Foxhollow, EnlightenNext to Host Spiritual and Cultural Celebration

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LENOX, Mass. — The 220-acre property at Foxhollow will be the venue for a day-long spiritual and cultural celebration hosted by EnlightenNext, featuring a dialogue on spiritual activism with Swami Chidanand Saraswati from Rishikesh, India and EnlightenNext founder Andrew Cohen, a three-course gourmet vegetarian buffet, and a free evening world-class jazz concert on the lawn on Friday, July 30.

Saraswati, who will be in the United States as part of a global tour, will be a special guest at the event and participate with Cohen in the talk "Spiritually Enlightened Activism: Changing the World from the Inside Out." Saraswati is the founder of the Indian Heritage Research Foundation (IHRF), an international nonprofit organization that supports schools, women’s vocational training, medical clinics, and orphanages, as well as the president of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, one of India's largest spiritual institutions. He is also a recipient of the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award.

Designed with an "open house" format, the event allows guests to visit Foxhollow at any point during the day. The event will include a gourmet vegetarian buffet for purchase, prepared by executive chef and owner of Kosmic Cooking catering Katherine Miller, and an outdoor concert featuring Israeli jazz-rock guitarist Oz Noy, five-time Gibson Female Jazz Artist of the Year Award-winner Leni Stern, and the Berkshire based jazz-funk-rock band Unfulfilled Desires, who will appear upon return from two performances in Paris.

Bob Voss, EnlightenNext’s chief executive officer, said the diverse event is reflective of the different ways people can contribute to creating the culture of higher values.

"Our annual July 30th celebration, which we are now calling ‘Evolutionary Enlightenment Day,’ marks an important milestone in the development and unfolding of our work at EnlightenNext," said Voss, noting that multimedia presentations and displays at the event will better explain these principles. "This is a day when we reflect on our work and the impact we want to have in addressing with others the many concerns and issues we are facing in today’s world."

"Although we have held five events open to the community in the past, this year we want to really throw our doors open to share and celebrate with our friends, neighbors, and associates far and wide. That positive, creative spirit that is the fuel for all the work we are doing," Voss continued. "The day of activities ranging from a dialogue on spiritually enlightened activism to a delicious vegetarian buffet and lots of fantastic music and good company is our offering back to the local community and beyond."

The event will kick off at noon on Friday, July 30 and continue with musical performances ongoing into the evening, beginning at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to anyone, but EnlightenNext requests that guests RSVP to attend the public talk or gourmet meal by emailing eeday@enlightennext.org. For more information, visit www.enlightennext.org/eeday or call 413-637-6000.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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