Fc912

We just checked out of the Mayflower yesterday. Overall it was a fine stay though definitely overpriced for the experience it delivers.

The room product is lackluster and needs an update. We were in a signature king and it was pretty sparsely furnished and lots of furnitures showing significant wear and tear. The main house was apparently updated when they were closed the past few months and felt fresh, though some of the design choices (especially the main dining room) felt out of place. Food was generally very good and service in the dining room was fine. The visiting chef who will be there until Sept is the one who took over Gotham Bar & Grill in NY a year or two ago.

Service was ok overall - friendly staff but nothing felt personal, except for the excellent front desk team and especially social director Anthony who delivered exceptional service and was the highlight of our stay.

The spa was a slight disappointment. My signature massage was average and the facilities, while beautiful, were mostly off limits due to COVID (including the beautiful relaxation room).

jbb

Good to know! This will help me to manage our expectations. This is our second stay at an Auberge so we're still trying to figure out what the brand indicates in terms of service quality and standards. We were at the Malliouhana in Anguilla earlier this year where we thought the service was good and totally fine, but not exceptional.

Our short list also included Winvian Farms, Blantyre, Troutbeck. We were quite tempted by Blantyre this time around but their being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays conflicted with our schedule and availability also affected our options. We chose Mayflower over Troutbeck because it seemed to offer a higher luxury standard.

jbeans

So happy to find this thread! We're also looking for options for more local trips. To add to the list -- The Maker (themaker.com) hotel just opened yesterday (8/6) in Hudson. We randomly found out about it and are considering it for a weekend getaway. Rooms look nice, and the on premise restaurant seems decent.

LinLant

Mirbeau is also open in Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck.Mirbeau.com They have 49 rooms, and also a spa and Willow a Charlie Palmer restaurant. There are also many restaurants in the Rhinebeck area. Perhaps you could combine stays at The Maker in Hudson with Mirbeau. In non Co-Vid 19 times there is the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park to see and the FDR museum and home. The Culinary Institute in Hyde Park is still closed. The grounds at Vanderbilt are still open to walk around with views of the Hudson River. The Taconic State Parkway has lovely views and is always especially nice in the fall.
We had dinner at Troutbeck last fall and enjoyed it very much.

jbb

I've edited my OP to add a full list of all the hotels mentioned by other posters which might make it easier for you to research your options.

journeybound

A few others to add to the list. I wouldn't classify all of them as "country", but since some beach/waterfront properties were added to the list, I thought they were all worth mentioning. And maybe the interpretation of "country" is really "remote". So, anything but a big city (i.e. countryside, mountains, beach, island, etc.). I think that's what everyone (who is willing to escape to nice properties within driving distance) is looking for right now! Plus, October is always a sneaky nice time to head to the beach in the northeast when everyone else is going leaf peeping...

Pitcher Inn (Warren, VT) - R&C, Virtuoso, sister property of Winvian Farm (https://www.pitcherinn.com/)
Woodstock Inn (Woodstock, VT) (https://www.woodstockinn.com/)
Spruce Peak Lodge (Stowe, VT) - Virtuoso (https://www.sprucepeak.com/)
Chanler at Cliff Walk (Newport, RI) - Virtuoso (https://www.thechanler.com/)
Weekapaug Inn (Westerly, RI) - R&C (https://weekapauginn.com/)
Topping Rose House (Hamptons, NY) - Virtuoso (Luxury Hotel The Hamptons | Topping Rose House | Bridgehampton | Home)
Camden Harbor Inn (Camden, ME) - R&C (https://camdenharbourinn.com/)
Hidden Pond (Kennebunkport, ME) - Virtuoso (https://hiddenpondmaine.com/)
Harbor View Hotel (Martha's Vineyard, MA) - Virtuoso (https://www.harborviewhotel.com/)
White Elephant (Nantucket, MA) (https://www.whiteelephantnantucket.com/)

I think you mentioned places like Twin Farms and The Point are over budget. All of these should work for you in that regard :-)

journeybound

I almost forgot to add Watch Hill Inn, which is a sister property of Ocean House in Westerly, RI (it's just down the street). As a guest, you can access all OH amenities. So, technically we can consider it R&C by association.

https://www.watchhillinn.com/

instyleprincess

Has anyone stayed at The Debruce? Curious of the experience, thanks!

schriste

Just completed a 4 night stay here last week. The hotel is not ultra lux, but it has many facilities and a very pleasant ambiance and prime location in Woodstock. Staff were uniformly pleasant and welcoming. I found the Rockefeller connection (one of the Rock Resorts way back when) to be interesting. Vermont Covid restrictions currently limit the hotel to 50% capacity, plus we stayed mid-week... so very quiet and relaxed. From what I could see staff and guests all followed Covid rules... as did Vermonters in general. Both restaurants were open for indoor dining (limited menu) and had very very generous table spacing. Vegetables from their own farm. Meals and service all OK (but not LUX). Depending on travel dates you can probably book The Woodstock Inn at 15%-20% of the cost of twin Farms just up the road. We also enjoyed our room (Tavern King) ... cozy in the positive sense of the word.

journeybound

Thank you for sharing your recent experience at the Woodstock Inn! I agree, not luxe, but it's all about your expectations and what you're looking for. If you're not willing to pay Twin Farms price point, this is a nice alternative option. Pitcher Inn (https://www.pitcherinn.com/) can probably be considered closer to luxe than Woodstock Inn, also much less expensive than Twin Farms. Also R&C so you're still getting the great F&B program. But you can't really compare either of these properties and their experience to Twin Farms apples to apples.

