STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — One of the county's most exclusive hotels is not completely closing this Valentine's Day.
But the owners of Wheatleigh, L. Linfield and Susan Simon, did confirm to The Berkshire Eagle that they will on putting the 1893 Italian-style villa up for sale later this year.
It will close as a hotel but will be open for private rentals and for weddings and events that were booked through the summer.
iBerkshires and other media posted an announcement made Monday on the hotel's Facebook page:
"It is with great sadness, we bid you all a fond farewell. The Wheatleigh ownership has made the difficult decision to close the property, and put it up for sale as a private residence. Our last day of operation will be February 14th. We thank you all for sharing your lives with us, and we wish you all the very best as we usher in a new chapter for the house we all love."
The Eagle reported Wednesday that the post was a hoax by "an unhappy former employee." The newspaper reported that the Simons are seeking to options for the hotel's future and that the company that was managing it the last few years is no longer involved.
Banking and railroad magnate Henry H. Cook built the Berkshire cottage as a summer home. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and, at one point, was designated five stars by Forbes. It is listed on the Leading Hotels of the World website. It passed out of the Cook family and for a short time was a jazz and folk music school and resort, connected to the Music Inn, and then as a summer hotel.
The Linfords purchased the property in 1983 as Su Lin Inc. It was refurbished in the early 1990s and renovated it in 2002. It's assessed at about $4 million.
It has 19 rooms and suites on 22 acres designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Within walking distance of Tanglewood, the hotel has been a frequent stop for notable celebrities over the years. It is known for its fine dining, wine cellar and luxuriously appointed accommodations.
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Berkshire Art Center Announces Fall 2026 Classes & Workshops
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Art Center (BAC) invites artists of all ages and experience levels to participate in lineup of Fall 2026 classes and workshops.
With programs offered at Citizens' Hall in Stockbridge as well as partner locations including Berkshire Music School, WANDER Berkshires, and the Mass Audubon's Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, BAC's fall season celebrates creativity through ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, photography, and more.
Ceramics students will find opportunities to develop their skills this fall. Faculty Artist Paula Shalan returns with Tableware: Creating with Soft Slabs, where students create functional pottery such as mugs, tumblers, and bowls, as well as Cut, Add, and Stretch: Creating with Soft Slabs, which explores more contemporary approaches to handbuilding. Jess Cropper-Alt teaches Timeless & Tactile: Handbuilding Traditions, while Donna Bernstein leads Wheel Throwing for All, an all-levels course featuring demonstrations, individualized instruction, and ample studio time.
For those looking to try clay for the first time, Lorimer Burns offers Try Your Hand at the Pottery Wheel, a welcoming two-hour introduction to wheel throwing. BAC also offers fun, social workshops including Wall Pocket Party, perfect for beginners, friends, couples, and families with children ages 10 and up, and Pottery Night: Beer Stein Social, an evening of creativity and community where participants craft their own handmade ceramic beer stein.
Mixed media and printmaking enthusiasts will find an inspiring variety of offerings throughout the season. Jody King Camarra teaches Color Theory Through Collage, Print Lab: Collagraph, Drypoint & Relief, Working in a Series: Creating Cohesive Collages, Monoprint Magic, and concludes the season with the festive workshop Handmade Holidays: Winter Layers in Gel Plate Printmaking.
Additional printmaking opportunities include Eco-Printing: Basics and Beyond with Mallorey Caron, where students create beautiful botanical prints using real flowers and leaves, Gelatin Plate Printmaking with Johanna Merfeld, an introduction to playful experimentation with layering, texture, stencils, and image transfers, and Image Transfers & Mixed Media, where Diane Firtell shares versatile techniques that can stand alone or enhance existing artwork.
Photographers can celebrate autumn alongside Thad Kubis, whose seasonal workshops include Photography of Daniel Chester French's Studio at Chesterwood in Stockbridge and Photographing Fall Colors in the Berkshires at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Pittsfield.
Painters and drawing enthusiasts will discover classes ranging from foundational techniques to expressive exploration. Jill McLean returns with Watercolor Foundations and Watercolor Landscapes at Berkshire Music School, along with shorter, 1-day workshops including Berkshire Polaroids in Watercolor and Handmade Holidays: Watercolor Bookmarks.
Wednesday Nelena Sorokin offers Creative Writing & Abstraction, where students use stream-of-consciousness writing to inspire expressive abstract paintings, along with Painting Basics, Two-Dimensional Composition Workshop, and the popular Abstract Painting: Color, Design and Spirit. Artists looking for a relaxed, supportive studio environment can also enjoy the return of Friday Painting Studio, featuring a new and more accessible tuition rate and experienced facilitators who provide encouragement, feedback, and creative community while participants work on independent projects.
BAC's monthly workshop series at WANDER Berkshires in Pittsfield also continues this fall. Held on the second Saturday of each month, these welcoming two-hour sessions invite participants to sketch, paint, journal, and experiment in a relaxed community setting—no long-term commitment required. The series begins September 12 with Commonplace Visual Journaling led by Kaily Ritz, followed by Mini Nature Assemblage Boxes with Johanna Merfeld on October 10, Indoor Urban Sketching with Jill McLean on November 14, and concludes December 12 with Watercolor Reset for the New Year, led by BAC Executive Director Laura Thompson.
During his visit, Congressman Neal met with CATA artists and their families, including artists with disabilities from many of CATA's 65 program partners. click for more
Now, just steps from the original playground, a new ninja park is nearly complete to soon offer adults a unique opportunity to reconnect with that childhood sense of adventure.
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Second- and third-grade students at St. Mary's turned their creativity into real-world advertising by designing ads for Meadow Farm Equipment — wrapping up our Junior Marketers Create an Ad series.
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This season, Allen returned to the Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre in Abi Morgan's "LoveSong," a play about how love changes people over time. click for more
