Moody Lakeside Glamour

One of our favorite discoveries of the past year is the remarkable hideaway just fifteen minutes from the center of Amsterdam known as De Durgerdam.

A lakeside boutique hotel fringed by tall grasses, laundered linen whispering in the wind and a row of gabled, clapboard houses in misty hues skirting along the water’s edge. Here is a time-stood-still hamlet, home to a handful of former fisherfolk, charming architecture, sail boats, coots, and this stunning new hotel and restaurant. 

Fourteen thoughtfully designed bedrooms and suites colour match the lakeside play of light in rich, historical hues that blend past and future—like any great work of art.. Local accents and seductive design abound – decorative shells, the typical Zuiderzee hand-painted joinery, hand-glazed tiles and the tactile, sensuous fabrics and velvets that are inspired by the surrounding nature. All the choices here conspire to slow down the rush of time, as you take a glass of sherry from the decanter, gaze at the bobbing boats on the lake, or collapse gratefully onto your Hypnos bed, as the linen voile at the windows moves lazily in the breeze.

The location is, without doubt, enviable. But like all our aspirations at Blue Hill Properties, what makes De Durgerdam work is its curation - the feeling that everything has been chosen with intent to deepen a sense of place and of serenity. To take but one detail, have you ever seen more luscious bathroom tiles?

The restaurant, De Mark, mirrors these values. Local, fresh, and seasonal underpin the menu where old favourites are handled with a respectful, light touch, familiar classics are bold and unfussy, and humble ingredients create dishes that simply taste good. Head Chef Koen Marees collaborates with two of Amsterdam’s gourmet heroes, Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot of Michelin-star restaurants 212 and De Juwelier, to forge a fresh gastronomic journey seven days a week. 

We’ve read a lot recently about the idea that the small independent hotel is a dying breed. The advent of this miraculous little venture tells a different story; we only wish it was ours - or that we were closer!

Manifesting Authenticity Near Loch Ness

Nestled against the southeast shores of Loch Ness, in the western Highlands of Scotland, is a small village called Foyers known primarily for its waterfall. Outside of that small village is one of the most idyllic, thoughtfully and tastefully renovated small hotels or guest houses you’ll find anywhere: Foyers Lodge.

An inn of some sort has been located here since the mid-1600s, when it would have been used primarily by cattle drovers.  The building was extended in 1863 and was formally known as “The Foyers Hotel” which is still visible as you cross today’s threshold.

There are some places where you can feel the residual energy of a building’s history, but sadly more often than not, the more renovation that is carried out on a place, the more that historic energy feels depleted. Interiors can become unimaginative, predictable, and too contemporary for the history and architecture of the building. Under the remarkable care and good taste of owners Anna and Phil, here the original and surviving dignity of the building has been amplified, stripping away years of dated decor and modernizing it for the luxury comforts we demand today. Rarely have I see that balancing act achieved more perfectly—and without the hand of professional designers.

Foyers Lodge feels uniquely Scottish, but not contrived or clichéd. It’s rich and lush, with hints of the various decades the building has seen along the way. The mix of Victorian with Art Deco in the drawing room and library—in the soft furnishings, the wallpapers, and the color palette—works, the vintage (Anna evidently spent years haunting obscure Scottish auction houses) and the new melding together seamlessly.

Featuring a mere eight ensuite guest rooms and a single, lavish apartment, Foyers Lodge wraps itself around you with the enthusiasm and comfort of a long lost relation welcoming you home with a sense of recognition and memory, even if you are a stranger here at first. Embodying Scotland’s renowned spirit, hospitality, and warmth, the fact that just beyond its walls lies the remarkable beauty of Loch Ness far below adds to the magical sense of arrival and place that Anna and Phil have achieved.

Responding to COVID-19

Summer by the Pond at the Jackson House Inn

Safety First, Well-Being Always at the Jackson House Inn

A AAA Four Diamond / Select Registry Property

During these unprecedented times, the safety of our guests and staff remains our highest priority, even as we strive to ensure that future stays at the Jackson House Inn rise to the standards of comfort and luxury for which we are known. Our small size allows us to minimize the risk of exposure: there are no crowds at the Jackson House Inn.

