At Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast in Lenox, MA,  we attempt to make every guest happy for every night they stay with us.   Since 1999, when we bought the inn, that represents 26,300 opportunities to meet or fall short of expectations.

Let us start by saying that we KNOW we cannot please all of the people all of the time….although we try very hard.   It is especially difficult to do that in a 110-year-old historic home, where every room is different and expectations are hard to manage.   For those who are looking for the uniformity and guarantees of a cookie-cutter hotel chain, they may not be prepared for what they find in an inn….a place where such guarantees are replaced by distinct experiences, authenticity and the warm embrace of an innkeeper hoping to earn a repeat guest. More on Hampton Terrace #1 in Lenox, TripAdvisor.com

For many decades there has been concern that there is not enough music education in the schools.   But one of the by-products of so much classical music in the Berkshires is a plethora of music education opportunities. More on Music in the Berkshires: Classical Beyond Tanglewood, Part 3

You can find classical music of some variety just about every night at Tanglewood from mid-June until late August every year.   But on any given night in the Berkshires there are thousands of visitors and second homeowners who are willing to support music at other venues up and down the county.

The Concerts at Tannery Pond is a series of six or seven chamber music evenings held in an 1834 Shaker building in New Lebanon, New York from May through October.   Established in 1991 by photographer/pianist Christian Steiner, the annual series combines music with a serene setting that would be hard to beat anywhere.

Continuing in the chamber music genre, there is the South Mountain Concert Series, held on weekends in September each year.   Located just north of Lenox, the series has been presented since 1918 and is held in a hall built that specifically for chamber music.   Performers over the years have included Leonard Bernstein, Gary Graffman, Leontyne Price and Peter Serkin, and quartets have included the Borromeo, the Emerson, The Guarneri, the Tokyo, the Julliard, the Orion and the Vermeer. More on Music in the Berkshires: Classical Beyond Tanglewood, Part 2

Of course, Tanglewood created the reason people began coming to the Berkshires annually to hear classical music.   But under the rationale of "critical mass," numerous arts presenters have sprung up over the years to give concert-goers multiple nightly options.

The Berkshire Choral Festival began in 1982 and performs weekends from mid-July to early August at the Berkshire School in Southern Berkshire County.   The Springfield Symphony provides the musical accompaniment.   If you are an experienced choral singer, and you would like to spend a week in the Berkshires, it is possible to sing with the Berkshire Choral Festival.   They also offer opportunities to sing with the Chorus in England, Canada and Austria.

The Berkshire Opera presents fully staged performances, featuring internationally known opera stars, on multiple venues throughout the Berkshires.  

The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield and the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington also present an annual slate of classical music.   Their websites offer calendars and the opportunity to purchase tickets.

Hampton Terrace in Lenox also offers classical music…much more ambiantly.   We have hidden speakers in our common area rooms that play classical background music during the day and jazz at night.   We also have a 1929 Steinway L Grand piano which is in great shape, is always in tune, and is frequently played by guests.   So for a great Berkshire bed and breakfast experience, stay at Hampton Terrace, one of the best reviewed Lenox inns.

What is he doing?   Promoting another Berkshire lodging option?   I guess that could be the end result of this entry, because I do really like everyone I know at the Red Lion Inn, including Nancy Fitzpatrick and Brian Butterworth.   But I am really just trying to promote their nightly music, and if I lose a few potential guests along the way, so be it. More on Music in the Berkshires: The Red Lion Inn

In 1937, when the Depression and taxation caused the gild to come off the Gilded Age, the great mansions and estates of Lenox were largely abandoned.   Many became institutional:   schools, asylums or monasteries, and some spent more than half a century empty.   But luckily, one was donated to the Boston Symphony…and the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the decades, as the audiences who attended concerts at Tanglewood grew, more and more of these great estates and historic "cottages" were able to be put back into service:   Cranwell, Wheatleigh, Blantyre…and even Hampton Terrace, one of the original "Berkshire Cottages."   In fact, most of the Lenox inns are the former second homes of the turn-of-the-century's rich and famous.   Tanglewood itself, one mile down the hill from Lenox town center, consists of multiple performance venues inhabiting a most embracing rural setting.   Lenonard Bernstein, a alum of the affiliated Tanglewood Institute always proclaimed that the Tanglewood property, and the Berkshires in general, had captured his soul. More on Music in the Berkshires: Tanglewood

Recently having earned a Tony Award for the best regional theater in the country, Williamstown Theater Festival in 2008 is again presenting an impressive array of classic and new plays on its Main, Nikos and Center Stages, Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabaret, and readings, workshops, and other special events.  

WTF has historically wowed Berkshire audiences, and guests of Hampton Terrace, with notable names, most recently Emmy Rossum (pictured), Elizabeth Banks, Dianne Weist, Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Burton, James Naughton, Jean Smart, Olympia Dukakis and Bebe Neuwirth.  This year's performances include "Beyond Therapy," "The Athiest," "She Loves Me," "Broke-ology," "Three Sisters," "The Understudy," "A Flea in Her Ear," " Not Waiving," and "Home."  

