Iconic dance festival, Jacob's Pillow, in its 78th Season, announced it 2010 schedule recently and tickets are on sale today, March 1.

Beginning June 23rd, the line-up includes Nina Ananiashvili, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Le Ballets de Montreal, Camile A. Brown, Barak Marshall's "Monger," Shantala Shivalingappa, Armitage Gone!, Pichet Klunchun, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Jacoby and Pronk, CND2, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Trey McIntyre, Yin Mei, Les Ballets Trockadero, Kyle Abraham, The Goteborg Ballet, Lucy Guerin, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Vanaver Caravan.   For information or tickets, CLICK HERE.

An insider's tip.   Enjoy Jacob's Pillow performances mid-week and save up to 30% at Hampton Terrace in Lenox.   CLICK HERE to learn about our mid-week discounts.

We are very proud at Hampton Terrace of our loyal customer base.   There are more than 4,000 couples who remain on our newsletter list, even though opting out is one click away.    We are equally proud that our summers fill each year with more than 50% repeat visitation.

We are careful about sending out our e-mail newsletters, knowing that an abuse of our valuable e-mail list will result in more opt-outs.  So we limit our newsletters to about three per year….two of them pertaining to important dates involving Tanglewood.   The third features off-season specials.

So we see Facebook as a terrific opportunity for those guests who want to hear more from us to voluntarily do so.    Through Facebook we will be offering last-minute specials, discounts and values….and as importantly….we will keep you in touch with interesting Berkshire activities….for example…last night was the inaugural lighting of the new Westinghouse Street Lights in the village.    A little known fact:   Lenox was among the first towns in America to have electrically lit streets, due to the fact that George Westinghouse's wife did not like the dark ride from her summer home into the village.   He was in  the process of installing street lights in downtown Niagra Falls, so she leaned on him to  throw a few around Lenox.    Now, 100 years later, there are still a few of the original (although non-working) lights around town, which served the role of allowing us to make exact replicas for the newly restored Lenox streetscape.   

The town leaders turned out last night, dressed in full turn-of-the-century formality, to flip on the new lights.   You could have been here.    Future Facebook fans of Hampton Terrace will hear about such fun opportunities.  CLICK HERE!

Every year we schedule major upgrades at Hampton Terrace, and this year involves all new flooring  in our Wynnstay Cottage.    Our Living Room area (shown) now has a durable hardwood-style planking with area rugs to aid areas that have always had too much traffic for carpet.

And the guest rooms, as of yesterday, are newly carpeted with some bold new color changes.    All-in-all, a hugely positive experience for us…a chance to rebuild all of the beds to make sure they are solid, clean behind and under furniture which has not been moved in a while…    We get a lot of repeat visitation in our Wynnstay Cottage (6 guest rooms, all with gas fireplaces and Jacuzzis) and I cannot wait to hear the reactions.

Last night we were fortunate to be invited by our friend, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, to the premier of "Les Liasons Dangereuses" at Shakespeare & Company, located just two blocks from us.   She was playing the lead role, Marquise de Merteuil, in what has become a theater classic.

Beside being a wonderful and intimate production (no different than other quality offerings from this well-established presenter) we were reminded how lucky we are in the Berkshires.   And I speak not only as someone who lives here, but also from the point of view of our visitors.   In a pre-show welcome, director (and founder of Shakespeare & Company) Tina Packer offered that a mid-winter presentation was S&Co's contribution to the effort to turn the Berkshires into a four-season cultural destination.    This is a fully costumed production of 12 actors.    Not a low-risk proposition.

That is not to say that we have not always attracted skiers, outdoor enthusiasts, and those who enjoy a nice inn with fireplaces.    But to offer theater such as this, on cold winter weekends, is to up the ante with all those who want to grow the "Berkshire Creative Economy."

It is our pleasure and obligation to help make that effort pay.    So if you are considering a trip to the Berkshires between now and March 21, know that you have four opportunities to see "Les Liasons Dangereuses" per weekend:    2 evening performances and 2 matinee performances.    Tickets are available for $12 to $48 by calling 413-637-3353, or by going to Shakespeare & Company.

