Last weekend, my friends Miles and Hall invited me to join them on a trip to Milford, Pennsylvania, in the Delaware Water Gap area. Nestled in a valley just west of the river, Milford is tiny but bustling, full of weekending New Yorkers and inhabited by a cast of characters worthy of Stars Hollow.Our home base for the weekend was the Hotel Fauchère, established in 1852 by Louis Fauchère, then master chef at the legendary Delmonico's Restaurant in New York. Miles and Hall own a beautiful hotel of their own (Otahuna Lodge on New Zealand's South Island), and discovered the Fauchère through their Relais and Châteaux connections. The existing hotel was built in 1880, and is a gorgeous example of Italianate architecture, complete with clean, straight lines and flat roof.
Upon arrival, we were shown to our rooms, right next to one another on the third floor of the hotel, overlooking the garden. While the boys had a glassed-in shower in their room, mine featured a deep, claw-footed soaking tub. The rooms were pleasant, and the beds were very comfortable, but the bathrooms were gorgeous, all grey-streaked marble and Pennsylvania bluestone. Overall, the hotel gives off an air of summery ease, with plenty of spots to lounge, read, or play a game of dice (as Miles and I did on the super-rainy Saturday afternoon).
About fifteen minutes after check-in, Miles knocked on my door to let me know a little welcome gift had arrived: cheese, apple walnut bread from the hotel's patisserie, and an ice-cold bottle of Schramsberg. We headed out to the garden to enjoy these delights, enjoying one of the weekend's few hours of sunshine.Next up, the sights of historic Milford, including a walking tour and a visit to Grey Towers. Oh, and, you know: food.
4 comments:
I enjoyed this posting very much, and can't wait to read about your visit to Grey Towers! My parents and I stopped in town on our way to Maine a few summers ago, and stumbled upon the house while out walking. It is so lovely and in keeping with its setting!
Thanks, Shannon! I'll be posting about Grey Towers tomorrow. Our visit there was SUPER rainy, but that meant we basically had the whole estate to ourselves - pretty cool.
What a cute hotel! I'm always afraid when I visit new places the hotel will be so nice I won't want to leave it and venture out.
@Jen: I have that problem, too! Louisa and I stayed at an insane little inn in Champagne, where we had a glass-walled bathroom with a soaking tub and a gorgeous terrace, both of which overlooked the valley. It was hard to get ourselves up and out of there, even if we were headed to visit Champagne-makers.
Post a Comment