Thursday night is New Year’s Eve, and to celebrate the rare three-day weekend, we are offering all our rooms at our off-season rates.    That includes extras:   champagne at midnight in our private bar, and full brunch on New Year’s Day in place of our normal breakfast.   Also, our guests receive the following list of New Year’s Eve Events around us:

La Terraza Restaurant at Gateways Inn, 51 Walker St., (3 buildings down) will host its annual gala dinner dance, featuring a six-course menu, champagne, favors and entertainment for $100 per person. Festivities start at 8:30 p.m.  413-637-2532. http://www.gatewaysinn.com/

Stan Rosen, owner of Hampton Terrace in Lenox, was awarded a Greylock Award at the BVB’s 71st Annual Meeting on Tuesday evening at the Berkshire Museum.   The awards are given to "tourism professionals who are nominated by their peers as having reached the highest peak in their profession."      Rosen was honored as the "Outstanding Industry Contributor."

The Berkshire Visitors Bureau consists of over 750 member organizations, of which over 100 are lodging properties.    The Bureau is the sole county-wide marketing agency for the Berkshires, which attract over 2.5 million visitors per year, with an annual economic impact of over half a billion dollars.     Rosen is chairman of the Lodging Committee and a Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, representing Central County.

Rosen was recognized for his leadership position on the proposed occupancy tax increases offered to each Berkshire town.    Reduced state revenues have caused the Governor to slash revenue-sharing with local towns, while at the same time giving each community an opportunity to raise lodging taxes on visitors from 4% to 6%.    The state receives an additional 5.7%.   Rosen led a consortium of properties, including Canyon Ranch, Red Lion Inn, Cranwell, Yankee Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Comfort Inn in Lee, Devonfield Inn and Topia Inn, to support the tax…as long as a significant percent is annually reinvested in  marketing the Berkshires outside of the county.

At the same time that local communities received cuts, the Commonwealth also slashed state-wide tourism marketing budgets by 70%, resulting in an annual loss to the Berkshire Visitors Bureau of $350,000…with more cuts promised by the Governor.    Rosen’s "Statement of Position," subsequently affirmed by a larger forum of lodging  properties last month, is that the loss in  tourism marketing dollars will have a more profound negative impact on tourism than a 2 % rise in taxes…and that if these taxes are going to be collected by the efforts of lodging owners and managers, then they should  have a "say" about where some of the money is spent.    The group is asking for 7.5% of total taxes collected to be reinvested in out-of-county marketing.

To this point, Lenox and Pittsfield have passed the tax increase, with a promise to make a "significant investment" in marketing.    Lee and Great Barrington are considering the tax increase as well.    Rosen and his group are working to assure that the tax increases, and their partial commitment to marketing are evenly applied throughout the county.

Mayor James M. Roberto of Pittsfield received the "Extraordinary Leadership Award" for his significant role in the resurgence of Downtown Pittsfield, including the restoration of the Colonial Theater, relocation of Barrington Stage Company to the North Street area, creation of the $23 million Beacon Cinema, upgrades to the Berkshire Museum, and fostering a general sense of optimism that has attracted numerous new businesses to streets that have long been depressed.   James Lyon of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood received the "Outstanding Service" Greylock Award.

Dr. Mark Hyman, well-known author and developer of numerous types of "ultra-fitness" programs, practices in Lenox, Massachusetts.   Over the past weeks, we have seen him give advice several times on the Martha Stewart Show.   Many of his patients have stayed here at Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast in Lenox while receiving advice or treatment from Dr. Hyman.

We are very lucky here in the Berkshires when it comes to the healing arts.   Many internationally known professionals come to the area to be associated with Canyon Ranch (consistently voted the top wellness spa in the world), Kripalu Yoga Institute, or various private practices and clinics.   The quality of life, the pace, and the culture keep them here.  

Dr. Hyman’s presence in Lenox follows this trend.   Medical Director at Canyon Ranch for eight years, Dr. Hyman preaches a life style change called UltraWellness, that balances nutrition, exercise and mental well being.

People frequently stay at Hampton Terrace while taking advantage of what the Berkshires have to offer.   If you are looking for a spa experience on a "day" basis, Cranwell Resort has a new $9 million spa.   Former yoga instructors, massage therapists, and other wellness professionals have hung shingles all over Lenox and the surrounding area.

Hampton Terrace is just several buildings down the sidewalk from Dr. Hyman’s office, and we are less than a two block walk to all of Lenox’s heralded shops, galleries and restaurants.   We are the #1 rated inn according to Trip Advisor members, from among all Lenox properties.   Let us tailor a stay at Hampton Terrace with a wellness experience for you.

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…)

I believe I mentioned that theatre in the Berkshires is not limited to Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare & Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the stages of the Colonial and Mahaiwe Theaters.  When a guest at Hampton Terrace asks "what is there to do once I get there?" I  find myself almost speechless.   Where do I start?    Or, more often, a guest will start by announcing that they plan to go to Tanglewood on Saturday night and they were wondering if there is something to do on the other two nights of their stay.   This is why everyone who stays at our Lenox inn gets several attachments on their confirmation:   a list of dining options and a list of other activities to consider, including spas, museums, hikes, theater, music, night life, etc.   We also provide links to the Berkshire Visitors Bureau website, the Berkshire Eagle website, the Lenox Chamber of Commerce and other resources to help our guests plan their stay. (more…)