And yes, Vermont is pretty strict right now. They basically have a heat map, and if you're coming from a county with more than 400 active cases per million, you either need to quarantine for 14 days before coming or get a negative COVID test and quarantine for 7 days before coming. If you're coming from a county with less than 400 active cases per million, you're exempt. Basically, if you're in the "green" in the map below, you're good. Otherwise, you're looking at strict travel restrictions.

https://accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/re...s-state-travel

jbb

We just came back from our stay at the Mayflower Inn & Spa (an Auberge Resort) in Litchfield County, Connecticut. We really enjoyed our stay. The area has lots of lovely hiking trails, beautiful scenery and little shops in picturesque New England towns out of central casting. The region was quiet and friendly, which was a very welcome break from the city. We got the impression that many affluent city dwellers have country homes there, but there aren't many hotels, so it had some of the assets of a tourist area without the drawbacks.

As for the hotel itself, we were in a Studio King Suite in the main building which seemed to be newly renovated - there was no wear and tear that another poster mentioned in their room category. It felt comfortably modern, suitably high end but with touches of antiques that reflected on the area. The suite was a good size with large bathroom, separate living area with gas fireplace, bedroom and entry vestibule.

Service throughout was very friendly and responsive without being over-bearing or overly formal - we felt comfortable. The doormen engage in a lot of chit-chat.

The hotel is spread out over half a dozen or so buildings including 4 residential style buildings with rooms (including the main inn), a separate spa and a pool pavilion. The grounds feature pretty formal gardens and border the ubiquitous woods in the area with the property having its own 1-mile easy hiking trail. There is also a small pond on-site. In the evenings, small bonfires are set up where guests can relax with s'mores and drinks.

As another poster mentioned, the beautiful spa isn't fully open which is a shame but understandable given covid restrictions. We did massages but couldn't use their stunning relaxation room or indoor spa pool (there is an outdoor pool for all guests which seemed to be open).

Overall, we found the Mayflower perfect for our needs and the fact that it's only 2 hours from NYC was great. It is a bit pricey. The weekend rate for our suite was $1,699, but it dropped significantly on weeknights to $1,199. We also took advantage of a 3rd night free promotion.

There were some mis-steps in the service here and there, but nothing that really detracted from our stay. They were switching over chefs during our stay and they didn't update our room-service menu, so when we ordered one type of salad, we got another instead. Our request for no salt on some dishes also didn't come through but when we let them know they offered to replace the dish immediately and they also removed one of our meals from our final bill.

As for the hard-product, the shower pressure wasn't great, so that was the only major issue for us. The room also lacked an in-room safe, which seemed odd for this calibre hotel. But overall, we felt the room and hotel was lovely and in very good shape.

Happy to discuss in greater detail for anyone interested in more information.

Final caveat: this was our first trip in the region so while we have a fair bit of experience with luxury hotels, this is the only country house hotel in the U.S. North-East that we've stayed in, so my frame of reference with the Mayflower's competitors is limited.

Shuttle-Bored

I'd take Chatham Bars Inn off your list. We stayed there for three nights this week. Room was tired (furniture chipped, tiles cracked), service was mediocre, and everything seemed difficult (for example - room rate included a bottle of wine. State laws now prohibit serving wine without food - fair enough, no wine delivered - but instead of doing the decent thing and offering a F&B credit, their resolution was to send four bottles of Saratoga water to the room. Similarly, the promised fruit plate on arrival only arrived on day 2 after we queried it). Had dinner at the Chatham Inn (R&C) down the road - next time I'd stay there.

rrrrrich

Pitcher Inn is a mixed bag - we had the upstairs suite in the separate building and it felt forgotten and neglected. Overgrown pathway, very tired rooms, scratched floors and furniture, torn curtains and used toiletries in one of the bathrooms. We also had some one else's Ben & Jerry's in the freezer - during COVID, cleaning needs to be top notch and it was a let down. Perhaps the Inn rooms are better maintained but we can't use them with younger kids. It's a shame as we loved the area.

We tried a couple of others more recently - Hotel Fauchere and Winvian, both Relaix & Chateaux. HF was a lovely property, staff were doing well with COVID and the restaurant was open and doing well, booked out every night. The limited breakfast was pretty weak (quiche, mini croissants, parfait) and I couldn't understand why it was so limited when other properties have kitchens working and they were doing full service dinner. We booked the suite which I would strongly recommend against - the sitting room is actually an extension of the dining room with double doors that open into it. WHich means you get to enjoy loud conversations until late evening. It also has the staff corridor to the kitchen (yelling, banging, arguments) and above the kitchen - the room literally shook from the dishwashers. They note a little noise but it was a lousy stay - the other rooms including one with a balcony look quite pleasant but not family sized. Winvian by contrast was excellent - staff were exemplary, knew us and our family without asking, proactive with service requests (servicing our cottage as soon as we arrived for breakfast for e.g.). We stayed in Stable which was big and while there was some wear and tear, we loved the space, the soundsystem and the theme. The steamroom shower was great too. It's reasonably pricey but for the space, privacy and service, worth it. Was nice that R&C got 1 of the 3 right!

jbb

I've had very mixed experiences at the three R&C properties I've tried (one in Paris, one in NYC and one in Sri Lanka). The dining has been consistently quite good to excellent, but as hotels, I've had some fairly big let-downs especially in terms of the hard product. This has made me quite skeptical to try them out when choosing hotels.

rrrrrich

We've been to Lake Placid Lodge a number of times which is R&C and find it excellent overall (albeit last time they'd scaled back some of the benefits and the pub food was poor). It's a while since some trips in Europe with them but my observation is that being part of R&C, at least as a hotel, I agree that it doesn't mean the hard product will be consistent in terms of standards and it's a bit of gamble unless you're at the high end properties that are well reviewed. Presumably monitoring and enforcement of standards isn't a strong point.