Airy apartment at the old boarding house

Distinctive 2-bedroom with lots of windows and light and a kind of shabby elegance. It's half of a Greek Revival house from 1900 on a country lane at the foot of the Berkshires. Enormous master bedroom with dressing room, 2nd bedroom with twin beds, lovely living room, separate dining room, full kitchen. Big covered front porch for eating outside, with grill, hammock, table and an acre of orchard outside too. Do you crave space? This grand dame of an apartment has high ceilings and sun pouring in through big windows onto hardwood floors. Lots of amenities but no clutter. It used to be the splendid side of an old boarding house, now a bit worn but still lovely. Our location is in New York, right on the border of the Berkshires, in a perfect position to fan out for destinations north and south. You're just 20 minutes away from Tanglewood, Kripalu Yoga Center and Jiminy Peak Ski. We're an excellent hub, but please make sure that you like our location and love the great value it offers before you book. The property works well for two people, or for a couple joined by two others. The base price is for two people, and we don't charge a cleaning fee. The only other cost is a $15 charge for every additional person (except for kids little enough to be in a crib). The front door opens off a giant front porch into a foyer, where the old staircase winds its way up to the second floor. Step into the big living room, with its four sunny windows, oriental rug, cozy places to sit, books, and marble- topped tables. Set the ample dining room table next door with the full Royal Doulton service; cook up a meal in the nicely stocked kitchen with all its blue and white wares. There's a full-size fridge, stove, microwave, coffee-maker, toaster-- but the sink is a relic. It's an old enamel version from the twenties, and there is no dishwasher. You'll have to enjoy handling all the nice dishes and glassware. But there is good space to work in there, and fine supplies, like coffee, tea, oil, vinegar, and spices. A separate back entrance to the kitchen is really the main way in and is convenient to your car. The bathroom is at the top of the stairs; you'll find a tub with shower, several shelves, and washer/dryer there, as well as a nice array of shampoos and conditioners and soaps. Your towels stay warm on the heated rack. The master bedroom is enormous and airy -- sun pours in from four big windows. The queen- size bed has ample bedside tables and reading lamps; there's also a round table with chairs, a club chair with ottoman, and cable tv. The adjacent dressing room has its own big window, a marble-top chest of drawers, full-length mirrors and a big closet. It's a good place for a portable crib or an air mattress for another little sleeper, too. There is still so much space left that you could waltz in these rooms. The master bedroom gets a great breeze. Summer evenings in this area are rarely too hot, but when that happens, there's air conditioning in this room. The second bedroom has a more cozy feel. It has eaves, a lower ceiling and three small windows, and there's air conditioning here too for a hot day. The twin beds are equipped with swing-arm lighting, and each has its own corner of the room. This is a perfect place to read in the armchair, or do some work at the vintage table in front of the window. This bedroom offers ample space, with a closet and a marble-topped chest of drawers. Enjoy the outdoors at the table and four chairs on the broad front porch, or the beautiful view of the orchard outside your window. There's also a picnic table outside and a hammock to enjoy outside your back steps. The apartment has its own wifi. Guests usually tell us that they have very good cell phone coverage, except for T-Mobile/Consumer Cellular. We use quality bedding with high thread counts and wash them in Seventh Generation detergent. Our mattresses and pillows are encased with protective covers. We provide lots of choices in pillows, blankets and coverlets so that you'll find the cozy combination you like. Individual unit heating is available in every room, so it can be adjusted as desired. We supply all windows with cordless shades too. You can be fully private in the Airy Apartment, with your own driveway (good for two or even three cars), two entrances, and porch. We would love to greet you on arrival, but after that the place can be entirely yours. We're available just down the road should you ever need assistance. If you're not certain about distances, don't hesitate to write us. Mass MOCA makes an unforgettable day trip, for example, but we're not the best base if you plan to go back and forth to North Adams more than once during your stay. The same is true for Albany and Great Barrington, for example. We promise to give you good advice. New Lebanon, at the top of Columbia