Hotels in The Berkshires
Great Barrington
There are several acceptable motels north of town on Route 7, the most desirable being the Holiday Inn Express, 415 Stockbridge Rd. (tel. 413/528-1810; www.ichotelsgroup.com), which has an indoor pool, whirlpool, small fitness room, and rooms with Jacuzzis and/or fireplaces; rates include breakfast. The Chamber of Commerce operates a lodging hot line at tel. 800/269-4825 or 413/528-4006.
Lenox & Tanglewood
This list of lodgings is only partial, and most can accommodate only small numbers of guests. The Tanglewood concert season is a powerful draw, so prices are highest in summer, as well as during the brief foliage season in mid-October. Rates are of Byzantine complexity, set according to wildly varying combinations of seasons and days of the week as well as facilities offered. Minimum 2- or 3-night stays are usually required during the Tanglewood weeks, foliage, weekends, and holidays. Note: For visits during the Tanglewood season, reserve far in advance -- February isn't too soon.
Given the substantial number of lodgings available, and limited space here to describe them, admittedly arbitrary judgments have been made to winnow the list. Some inns, for example, are so rule-ridden and facility-free that they come off as crabby -- no kids, no pets, no phones, no credit cards, no breakfast before 9am, shared bathrooms -- and they cost twice as much as nearby motels that have all those conveniences. We say let them seek clients elsewhere.
If all the area's inns are booked or if you want to be assured the full quota of 21st-century conveniences, routes 7 and 20 north and south of town harbor a number of motels, including the Mayflower Motor Inn (tel. 413/443-4468), the Days Inn (tel. 413/637-3560), the Lenox Motel (tel. 413/499-0324), and the Comfort Inn (tel. 413/443-4714).
Williamstown
This is a college town, so in addition to the usual peak periods of July, August, and the October foliage season, accommodations fill up during graduation and on football weekends. The largest lodging in town is the Williams Inn, 1090 Main St. (tel. 800/828-0133 or 413/458-9371). Despite the name, it is a standard motel, with a dining room, tavern, and indoor pool.
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11 Results
- Hotel
Applegate Inn
This B&B utilizes a gracious 1920s Georgian Colonial manse to full advantage. The nicest unit has a canopy bed, Queen Anne reproductions, sunlight filtering through gauzy curtains, a steam shower, and a fireplace (with real wood). All rooms have stoves or fireplaces, and…$$$Lee/Becket
- Hotel
Blantyre
This sumptuous 1902 Tudor-Norman mansion used to open only during the warmer months. Now it cossets its guests year-round in its undeniably luxurious public rooms, dining areas, and bedchambers. A long drive curls up through 100 acres to the main manor, where guests enter a baronial…$$$Lenox & Tanglewood - Hotel
Chambéry Inn
This was the Berkshires' first parochial school (1885), named for the French hometown of the nuns who ran it. That accounts for the extra-large bedrooms, about 500 square feet each, which were formerly classrooms. Six of them, with 13-foot ceilings and the original woodwork and…$$Lee/Becket - Hotel
Cranwell Resort
The main building of this all-season resort looks like a castle in the Scottish Highlands, but no 17th-century laird lived this well. That's where the most expensive rooms are; the rest are in four smaller outlying buildings. Accommodations are outfitted with less concern for…$$$Lenox & Tanglewood - Hotel
Gateways Inn
Harley Procter, who hitched up with a man called Gamble and made a bundle, had this house built in 1912. Its most impressive feature is the staircase that winds down into the lobby. Designed by McKim, Mead, and White, it's a stunner, just the thing for a grand entrance. Equally…$$$Lenox & Tanglewood - Hotel
Inn at Stockbridge
A little over a mile north of Stockbridge center, the main 1906 building has a grandly columned porch set well back from the road on 12 acres. The innkeepers are eager to please, serving full breakfasts by candlelight and afternoon spreads of wine and cheese. Several bedrooms have…$$$Stockbridge - Hotel
The Guesthouse at Field Farm
After an extended vacation of B&B-hopping, there may come a time when one more tilted floor or wobbly Windsor chair will send even a devout inn-lover over the edge. Here's an antidote. This pristine example of postwar modern architecture rose in 1948 on a spectacular 296-acre…$$Williamstown - Hotel
The Orchards
A sedate choice just right for visiting Williams alumni and parents, the Orchards has an upscale country-club atmosphere; it's the sort of place where afternoon tea is an event. Each of its public and private rooms enjoys a mix of antique and reproduction English-style furniture.…$$$Williamstown - Hotel
The Porches at Mass MoCA
"Retro-rural chic" might describe this row of six detached 19th-century workingmen's houses stitched together by an uninterrupted streetside veranda, the spaces in between roofed over and fitted with indoor catwalks and patios. Rooms are witty tributes to the past, with kitschy lamps…$$$North Adams - Hotel
The Red Lion Inn
So well known that it serves as a symbol of the Berkshires, this busy inn had its origins as a stagecoach tavern in 1773. The rocking chairs on the porch are the place to while away an hour reading or people-watching. An ancient birdcage elevator carries guests up to halls and rooms…$$$Stockbridge - Hotel
Yankee Inn
Of the several motels strung along Route 20 east of Lenox center, this is arguably the most desirable, and a place to remember when the area's inns are filled. It is also more congenial for families; children are welcome, as they are not in most B&Bs. Housekeeping is of a…$$Lenox & Tanglewood
