Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort, Lenox

Location

Set on a 380-acre estate, Cranwell is perched high on a hilltop in Lenox, Massachusetts looking out over the idyllic Berkshire Hills. Equidistant between New York and Boston, the area is a perfect foil to city life with many of the cities’ well-healed elite owning retreats in its verdant landscapes. Its year-round beauty can best be seen in the winding country roads that dip through wooded forests to incredible rural vistas.

Accommodation

Accommodation is located either in the mansion itself or in one of the cottages and period buildings scattered throughout the resort’s grounds. Individually decorated, cottages are furnished in a Victorian or contemporary style and are located right next to the resort’s outdoor pool while Mansion rooms offer excellent views along with direct access to the French wall tapestries and oriental sofas of the Great Hall.

Dining

Cranwell, a member of Berkshire Grown, supports neighbouring family farms by using locally sourced fresh ingredients whenever possible. The resort’s signature restaurant, Wyndhurst, serves award-winning American cuisine in the Mansion's Gilded Age setting. Expect dishes such as coffee-braised short rib and seared duck breast. Looking over the golf course, Sloane’s Restaurant and Bar is more suited for a casual evening with a selection of favourites including speciality burgers and grilled entrees.

Facilities

The resort’s standout features are, without a doubt, its aforementioned golf course and spa. Rated 4.5 stars by the 2015 New England Golf Guide, the resort’s 18 holes have been carefully preserved since the course was built in 1926. Along with the soothing massages and rejuvenating skin and body treatments of the spa, the resort features both an indoor and outdoor pool, a fitness centre with classes, personal training, seasonal cross-country skiing, ice-skating and year-round outdoor tennis.