Winters are especially frantic in New York City, and with Valentine’s Day coming up we needed a little romantic weekend getaway. We wanted an idyllic place, within three-hour driving distance, where we could relax and enjoy a romantic winter weekend getaway. It had to be scenic, romantic, quaint, quiet, and surrounded by nature. A little village named Stockbridge in the Berkshires in Massachusets checked off all our list! And we found the perfect place to stay, an 18th-century property called the Red Lion Inn.
Where to stay in The Berkshires
The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge Village at The Berkshires is a very special place, not only because of its history that dates back to 1773 but because of all the beautiful treasures you will find when you walk through the hallways and rooms. Meticulously decorated with centuries of antique colonial furniture, wallpapers, paintings, and a huge collection of marvelous china pieces a stay at The Red Lion Inn will transport you to another era, an era of Dukes and duchesses, of kings and queens, of Victorian dinners and eloquent tea parties. It is the perfect place for a romantic winter getaway from New York City.
The Red Lion Inn at The Berkshires was originally built in 1773 as a little tavern called “The Red Lion” which provided a stop for stagecoaches traveling the road between Albany and Boston. In 1873, an avid art collector brought the property and decorated it with the marvelous antique furniture and china that is there to this day. As the years passed, they enlarged the Inn to accommodate more guests, and the artifacts grew. It soon became the home of the largest collection of colonial china, pictures, apparel, and furniture of its kind, not only in The Berkshires but in the country. And it still is.
The Red Lion Inn premises
The Red Lion Inn comprises 17 guesthouse rooms, each unique in decorations, including several charming village houses around the property and a turn-of-the-century Firehouse that guests can stay at. Every single room is unique with handpicked, vintage furniture and decorations exuding New England Charm.
Our suite at The Red Lion Inn
We stayed in a charming corner King Room in the main house. The large windows revealed a beautiful view of the quaint village roads, a traditional Church across the street, and the white, snowy surrounding hills.
The room was like out of a fairy-tale. Walls lined with pink flower wallpaper, vintage light fixtures, and chandeliers throughout, colonial chic furniture, an upholstered couch, and armchairs adding to the allure. It even had a desk and a bedoire.
All of this charm blended in perfectly with the luxurious linens, the fluffy bathrobes, and the complimentary toiletries that were made locally with pure natural ingredients like lavender, wildflowers, and coconut oil, which are also available for purchase at The Red Lion Inn gift store.
Where to eat at The Berkshires
Stepping into the dining room at The Red Lion Inn is like taking a step back in history to the Gilded Age. It is the perfect place to spend a romantic evening, celebrate a special occasion, or simply have a memorable dinner. The main dining room was also open for breakfast, which was our favorite time of the day. Sitting by the enormous windows overlooking the quaint country snowy roads, with the sun flooding in as we were taking our cup of tea in the beautiful collective china pieces, was a memorable experience.
Although I am more of a romantic, Paul loves a good, traditional bar feel, so we had dinner at the Widow Bingham’s Tavern, which is also on the premises. We loved the cozy feel with adorned and historic signs hanging throughout the large room and bar, along with old posters, wicker baskets, and a collection of other memorabilia. We ordered all the vegan dishes on the menu: a Winter Chopped salad, Rosemary smoked almonds, House-made chips, and our all-time favorite, the Beyond meat burger served with pickles and fries. For drinks, Paul had the Velvet Moon Brew, locally produced in Massachusetts, and I enjoyed a gin, cherry, champagne cocktail called Northern Lights.
A mountain walk at Stockbridge Village in The Berkshires
Every trip usually comes with an unexpected tale, and this one was no different. On our last day, we took a short drive to a hiking trail. Along the way, we spotted a fluffy little creature walking unevenly in the middle of the road. Fearing it was wounded, we stopped to make sure it wasn’t in harm’s way. Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a porcupine (thank God for google) and he was the cutest little guy, displaying no aggressive behavior towards us, even though we had surrounded him making sure that no cars run by and hit him. Even the porcupines are friendly at the Berkshires. We called the Red Lion Inn’s front desk and they immediately connected us with the local police, which showed up within minutes. The friendly police officer assured us that porcupines walk unevenly and there was nothing to worry about. By the time we finished the conversation with the police officer, the little porcupine had found a crawl space under a house waiting for us city dwellers to go back to what we know better, cats and dogs.
And that concluded our romantic, peaceful, winter getaway in The Berkshires. Even though it was only three days, it felt like we left today’s busy modern world for a little while and experienced a weekend getaway in another romantic era.
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