William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty Welcomes Two Agents

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LENOX, Mass. — William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty has announced that Stephanie McNair and Maggie Barry have joined the company as sales agents, and will be based in the firm's new Lenox brokerage.

McNair is an experienced agent, who previously was a partner at her own successful real estate firm in the Southern Berkshires and Hilltowns. With a professional background in sales and marketing for several national corporations, including Six Flags Inc. and American Diabetes Association, and regionally for Baystate Health Systems, McNair knows how to effectively market and position a house for sale.

In addition to her professional career, McNair has sat on several community and business boards, including The Junior League, The Oxford House, The Longmeadow Country Club, The Exchange Club, The Open Pantry and Ray’s of Hope Walk for Breast Cancer. McNair currently resides with her two children in Otis, Mass., where she enjoys kayaking, hiking, skiing, photography and boating.

Born and raised in the Berkshires, Barry grew up in a family of local architects, engineers and contractors, shaping her love for design and renovations at an early age. She purchased, renovated and designed her first income property with the help of her family, and after realizing how much she loved this process, decided to take part in the purchase and renovations of the historical LakeHouse Inn, which she currently owns and manages.



Barry received an accounting degree from the University of Massachusetts, where she also minored in Spanish, studying in Granada, Spain and Florence, Italy. Prior to working in real estate, she worked in the hospitality industry and served as the manager of two successful local restaurants, while working part time at a local public accounting firm.

"Both Stephanie's and Maggie's diverse professional and personal backgrounds, as well as their first-hand local knowledge, allow them to thoroughly assist clients through every stage of the buying and selling process," said Kristine Newell, manager of William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty's Lenox brokerage. "With their already established skills, they are perfectly poised to excel in the thriving Berkshires marketplace. I am thrilled to welcome them, and certain that they will contribute greatly to our motivated Lenox team."
 

 


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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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