And consider a stay at Hampton Terrace.   Our Romantic Weekend Package applies…which includes a $30 gift certificate to the local wine/gourmet food shop in town.   Imagine a glass of wine and some cheese in front of our living room fireplace, and then an evening immersion with scheming 18th century aristocrats.    That is what we did last night.   

Before Marti Mayne of BedandBreakfast.com visited Hampton Terrace a couple of years ago on a tour of Berkshire inns, she checked out our website.   I had always been told that we had a good website, but deep down I was not so sure.

After her stay, she volunteered that our inn photography undersold our inn, and that we should give serious thought to an upgrade.   She put me in touch with Mark and Matthew of Jumping Rocks Photography and the rest, as they say, is history.   In November 2008, they spent a couple of days shooting all of our guest rooms, and by January 2009, Kathy Barto and I had created a whole new website to showcase our pictures.    The impact was immediate and profound.

Our 2009 occupancy was 25% higher than 2008, in spite of the economy.   Most impressively, our off-season occupancy (all months except July, August and October) was up 60%!     The power of good images.

This increase got us noticed by USAToday as well.  

So next month in Austin, Texas, when PAII holds their annual convention, Jumping Rocks has asked permission to use Hampton Terrace as an example of the impact of good photography on a website.    Could not be more pleased to help out the guys who so profoundly helped us.

We are pleased to share that you can now  be a fan of Hampton Terrace, with a special set of benefits to be associated with that.    By following us on Facebook (and soon Twitter) you will be the first to know about special events here and in  the Berkshires, last-minute availabiilty, associated discounts, and other items of interest.  

CLICK HERE to register as a fan.

Last week, Hampton Terrace and Lenox MA were featured by USA Today in a centerpiece story about the bed and breakfast industry.

A stay by Travel Editor Laura Bly was predicated by a Professional Association of Innkeeper's Survey which indicated that in spite of the current economic environment, inns and b&bs nationally were not only surviving, but bucking trends that were causing the lodging industry in general to be down almost 30% in 2009.    Most inns are showing flat to slightly negative trends….and some, including Hampton Terrace, are demonstrating significantly higher revenues as more travelers take vacations within driving distance of their homes.

Ms. Bly contacted BedandBreakfast.com, the largest on-line inn directory, to inquire what US destination might best exemplify this trend, and they recommended Lenox, Massachusetts as one of the best concentrations of upscale inns in the country.   They went on to single out Hampton Terrace, sharing that our 2009 numbers through June were 60% above comparable 2008 dates.    Our summer also continued this trend, with revenue up almost 20%, in spite of the fact that we did  not raise our rates, and it is hard to squeeze more room nights in when you are already almost sold out.

To see the actual article, CLICK HERE.

We credit our success at Hampton Terrace to many factors, not the least of which is our loyal base of returning guests…..friends who consider us a "home away from home."   As a matter of fact, Sandra Aplin of Boca Raton, Florida said exactly that  in the USA Today article.    Another factor is our attention to guest reviews, especially on Trip  Advisor.    Before check-in, we e-mail every guest to let them know that they should alert us of any issues or improvements to their stay WHILE THEY ARE HERE, so that we can address them.   Then immediately upon their departure they get another e-mail from us asking how things went.    This is important because most negative Trip Advisor reviews result from unaddressed guest issues….and we do not want there to be any at all.   So we have spent most of the last two  years sitting at the top of the Trip Advisor rankings for Lenox..    With more than two dozen inns, that is an important accomplishment.

Finally, to distinguish ourselves from a plain vanilla hotel stay, we make  sure we communicate that staying at Hampton Terrace is an EXPERIENCE.    A chance to "Turn Back the Clock to the Gilded Age."   And we price our rooms to make people feel they have received a good VALUE.    Ms. Bly wanted to know how much we were discounting in order to maintain our revenues this  year.   Our answer is that we have not  had to discount at all….other than our normal price breaks for off-season and mid-week.   That is contrary to the deep discounting trends that are haunting the lodging industry in general.  

