The Berkshires from Top to Bottom

4 days/3 nights at The Red Lion Inn, The Porches Inn & Topia Inn

About the Trip

The Berkshire from Top to Bottom package begins with a stay at The Porches Inn at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Six newly renovated Victorian row houses lined with rocking chairs provide both charm and all the modern ammenities including an outdoor pool. Wake up with a healthful continental breakfast on your way to an overnight at the nearby Topia Inn. Get a good night’s rest on an organic bed after pampering yourself with an aromatherapy steam shower as you are surrounded by Mt. Greylock. Continue this Berkshire retreat by traveling through beautiful New England towns on your way to an overnight at The Red Lion Inn. Finish off your stay with a hearty sustainable breakfast for two and a day at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

In addition, we are including two tickets to MASS MoCA, the largest contemporary art museum in the U.S., and two tickets to the Norman Rockwell Museum near The Red Lion Inn. The package also includes a Stone Sprout blanket, inspired by our naturally beautiful surroundings in Western Massachusetts.

Includes: Accommodations, breakfast, museum tickets, flag blanket and tax.

Awards for The Porches Inn:

-Tatler Travel Guide 101 Best Hotels in the World 2003

-Conde Nast Traveler UK Edition Hot List 2002

-Travel and Leisure Inn of the Month 2001

Awards for Topia Inn

-Berkshire Visitor’s Bureau Outstanding Innovation and Renovation Award

Awards for The Red Lion Inn:

-Massachusetts Lodging Association’s Good Earthkeeping Award 2008

-American Hotel & Lodging Association’s National Award for Community Service 2005

About The Porches Inn at Mass MoCA

Porches Inn boasts 26 distinctive guestrooms, 18 suites, and three extended stay suites featuring kitchenettes and washer/dryer. Five suites feature a loft and eight guestrooms offer private outdoor porches.

Four color schemes are featured in the guestrooms and suites. Beadboard walls are painted terra cotta, pale blueberry, celery green and sage green to complement wooden floors that have been painted olive green, red, pumpkin and buttercup respectively. Patterned, wool area rugs further highlight the floors. An extensive collection of lamps from the 1940’s and 1950’s, etched glass mirrors and vintage vinyl upholstered furniture in bright colors accent contemporary pieces in a deep taupe color. Painted bureaus and bedside tables made in Vermont are mixed with an eclectic assortment of vintage furniture.

Large bathrooms feature either jacuzzi-style tubs or clawfoot bathtubs with separate showers. All bathrooms boast slate floors and such distinctive touches as interior windows with frosted glass and mirror frames created from the building’s original window frames. Metal wall pegs, reminiscent of the 19th century shaker design, will be used to hang bathrobes and towels.

For more information, visit The Porches Inn

Photographs of The Porches Inn taken by: Nicholas Whitman

About Topia Inn From the moment you drive onto our grass driveway, the award winning Topia Inn greets you with the ultimate in purity and ecological friendliness. Take off your shoes at the door of this modern “temple of nature and art” and let your feet sink into a plush wave of pure New Zealand wool as you walk through clay walls to one of ten unique artist decorated rooms.

Green Practices of Topia Inn

Having left your ordinary array of chemically scented products behind, unwind in your private luxury bath in either a spa tub with chromatherapy or a rain shower with steam and aromatherapy. Then curl up in organic linens on an organic bed for possibly the best sleep you have ever experienced. In the morning, enjoy a fresh, organic, gourmet breakfast with fair trade coffees and organic teas. You can stay connected with wireless internet and HDTV, or you can escape into nature on the bike trail, hike up the mountain, or enjoy the cultural Berkshires.

No need to feel guilty for all this indulgence, solar panels and 100% biodiesel (vegetable oil) power this green building for near zero carbon impact. The walls are finished with an all natural clay, our hallways have LED lighting, the dining room tables are made from untreated reclaimed wood, and the gardens are lined with native species plants.

For more information, visit Topia Inn

About The Red Lion Inn

A charter member of Historic Hotels of America, The Red Lion Inn has been providing food and lodging to guests for more than two centuries. It offers 108 antique-filled rooms and suites, formal and casual dining with an emphasis on contemporary regional specialties, a pub with nightly entertainment, a year-round heated outdoor pool and hot tub (with radiant-heated patio), and free WiFi. Good earthkeeping is a vital part of The Red Lion Inn’s company culture and the way it conducts business as the inn has integrated effective environmental management practices into as many aspects of its operation as possible and continues to explore new ideas for energy conservation and sustainability.

Green Practices of The Red Lion Inn

As stewards of one of the most famous New England stagecoach inns, The Red Lion Inn’s success depends upon the careful preservation of its rich colonial- and Victorian-era heritage. A recent major renovation of the Main Inn resulted in upgraded plumbing and electrical infrastructure that provides guests with energy-efficient, individually climate-controlled guestrooms. The new heating and cooling system includes modulating condensing boilers, which promise to increase energy efficiency by at least 15%. Further heat loss is prevented by new insulated windows that were retro-fitted into old windows—a more time-consuming and costly way to replace windows, but one that also maintains the architectural integrity of the 19-century inn’s design.

The Red Lion Inn also implemented new water conservation efforts. The Inn eliminated the burden its stormwater put on the municipal wastewater treatment system by installing an on-premises filtration system that disperses stormwater throughout the property. Renovation efforts also included the creation of new perennial gardens and greenspaces throughout the property – new plants and trees that add beauty and contribute to good air quality. The landscape architect designed gardens using plants that thrive in the conditions provided by the New England climate, including subsisting on rain and the rainwater the inn collects and disburses.

The Inn’s staff works on the reduction of their “carbon footprint” through the purchase of supplies locally, an important part of the company’s business model and one that fosters the sustainability of our region. As a major employer in the Berkshires, The Red Lion Inn is a prominent part of the business landscape and has the “buying power” that a business of its size would afford. An analysis of 2007 purchasing habits shows that the Inn spent $1.15 million on regional vendors.

For more information, visit The Red Lion Inn

About Crispina Design Workshop

We are a manufacturing company offering awareness and beauty by turning second hand stuff into functional heirlooms. Our raw material is 100% recycled textiles; used clothing for the most part.

The Stone Sprout blanket was inspired by spring’s bursting buds of willow,magnolia, and other early bloomers give hope of sun warmed skin and speak to our commitment to honor and respect nature. This design compliments décor from clean and sophisticated to cozy ‘cabiny’ – made by hand with great care in the USA from all recycled material.

For more information, visit Crispina Design Workshop