We are taking our time in reopening the Inn in order to ensure that we can do so safely and without a loss in the quality of experience we are able to offer. We are following the guidance of local health officials, the State of Vermont, and the CDC, and are implementing a number of new protocols to meet these objectives. The situation remains fluid, and these protocols are subject to change, but new guest protocols include the following.

We care. We clean. We welcome.

-       We will limit the total number of guests on property at any given time.

-       All guests will be asked to wear face coverings when using the Inn’s common rooms when other guests are present. Occupancy of each common room will be limited to one or two couples at a time, as room size requires.

-       Hand sanitizers will be available at each entry to the Inn.

-       All on-site staff will wear face coverings at all times while interacting with guests.

-       All on-site staff will have gone through COVID-19 training in appropriate guest interaction and facilities maintenance protocols, include hand hygiene.

-       All on-site staff will undergo temperature testing and health screening before reporting to work.

-       We are implementing special cleaning protocols for guest rooms and public spaces, with particular attention to high-touch items. Throughout your stay, you will observe more regular disinfecting of high-touch items such as door handles, stair banisters, and outdoor seating.

-       Following guidance from EcoLabs, we will be using EPA-approved disinfectants in order to sustain our commitment to your safety and to the environment.

-       In order to implement deep cleaning of guest rooms between each guest, check-in will be delayed by one hour. Early check-in will be provided whenever possible.

-       We will continue to welcome you with warmth, but check-in will be an essentially touchless experience. In lieu of the personal welcome tour we typically provide all of our guests, you will receive a self check-in package with information about the Inn and your sanitized keys. Luggage service will be available only upon request, by staff wearing disposable gloves.

We will continue to offer you our renowned breakfasts.

 The generous size of our dining room will allow us to continue to offer a gourmet seated breakfast. But we will require that you join us for one of two timed seatings, and we will seat you to allow for social distancing and sanitization of dining spaces between guests.

Flexibility in Your Travel Plans

 -       Until further notice, all reservations may be changed without penalty up to 48 hours in advance of the time of your arrival.

-       If you find that you must change your dates, and do not know when you might be able to visit us, we will gladly apply your deposit to a gift certificate that will never expire. The value of your deposit will be 100% preserved.

-       We thus strongly advise you to book with us directly rather than through an online travel agency, so as to assure you the most flexibility.

The New Breed of Motel

It’s not really our brand at Blue Hill Properties, where we’re focused on a more luxurious experience, but one of our favorite trends in hospitality is what we’ll call the new motel—high in style, conveniently located, typically approachably priced, and with true individuality.

Today, we’ll highlight just two near us in the northeast. The first is Tourists, located in the Berkshires just off the Mohawk Trail so it’s perfect for anyone seeking a great hike and a stylish place to sleep. On the banks of the Hoosic River, Tourists is the brainchild of Wilco bassist John Stirratt and friends, and is a kind of hip summer camp for adults. With a saltwater pool, a suspension bridge, and a Civil War-era mill, the grounds invite exploration, but it’s also great for a visit to Mass MoCA and other Berkshires destinations.

Our second featured property today is the Brentwood in Saratoga Springs. Located trackside by the legendary racecourse, the Brentwood is a remastered motel with terrific style, combining Billykirk leathers, Sharktooth textiles, period works of art, and lots of brass highlights. It’s a darker, moodier look than Tourists, but to our minds has a Madmen vibe that is perfect for the era of the original buildings. Paint colors are dark greens and blues, and the bar is impeccable. Off-season prices are insanely affordable—as I write I’m seeing a nightly rate UNDER $100. So it’s an easy discovery.

Of course, a visit to a Blue Hill Properties destination is always in order, so check out The Jackson House Inn—and book your romantic getaway now. (Yes, Yankee magazine named us Best Couples Retreat.)