When your hotel room looks the same in Tulsa as San Diego, and when a traveler has the option of getting off Interstate Exit 89 or 90, then price does play a role.    An experience at Hampton Terrace?    Priceless.    Well, not really, but you understand the concept.

Tonight on SCI FI: Watch Shakespeare & Company Artists on "Ghost Hunters"

Turn on your TV or set your TiVo for SCI FI Channel's popular "Ghost Hunters" tonight at 9/8c. Tonight, they uncover the mysteries of Shakespeare & Company’s former home, The Mount, during their Wednesday, March 25th broadcast at 9 PM EST. Company members Dennis Krausnick, Kevin Coleman and Elizabeth Aspenlieder were all interviewed for the show.

The Mount, former home of author, Edith Wharton, housed Shakespeare & Company for twenty years.  They took over the abandoned mansion and based their growing theater company in its main rooms and surrounding acreage until renovations of the mansion itself were almost complete.   They have moved since to a new property, and The Mount is now run by a not-for-profit that exists for its continued renovation and maintenance.   Meanwhile, many stories have been collected over the years about this historic house, and no one better to tell them than Shakespearean actors.

Both Shakespeare & Company and The Mount are located in Lenox, Massachusetts, literally less than two minutes from Hampton Terrace Bed and Breakfast Inn.   Both are worthy of a trip to the Berkshires, so consider Hampton Terrace as your home base while exploring what Lenox has to offer.

Hampton Terrace in Lenox, Massachusetts, has been an inn since 1937 and we have owned it since 1999.   Currently we have fourteen rooms in service.   Five are original to the main house and have been upgraded twice since 1999.   The six Wynnstay Cottage rooms were created in the 1897 carriage house in 2000, and the three king suites were built in 2005.  So we have a wide assortment of room choices….unique for an older inn.

Most properties have older rooms and no other choices.    Some of our guests, who want the public spaces to have the ambiance and historic character of an Gilded Age mansion, want their bedrooms to be modern.   Others want a 110-year-old room with an antique claw-foot tub, thank you.

When we say modern, we do not mean plastic.   Our modern bathrooms are all tile, have pedestal porcelin sinks without exception, and have Jacuzzis.

But our older rooms also need to be fresh.   So we are now embarking on the third round of upgrades in all of our Main House rooms.   Recently, we completed the Struthers Room, with all new paint and white trim.    The curtains and throw pillows have been changed (vintage fabrics, of course) and small details attended to.

So whether you want modern amenities in your bedrooms, or 110-year-old rooms that are as fresh as we can make them….consider Hampton Terrace for your romantic getaway in the Berkshires.

Check our our off-season Romantic Weekend Special on our website, by clicking Hampton Terrace Home above.

James Taylor, now a Lenox, Massachusetts resident, performs at Tanglewood every year.   He always prepares a special show for his hometown crowd, and more often than not, proceeds of his performances remain at Tanglewood to benefit the Boston Symphony.

This year is different only in that he has put together four consecutive days of performances…each with a different twist.   He plans to perform with Sheryl Crow, Yo Yo Ma, John Williams and the Boston Pops, and other notables.

Tickets went on sale this morning for the "Shed" and although the 6,000 seats available will sell out rather quickly, 12,000 "lawn tickets" per show are also on sale and they will take a while longer to run out….although they always do for James Taylor shows.

Hampton Terrace is a historic Lenox inn which has been hosting guests since 1937.   It was originally built as a summer "cottage," if you can call a 6,000 square foot main house with 10 bedrooms, and a 3,000 square foot carriage house a "cottage."  

We have owned Hampton Terrace for ten years, and have always enjoyed hosting the James Taylor crowd each summer.   I do not think he has ever played four consecutive nights here, so we'll enjoy them all the more.   Although we have a 3-night minimum typically on Tanglewood weekends, the bookings we have taken so far have left us some one and two night gaps during his 4-day run….so please call us for information on this.   Trying to book single or double nights on the website will not be possible due to the 3-night minimum it will try to impose…but we can override those restrictions here at the inn, if we have availability.