting breads and homemade preserves – is served to guests at Gedney Farm. A more spa-oriented, health-conscious continental breakfast is offered guests at Mepal Manor. Mepal Manor offers lunch for spa guests and the
public in a majestic dining room notable for a large white-stone
fireplace and scenic mountain views to the west. The prix-fixe menu
changes daily, $19.50 for three set courses. A typical lunch might begin
with a roasted beet and fennel salad over mesclun greens, followed by an
entrée of pan-seared The ambiance at Mepal could not be more tranquil. Windows in the dining room and most guest rooms are oriented to the mountain views toward the west. From them not a sign of civilization can be seen or heard. (413) 229-3131 or (800) 286-3139. Fax (413) 229-8236. For more information: www.gedneyfarm.com. Gedney Farm: Sixteen rooms and suites with private
baths. Doubles, $240 to $350. Mepal Manor: (413) 229-7501. www.mepalspa.com. Twelve rooms with private baths. Doubles, $225 to $395. Lunch, Thursday-Sunday noon to 2 in summer, Saturday and Sunday in winter.
Material excerpted from Getaways for Gourmets in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2006. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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