The Perfect Hunting Lodge on the Isle of Skye

Today we venture further north, and almost as west as you can go and still be in the United Kingdom--to the Isle of Skye just off the western coast of the Scottish Highlands, a semi-mystical place where the winds come in strong off the Atlantic, the views are unparalleled--and increasingly some of the finest food in Britain is to be found. Kinloch Lodge is one of our two favorite destinations on the Isle of Skye (someday we'll write about the other), a former sixteenth-century hunting lodge and later family home to the Macdonalds, who still own the property today. The setting is as fine as any in Europe, on the south side of island just a short drive from Skye Bridge, with views that are simply epic. The approach to the lodge on the shores of Loch na Dal fulfills every fantasy one might have of the Inner Hebrides, the island chain of which this is a part. And the interiors achieve just the kind of balance we like: posh and extraordinarily comfortable, but with the feeling of being in the home of a rather grand friend. From tartans to tweeds, to the wall mounted stags' heads, the whole is just what we love at Blue Hill Properties.

It was renowned chef and food writer Claire Macdonald who set Kinloch Lodge on the path to greatness in the hospitality world, and though Claire and her husband Godfrey have handed over the reins to their daughter, Isabella, the standards for food and the infinite kindnesses of the staff are undiminished. On the culinary front, this is the achievement of the wondrous and inimitable Marcello Tully, who draws heavily on the island's bounty to create the perfect ways for presenting the region's seafood, vegetables--and its whiskeys. Breakfasts are simple but superb with possibly the best Scottish porridge we've ever tasted. Even the tap water has a hint of peat in its flavors; there's bottled water if you prefer, but shouldn't we really feel where we are when we travel?

Country Perfection in the Lakes District

Today's travels take us to the first of two stops in the northern reaches of the United Kingdom--this one in the heart of the Lake District. Forest Side is the remarkable remaking of a historic Victorian house in the heart of the lakes, and is the third project by owner Andrew Wildsmith. It is both a luxurious haven and a gastronomic destination that opened to acclaim in 2016. What sets it apart is both the jewel-like tones of its décor, a wonderful departure from traditional country house hotel fare that is subtle and yet unmistakably of the English countryside, and its attention to detail. From custom herbal infusions for your bath to the amazing resuscitated gardens that range from the ornamental to the perfumed to the edible, the details delight. As they should: reports have it that Wildsmith invested $4 million in the renovation and relaunch.

Chef Kevin Tickle--who we understand has never worked outside the county--all but immediately earned a Michelin star, remarkable indeed but hugely deserved. And when your appetite is sated, what better than a walk from such luxuries over Bracken Fell to Alcock Tarn, taking in views of Windermere, Coniston, Rydal, and Grasmere--names that immediately invoke memories of the Wordsworths.

Two Forms of Perfection in Ireland

Some years ago I wrote a book on Irish painting, and spent many months there doing research and meeting artists--and not incidentally dining and lodging very handsomely. So perhaps it's not surprising that at year's end, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, and will share thoughts on two of Ireland's best country house hotels--Ballyfin, which is regularly invoked as Ireland's most exclusive hotel, and Waterford Castle, recently acquired and given fresh life.

Ballyfin in County Laois occupies an unrivaled setting. The demesne’s mile-long meandering driveway, its private lake, broad sweep of gravel, and huge porticoed entrance, all create an impression of extraordinary grandeur--which is surely the point. Guests are formally welcomed on the steps and cars and bags are whisked away. The front door opens into a hallway with two standout features – the antlers of a great Irish elk that perished in a bog more than 2,000 years ago, and a Roman mosaic floor brought back from the Grand Tour in the early 19th century by Ballyfin's fabulously wealthy owners Sir Charles and Lady Caroline Coote. Their personal motto “Cost what it may” is evident everywhere, in the fine plasterwork ceilings, the magnificent windows and door cases, the parquet flooring, chimney pieces and columns that appear to be marble but are painted timber – a process that actually cost seven times more than the polishing of mere marble.

Check-in takes place in the Whispering Room, so called because two people standing in opposite corners can hear each other’s whispers thanks to the curved construction of the ceiling. An inner hallway with main staircase hung with portraits of Cootes family members through the ages leads through to a series of eye-popping reception rooms where fires burn through the day and guests sink down into innumerable comfortable armchairs and sofas.

