21 of the cosiest New England hotels for leaf peeping
Come autumn, New England is a riot of red, orange and yellow hues as the abundance of trees across these East Coast states change colours and their leaves blanket the ground. Naturally, this makes for a wonderful time to explore the great outdoors here, and so popular is this annual pilgrimage to see the autumn foliage, that it has it's very own verb – to leaf peep.
We've rounded up the very best hotels in New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont) for leaf peepers who can't get enough of the autumn colours, from cosy inns set on sprawling tree-filled estates to a cabin in the forest with its own fireplace. The season typically starts in the northern states in late September, before following like a domino effect in late October as you go further south.
Massachusetts
Blantyre, Lenox
A winding white gravel driveway passes by trees fully grown into mighty giants – some of the fallen are carved into birds of prey or bears – and leads to the handsome red brick mock-Tudor mansion’s portico of Blantyre. Gothic revival arched wooden doors, oak panelling, a magnificent fireplace, and leaded windows create a medieval-style main hall overlooking the terrace. Elsewhere, some rooms have a lighter Georgian look. Leaf-peeping activities abound on the private trails that criss-cross the 100 acres of the estate, and there are maps to fit all hiking skill levels.
Read the full review: Blantyre, Lenox
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The Old Inn On The Green, New Marlborough
Set among the beautiful Berkshires, this tranquil 1700s stagecoach innoverlooks fields and rolling hills, and is the perfect unplugged getaway. The restaurant offers a wonderful dining experience, where great food and wine are accompanied by only candlelight — no electric lights — and the soft shadows it casts. No two rooms are at all alike and each has a different configuration, but all are spacious and the décor honours the building’s age.
Read the full review: The Old Inn On The Green, New Marlborough
The Inn at Hastings Park, Lexington
This beautifully renovated inn comprises three 19th-century grey clapboard buildings set around a courtyard and a backdrop of tall trees in leafy Lexington, around 15 miles north-west of Boston. Each spacious room or suite has different furnishings but all see a combination of classic design with a modern, boutique look: 1880s-style wooden chairs have pop-art orange pleather upholstery, and tapestry cushions are more paisley than country manor.
Read the full review: The Inn at Hastings Park, Lexington
The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA, North Adams
This charming b&b consists of six restored Victorian row houses, which were cleverly united via connecting roofing and walkways. The clapboard exteriors are painted different leafy shades of brown, yellow, and green, and the houses kept the original front porches that inspired the name. Rooms are spacious and have painted wainscoting walls and painted wood flooring, and there’s an outdoor heated pool and gazebo surrounded by delightful foliage.
Read the full review: The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA, North Adams
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Briarcliff Motel, Great Barrington
This former 1960s roadside motel, located at the foot of Monument Mountain in rural western Massachusetts, was redesigned with an interior recalling Scandinavian mid-century modernism, and an exterior that allows the surroundings designed by Mother Nature to have the final word. Rooms, though not large, don’t feel cramped and each has different pastel-coloured painted walls and duvet covers, each in a Seventies-style impressionistic pattern.
Read the full review: Briarcliff Motel, Great Barrington
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New Hampshire
Chesterfield Inn, West Chesterfield
The picturesque Chesterfield Inn is located among glorious farmland along the Connecticut River Valley, on the southwestern border between New Hampshire and Vermont. Inside, exposed barn wood, beams, and brick give a rustic feel to the inn’s elegant comforts, which include cosy in-room fireplaces and private decks. Drive the nearby backroads for a rolling scenery of autumnal hues: think ancient sugar maples, oak trees and evergreens.
Read the full review: Chesterfield Inn, West Chesterfield
Snowvillage Inn, Eaton Center
Snowvillage Inn is housed across three buildings, and rooms are done up in an American countryside twee style with floral bedspreads and exposed wooden beams. It occupies a prime spot on the slopes of Foss mountain, and so most rooms have tip-top views over the Presidential Mountain Range and Mount Washington. And even if your room doesn’t, you can take in the vistas from Max’s Restaurant and Pub, which serves oysters, seafood, steaks and wild game. Pick up a map from the office for tips on the best scenic foliage routes (and lunch spots on the way).
