Elm Court, Massachusetts
This Berkshires B&B in Stockbridge, Mass. is a charming place to put your feet up and make yourself at home.
By Jamie Marshall
Good news for travelers who are heading to the Berkshires this fall: a historic country estate recently opened its doors as a refined bed and breakfast. Located in Stockbridge—in the hills of western Massachusetts, home to the Tanglewood Music Festival—Elm Court was built in 1886 by furniture magnate William Douglas Sloane and his wife, Emily Vanderbilt. In 1999 the Shingle-style house was rescued by Robert Berle (the Sloanes' great-great-grandson) and his wife, Sonya, who are restoring it to its Gilded Age grandeur.
Today five spacious suites and several public rooms are done up in the high Victorian manner, with splendid fabrics, European and American antiques, hardwood floors and Oriental rugs. There's a plant-filled conservatory with a view of the reflecting pool and grapevine-festooned pergola, a safari-themed library and a formal dining room where guests enjoy romantic catered dinners. Open for slightly more than a year, Elm Court is still a work in progress, but what it lacks in the niceties—turndown service, exercise room—it makes up for in other charming ways. The Berles are excellent hosts who take pleasure in sharing their heritage. And they mean it when they tell you to put your feet up and make yourself at home. Suites from $475 to $950, including breakfast and afternoon tea. 413-637-1556; elmcourt.com.
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