Once settled in, there are almost 10 miles of paths throughout the walled estate. Boating, fishing, shooting, archery and trips through the grounds in a horse-drawn carriage can all be arranged on site. All of this in its modern-day incarnation is the dream of an American industrialist with an Irish-born wife, whose dream project Ballyfin's rescue has been. Such a property will surely never turn a profit.

And yet.

As extraordinary as Ballyfin is, its perfection invites hushed voices. Its polish may be as much about the idea of historic luxury as it is the reality of being comfortably cosseted. While also certainly luxurious, Waterford Castle affords a more intimate kind of indulgence. Accessed only by ferry, arrival itself is a thrilling process, with the lights of the imposing centuries-old building blinking in the darkness beyond. A short, beech-lined drive leads to the castle entrance, where thick sprays of ivy decorate ancient Portland stone walls, complete with leaded glass windows and rooftop gargoyles.

Inside, the aura of history is deepened by Elizabethan oak paneling, graceful arches, and a fine sixteenth-century plaster ceiling. The décor is a mashup of periods, as it would have been in a house that passed through generations in the same family: a pair of George III carved cabinets meet a Louis XVI Aubusson tapestry meet plenty of richly carved Victorian pieces. 

The dining room continues the manorial style of Waterford Castle, with oak paneling, an ornate oak mantelpiece, and another exquisite plaster ceiling. After dinner, a guest might retire to the Fitzgerald room, named after a prominent family that owned the castle from around 1160 to the mid-1900s. Here, in an intimate setting, deep-set sofas and soft lighting encourage relaxation and a sense of true ease. A short walk before bed might lead to the sight of a herd of delicate Sika deer, who were introduced to this 310-acre island hideaway years ago and have made it their own.

Decadent Design Perfection from Jasper Conran

Our second stop today is the Hotel Marrakech, designed by the man who was once Princess Diana's favorite designer, Jasper Conran, but don't hold that against him. His Moroccan riad is a cathedral to good taste, a converted 19th-century palace containing five suites of four-posters swathed in a total of nearly a mile of white voile, set around a quadrangle of orange trees and a pretty tiled fountain.

The place radiates the sort of 1930s decadence once found in Tangiers, due in part to its private-house feel, but also the simple elegance, the pinks and greens, the oil paintings of maharajas, the period jazz emanating from a hidden radio.

A return to Marrakech and this fantastic and fantastical addition to the boutique hotel scene is high on our wanderlist for 2018.

Rural Perfection in France

As a house, the Domaine de Fontenille, in Provence’s Luberon Valley, dates back to the eighteenth century, and the estate goes back to 1638. But in its current incarnation as a luxury hotel, it’s more or less brand new, so that guests soak in an abundance of historical atmosphere even as they benefit from a thoroughly modern approach to hospitality.

The experience is still, delightfully, reminiscent of the Provençal farmhouse fantasies we’ve all had. There’s a contemporary sheen to the décor, and all the necessary technology in the rooms, but the effect never breaks the spell — the essential character of the place remains undisturbed. The spa, the pool, the gardens, and the paths that crisscross the estate's vineyards and grounds provide ample opportunity for physical restoration. And the focus is the dinner table, where chef Jérôme Faure presides over a pair of restaurants. It’s an instant classic.

Hot Design in Saratoga Springs

I'm just back from upstate New York, and I'm completely smitten. The Brentwood Hotel is the remaking of a classic motel sitting astride the Saratoga racetrack, that Brooklyn's Studio Tack has remade into something really special. Saratoga Springs itself seems to be benefiting from being rediscovered for its small-town charms, only three hours distant from New York City. 

What I especially admire about Studio Tack's work here is the way the update is sensitive to the setting, the old motel vibe replaced by a lively updated equestrian atmosphere perfect for Saratoga Springs--whether or not you're going to the track. Maybe it makes a difference that the designers are also the hoteliers--just as we are at Blue Hill Properties--and every detail, every gilt-framed painting and every paint color, feels thought through. Look at the choice for the do not disturb, for example. And with just 12 rooms, they could stay focused.