We arrive at the Gateways Inns and Restaurant in the culturally iconic Berkshires town of Lenox, MA. This lovely little town is home to the Boston Symphony orchestras Tanglewood music festival that draws crowds from all around the world. It is also the home of Shakespeare & Co. a renowned dramatic society. [clickToTweet tweet=”The town of Lenox oozes class and charm and is very appealing immediately.” quote=”The town of Lenox oozes class and charm and is very appealing immediately. #travel #Lenox” theme=”style3″]The town of Lenox oozes class and charm and is very appealing immediately.

I may or may not have looked for the alternate lifestyle.

Arriving at the Inn

We pull into the gates of the inn and are welcomed by the nine-branch menorah, called in Hebrew ‘Chanukiyyah’, and used only during the holiday of Chanukah. We love experiences and love learning new things, and we did learn more throughout our stay as Gordon meticulously studied the meaning behind this Jewish festival, lasting eight days.

When we entered the Gateways Inns and Restaurant, the first thing that we admired was the grand staircase that created a visual impact upon entry. The inn was built as the summer home of Harley Proctor of Proctor & Gamble fame, so has some street cred.

There were large parlor rooms with a lot of seating and a piano, and we knew that there were a local singer and a pianist coming in the second night. A very large and very well stocked bar ran along a wall.

The Rooms at the Gateways Inns and Restaurant

We see more Shakespearean elements with the posters around the inn. The rooms are named after Shakespearean characters – Ophelia, Rosalind, Miranda, Juliet, Portia, Luciana, Titania, Adriana, Viola and Puck …. the “shrewd and knavish sprite”, and a room designed for the single traveler.

We are in Desdemona, a lovely room with a large bed and floor to ceiling windows and an open gas fireplace.

Our Innkeepers

Our innkeeper was Eiran Gazit. Unfortunately, his wife Michele was away in Israel visiting their sons, so we didn’t get to meet her but have heard many lovely things said of her. Eiran shared a local Berkshire beer with Gordon and showed him the very impressive scotch collection that he has created for the inn and the restaurant.

Eating at the Gateways Inns and Restaurant

The chef at the Inn is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. He can cook, and at dinner, Eiran and Michele’s son was the sous chef and he will also enter the prestigious Culinary Institute of America next year. Our breakfasts and dinners were superb.

Breakfasts

Each day there is a selection of fresh fruits, yoghurts and home made granola. The home baked croissants were delicious because they were different with various seeds used throughout them. There is a vast selection of offerings, as can be seen in this photo. Local cheeses and local products feature heavily. There are also home cooked main dishes, and because we are polite, we tried everything.

Please note I only seem to have one outfit

Dinner

Again another beautiful meal of beef bourguignon, that was tender and melted in the mouth. After indulging my newfound obsession for maple syrup, I went for the maple crème brulee while Gordon had homemade ice cream. Sated we were. It was nice to move then into the parlor room and have someone sing to me. A local lounge singer and a pianist ended off a pleasant night, singing Moonlight in Vermont to a small crowd…even if we were in Massachusetts.

 

Exploring the Berkshires

As the Berkshires are such a well-known area and home to some of the greatest literary and artistic talents, we went exploring.

Exploring Lenox

Lenox town shows obvious wealth and always has. This was the summer playground to the Carnegie, Vanderbilt and Westinghouse families, who loved the peace and the serenity of this part of the Berkshires. Tanglewood as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the many theatre and art groups that exist here are a testament that it remains a cultural drawcard.

It is an easy town to wander around, and there are some very charming shops. There are some lovely restaurants, and Alta Restaurant &Wine Bar is our recommendation for great food and ambience, and a bit of star spotting too.

 

There are also some epic sunsets that we watched from the Gateways Inns and Restaurant.

The Mount is the country house of the famous American author Edith Wharton, who designed the house and its grounds and considered it her “first real home.” The estate, located in The Berkshires, is open to the public.

2 Plunkett St, Lenox, MA 01240

Try and see a show at Shakespeare & Company.

You are in the US version of Stratford-upon-Avon

70 Kemble St, Lenox, MA 01240

James Taylor lives nearby in Lenox. He is a renowned singer song writer who performed two impressive songs, “Fire and Rain” and had his first No. 1 hit the following year with “You’ve Got a Friend”. He is also a treasured performer at Tanglewood.

It would be just wrong not to try some of the famous chocolates at the Chocolate Springs Cafe. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

55 Pittsfield Rd, Lenox, MA 01240

Exploring Stockbridge

[clickToTweet tweet=”The Norman Rockwell Museum, is “the world’s largest collection of original Norman Rockwell ” quote=”The Norman Rockwell Museum, is “the world’s largest collection of original Norman Rockwell #travel” theme=”style2″]art, including beloved paintings from The Saturday Evening Post and the Four Freedoms, and the best in the field of American illustration.

9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA 01262

 

Stockbridge looks quite an alternate town judging by the people, and it has a nice little walking tour around the village, where you can see the Red Lion Hotel and explore the Mews Mall and some pleasant parks.

Exploring West Stockbridge

West Stockbridge is set on the Williams River, and both are worth walking around. Stop at No. Six Depot for a coffee and a bite to eat. It also has a great little art gallery attached.

6 Depot Street (the old train station), West Stockbridge, MA 01230

 

Exploring Pittsfield

This is an eclectic town and quite a multicultural town, known as the “Brooklyn of the Berkshires,” It was where Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. This is a novel about a whale at sea, yet it was written here at Arrowhead in the Berkshires.

780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, MA

The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield features works by American artists, an Egyptian mummy, and antiquities from Classical Greece and Rome.

39 South St, Pittsfield, MA 01201

We wanted to visit the Hancock Shaker Village, but it is low season people.

1843 West Housatonic St. Pittsfield MA, 01201

The Berkshires is about driving and admiring the countryside and stopping and exploring the towns. The Gateways Inns and Restaurant, Lenox MA is a part of the Distinctive Inns of New England.

The Gateways Inn & Restaurant
51 Walker Street
Lenox, MA 0124

Make sure to read our other stories about all of the very different inns – no two are the same.

 

So many 1st’s at Manor on Golden Pond, Holderness, NH

It is just so pleasant at Harbor Light Inn, Marblehead, MA

Memorable at Captain Jefferds Inn, Kennebunkport, ME

The writers were the guests of the inn. The opinions are obviously mine.