Ventfort Hall Presents A Home For The Holidays

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LENOX, Mass - Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum will present “A Home for the Holidays” starting Nov 28th to mid-January, 2009. The Victorian-era mansion will be beautifully decorated and will host a number of special events to enliven the season.

The halls will be decked throughout public areas of the 1893 manor house including the magnificent dining room festooned for a grand holiday meal by Country Dining Room Antiques of Great Barrington; an American Girl® Christmas tree decorated with charming Gilded Age ornaments hand made by Ventfort Hall’s American Girl program participants; antique train replicas, featuring one gleaming engine that is 10 feet long, (a real Polar Express!) and more. 

In addition, the ongoing exhibit of Les Petites Dames de Mode (The Little Ladies of Fashion), a world-class display of sixty 29”-tall Victorian ladies in exquisitely detailed costumes makes for a Victorian holiday feast for the eyes.

The season kicks off on Sunday December 7th from 2:00 pm to 5:00pm with a “mini” Nutcracker Ballet, performed by the American Dance Institute. This event includes a Victorian Tea with Cocoa, Mulled Cider and plenty of goodies. Tickets are $15 for members, $18 non-members, $7 children under 12.

On Saturday December 27th and Monday December 29th at 3:00pm Carl Sprague will return with his popular old-world marionette shows. A rendition of the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk will delight children of all ages. Tickets are $12 for members, $15 non-members, $5 children age 6 and up, and free for 5 and under.


On the evening of Sunday December 28th composer and pianist Jakov Jakoulov will present a concert/lecture titled “The Neglected Art: The World of Classical Improvisation” starting at 6:00pm, followed by a wine and cheese reception. Tickets are $20.

During Christmas Week from December 26 through 31st, the acclaimed play The Belle of Amherst, will be presented. Normi Noel returns to Ventfort Hall to direct as does actress Ann Undeland who will recount the fascinating story of Emily Dickinson. Tickets are $20.

Free hot mulled cider will also be included with each paid tour admission on weekends and the week of December 26th through December 31st.

Ventfort Hall, located at 104 Walker Street , Lenox, MA., is open daily year-round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.) Hourly guided tours are available on weekends starting at 10:00 am with the last tour at 3:00pm. Self-guided tours are available Mon-Fri from 10:00am to 5:00pm or weekends 10am to 3pm. Information and reservations at 413-637-3206 or www.GildedAge.org.
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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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