Combine a romantic getaway to one of the highest rated bed and breakfasts in Lenox by visiting Hampton Terrace and seeing a show at Williamstown Theater Festival.   Hampton Terrace is uniquely positioned compared to much Berkshire lodging, by being centrally located in Lenox.   We are just 5 minutes north of the Mass Pike…but 20 minutes from Great Barrington, 10 minutes from Stockbridge, 15 minutes from Pittsfield and about 30 minutes from Williamstown.   All Lenox shops and restaurants are less than a 2 block walk from us, and Tanglewood is one mile.  When considering a romantic b&b and a New England getaway, click here:   www.hamptonterrace.com.

Many people remember the Barrington Stage Company bravely mounting their seasons at a local high school in South County.   Julianne Boyd had a pedigree, and all knew it was just a matter of time before this theatre company earned its break….

And the break came from an unlikely place…an improvisational theater lab that quickly moved from Barrington Stage to Broadway and now to leading cities of the world, while picking up two Tony Awards along the way.  The success of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" led to Barrington Stage's purchase and renovation of a 1912 playhouse in downtown Pittsfield.  Julie Boyd's vision of having a stage capable of handling the large productions she loved was fulfilled.   This year marks a return of "Spelling Bee" to its creator, and other offerings include "The Violet Hour", "Private Lives" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."   And that is just the Main Stage.   There are a dozen other options through the summer, including the very workshops that might spawn the next Tony Award- winning play or musical.  

Barrington Stage Company joins Shakespeare & Company, Williamstown Theater Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival and other important theater companies within minutes of Hampton Terrace, a well-reviewed bed and breakfast in Lenox.  Top rated among Berkshire lodging, Hampton Terrace features 14 rooms with private baths and is located within steps of Lenox's heralded shops and restaurants.  When considering a Lenox inn while visiting theater in the Berkshires, check out www.hamptonterrace.com.

80 Years!   If that is not sustainability, what is?   The Berkshire Theatre Festival is the lone presenting organization that matches Tanglewood's tenure, and its stage has featured some of the most important actors of the century.   The 2008 schedule includes "Candida," opening next week and showcasing Jayne Atkinson, most recently famous for playing CTU Director Karen Hayes on 24. 

Other important offerings on the Main Stage include "The Book Club Play," "A Man for All Seasons," "Noel Coward in Two Keys," "Oliver!,"  and six plays in the Unicorn Theater.   BTF will feature "A Christmas Carol" in December….what a great opportunity for a Romantic Getaway at a Berkshire inn, such as Hampton Terrace, which is located just a ten minute drive from Stockbridge and the Berkshire Theatre Festival.   TripAdvisor.com ranks Hampton Terrace among the top two Lenox inns based on unsolicited guest reviews.

Unquestionably Tanglewood is the most internationally known attraction in the Berkshires, but our theater offerings are an embarrassment of riches:   Shakespeare & Company, Barrington Stage Company, Williamstown Theater Festival, Jacob's Pillow and many others.   This column will feature a different theatre company each day, and while attending shows and considering Berkshires lodging, check out Hampton Terrace, located just steps from Lenox's heralded restaurants and shops.  

Tanglewood fills the Berkshires every weekend during the summer.   If you want to avoid the large crowds and enjoy a wide range of theater offerings while staying in a romantic b&b, consider a mid-week visit and save 30% compared to our normal room rates.

When considering Lenox or the Berkshires, many people think Tanglewood and the Boston Symphony.   But of equal stature (and actually exceeding Tanglewood in total audience) are the local theater companies, including Shakespeare and Company, Berkshire Theater Festival, Williamstown Theater Festival, Jacob's Pillow (dance), Barrington Stage Company, and many others.   All are kicking off their seasons this week and next.

Shakespeare & Company, founded by Tina Packer, is in its 31st season, and is located just one block from Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast.   Their large campus includes multiple theater options, including their main stage, The Founder's Theater.   This year, they are opening with "The Ladies Man," a French farce that we saw last Thursday night.   It was GREAT!   At our Lenox bed and breakfast, we get feedback every morning at breakfast about what our guests did the night before, where they ate, etc.   At least eight of our guests have now seen "The Ladies Man" and agree with us.   It has all the things you would expect from this genre:   double entrendres, mistaken identities and maniacal (and I mean really maniacal) action.   I was exhausted from the energy on stage…no daily gym workouts needed for these actors.   "The Ladies Man" is being performed all summer, alternating with other significant productions including "Othello," "All's Well that Ends Well," "The Goatwoman of Corvis County," "The Canterville Ghost," "Bad Dates," and numerous free presentations on their outdoor stage.   You can see, this industrious group is not limited to Shakespeare.   Importantly, they are opening a new venue, The Elayne Bernstein Stage in August.    So for those of you who are looking to avoid the weekend crowds associated with Tanglewood, consider coming to the Berkshires Sunday to Thursday and entertaining yourselves with these exciting theater options.

And as always, combine at visit to Shakespeare and Company with a fine bed and breakfast experience by staying at Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast……located just one block from Shakespeare and Company.   Stay multiple nights mid-week and save up to 30%.