County, New York, is a pretty funky town, not a Norman Rockwell town. Many people drive right through it to go north for antiquing or skiing, to take the scenic pass into Massachusetts or to pick up the nearby NY thruway. Our town is so small that there's only one stoplight, and that's a blinking one. There's no night life to speak of, no sidewalks, and we lack a big grocery store. The upside is that our location right next to the Berkshires is what makes the Airy Apartment at the old boarding house such a good value, and so good for exploring. You can get easily to almost all the places you'd like to see-- more easily, we find, than from some of the Berkshire towns themselves. And whatever New Lebanon lacks in picket fences, it offers in glorious hillside viewscapes. The town has a remarkable allotment of Shaker history. Visit the Shaker museum with its variety of Shaker buildings, or take the self-guided walk by the massive ruin of the Great Stone Barn at Mount Lebanon. This place was recognized by the World Monuments Fund as one of the 100 most significant endangered sites in the world, and it's right here in town. Lebanon Springs, on the other side of town, was utterly famous in the nineteenth century for its warm water spa. It was frequented by the luminaries of the time, such as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and the Marquis de Lafayette. The warm spring still courses down the hillside, but in obscurity now. In fact, you can download a great app for free called "The Water and the Word". It's a brief driving tour of these kinds of sites in town. Each site has an additional chapter that relates the site to the fascinating history of the country of the time; you don't have to be on the actual driving tour to enjoy that. Listen to it on your way in! There is plenty to enjoy in New Lebanon. We're two miles from the center of town. Stop at Blueberry Hill Market Cafe for coffee and something delicious for breakfast or lunch (and dinners on Friday and Saturday nights). Try M&M's for a late dinner of burgers, wings, and some craft beer, or reserve at Mario's for a fancy meal. Trek along the beaver dams at Hand Hollow Conservation Area. Go to the antique auction at Meissner's on most Saturdays at 4, where we've found astonishing values. The Airy Apartment at the old boarding house is a great retreat both in summer and winter, whether you are looking for a cozy break or search for culture and action. It's perfectly positioned for taking advantage of the Berkshires, including so much fine music, theater, food, art and natural beauty that you can't possibly do it all justice no matter how hard you try. A treat hidden nearby is Queechy Lake, with lifeguard and sandy shore, one of the cleanest and most delicious lakes in New York state. There's also a nice local park in town, with two newly redone tennis courts. Check out our online guidebook for a full listing of the places we love most around here for visit or a meal. We're a good jumping-off point for visiting the Berkshire towns-- it takes about 20 minutes to get to Lenox, Pittsfield and West Stockbridge in Massachusetts, for example. You're also only about twenty minutes from several other historic towns and villages of New York, such as Old Chatham, Canaan, and Spencertown. This is a pretty rural area, so a car is key. We're on a country road with heritage cows grazing up the hill, but Albany, the capital of New York state, is just a half-hour away. We are 3 hours due north of New York City by car, 2 1/2 hours west of Boston, and less than an hour south of Bennington, Vermont. The Albany International Airport is an easy trip at 40 minutes away and the Amtrak station about 35 minutes. Guests tell us that car rental at either the airport or the train station works out well. We welcome kids, but please note that the apartment does not have safety features for small children. The big windows are old- fashioned; they sit low and are opened from the bottom, they have to be supported to stay open, and they don't have gates. The stairway banister strikes a lovely line on the second floor as it turns the corner to the master bedroom, but it may not be sizable enough to be protective for younger kids. This building dates from the turn of the 20th century and the floor can be creaky. You might hear traces from people staying on the other side of the house. Guests tell us that they don't find it bothersome, but sometimes it's not perfectly quiet either. Please be reminded that there is no dishwasher and only one bathroom. The downstairs floor of the airy apartment has no doors between its various spaces, which allows for excellent breezes and flow. There is an air conditioner for the kitchen and dining room, but it won't make the whole first floor and hallways really chilled. However, the air conditioning in the bedrooms makes a nice refuge.