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DOWNTIME
Blantyre
Get Lost!
Four perfect destinations for when you really need to get away Mayflower Inn & Spa
Sure, the Big Apple is great for a getaway if you're looking to blow off steam at the end of a hectic work week (or month or year). But when it comes to real rejuvenation, a vacation that leaves you refreshed rather than exhausted is in order, and that means going off the grid. Here are our top picks for leaving the world behind. We can feel our muscles unknotting already.
GILD IT
Blantyre, Lenox, MA
Escape: A less-than-two-and-a-half-hour drive through scenic countryside brings you to this incomparable estate on 117 seclud- ed acres, which routinely—and deservedly—tops exclusive “most romantic” and “best hideaways” lists. Eight beautifully appointed and meticulously restored guest chambers and 10 suites are offered in the 1900s Tudor-style mansion, complete with turrets, gargoyles, and leaded glass windows (it was modeled on an ancestral Scottish castle), as well as an antique carriage house and three cottages. Accommodations in the main mansion have a more formal feel than that of the outer buildings.
Unplug: From the moment you motor up the long, curving private drive cut through the forest, you’re gently eased right off the always-on-the-go-and-stressed-out grid and back into the Gilded Age. As an honored guest at this grand Relais & Châteaux country house, you’ll experience a kinder, gentler time when manners mattered; guests dress to dine (gentlemen wear jackets and ties), and a solicitous but unobtrusive staff works hard behind the scenes à la Downton Abbey to anticipate your every need. While the newspapers quietly delivered to your door each morning are not, as a rule, pressed by a footman, you sense that such a request would be met with a genuine “of course!”
Smartphone Substitute: With self-guided hiking trails, bent- grass croquet and Har-Tru tennis courts, a lovely outdoor pool, and a spa and fitness area that sports a glorious hot tub/plunge pool surrounded by conservatory windows—plus plenty of comfy nooks and overstuffed chairs in which to enjoy leafing through the more than 4,000 art books and novels scattered throughout the premises—you need never leave the property. But should you wish to wander further afield, there’s golf next door and such cultural gems as Tanglewood; Edith Wharton’s homestead, The Mount; Shakespeare and Company; and the Barrington Stage Company, as well as plenty of antiquing, just minutes away. The staff will be happy to pack a picnic lunch to take with you.
Details: Blantyre, 16 Blantyre Rd, Lenox, MA (413) 637-3556; blantyre.com. Costs: $660+ includes full cooked-to-order breakfast; two-night minimum on summer weekends. A gourmet, prix-fixe dinner in the elegant dining room starts at $125. Open year-round and, yes, there’s WiFi and TV, but you won’t feel the need to log into or turn on either. —LY
BLISS OUT
Mayflower Inn & Spa, Washington, CT
Escape: The five-star, five-diamond Relais & Châteaux Mayflower Inn is a 58-acre slice of heaven in the heart of Litchfield County, Connecticut, just 90 minutes from White Plains. There are 30 luxurious rooms and suites scattered across the property (including one complete with mahogany library and private bar), lush themed gardens, and a stunningly serene 20,000-square-foot spa.
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Photos courtesy of Cheabeague Island Inn, Mayflower Inn & Spa, Blantyre, and Glenmere Mansion
Q3 2013