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Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods
This grand hotel tucked in the middle of Bretton Woods has long been a favourite retreat of presidents and poets, and it’s not hard to see why. The building is a mighty fine example of Spanish Renaissance architecture, and was named a National Historic Landmark when it was opened in 1902. Across the resort you’ll find a Donald Ross-designed golf course, spa, cosy rooms, nine zip lines for swinging between the ancient hemlocks and a selection of restaurants – the main dining room has the best views. There’s even a three-hour canopy tour you can do across a series of zip lines and sky bridges.
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Connecticut
Winvian Farm, Morris
Winvian is set on 113 acres of farmland and forest – so you can expect to see plenty of warm autumn colours even before you set off to one of the leaf-peeping destinations nearby. The original 1775 farmhouse is done up in a traditional New England white clapboard façade, and there’s a series of cottages for bedding down in. The 35-foot high Treehouse brings you closer to the foliage, overturned tree trunks are used as sinks in Woodlands, and Log Cabin has a wood-burning stone fireplace.
Read the full review: Winvian Farm, Morris
Delamar West Hartford, West Hartford
This six-floor mid-rise has an impressive open-plan lobby with gleaming marble, big windows looking onto the lawn and outdoor fire pit, and marvellous artwork – including a fanciful piano and a spiraling seat made with 2,500 quarter coins. The spacious rooms and suites (some have kitchens) share a soothing backdrop of creamy beige and soft grey. Large windows add natural light and bring in the outdoors – particularly pleasant if the room overlooks the garden.
Read the full review: Delamar West Hartford
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Homestead Inn – Thomas Henkelmann, Greenwich
This gracious inn’s immediate neighbours are mighty dogwoods, weeping birch and pretty shrubbery – the delights of Mother Nature. But more generally, it’s found in the wealthy Belle Haven residential area near to Greenwich’s downtown and – more importantly – splendid outdoor areas for hikes among the peak foliage. There’s also an award-winning French restaurant and a selection of cosy rooms with enormous wood-framed beds decked out in richly coloured rust, green and mustard op-art chenille covers and cushions.
Read the full review: Homestead Inn – Thomas Henkelmann, Greenwich
The Goodwin Hotel, Hartford
The Goodwin once housed financier JP Morgan’s lavish apartment. Now, this characterful 19th-century building is a modern, vibrant boutique hotel with a vivacious restaurant and bar, Porrón & Piña. Its central location in Hartford, Connecticut’s capital, means city life – arts, museums, and dining – are on tap. The city’s beautiful park, Bushnell Park, is a five-minute walk away, while larger more rugged parks with more impressive foliage can be reached in under an hour by car.
Read the full review: The Goodwin Hotel, Hartford
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Maine
Hidden Pond, Kennebunkport
This secluded forest retreat on Maine’s southern coast combines raw nature with ultimate pampering. You can sleep among trees in a luxury cabin, dine on local produce and ingredients from the on-site farm at the Earth restaurant, and relax at the aptly named Tree Spa where treatments are enjoyed in tree houses. It only gets better when autumn sets in: there’s a bonfire to crowd round with s’mores in the evenings, you can leaf peep from your room’s windows by the gas fireplace, and there are heated saltwater pools.
Read the full review: Hidden Pond, Kennebunkport
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Grace White Barn Inn & Spa, Kennebunk
Surrounded by trees, the Grace White Barn Inn comprises a 19th-century farmhouse and two equally aged barns. Rooms are quietly luxurious with pretty ivory and beige interiors, and supremely comfortable queen-sized beds; some have two-person hot tubs, or a fireplace and armchairs. Explore the 66 acres of the property on foot, to find gardens, woodlands and outdoor chapels, or borrow one of the complimentary bikes to go further afield.
Read the full review: Grace White Barn Inn & Spa, Kennebunk
Rhode Island
Cliffside Inn, Newport
This gorgeous Victorian house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and two minutes' walk from Newport’s famed Cliff Walk, offers immaculately restored rooms with spa bathrooms. It also houses impressive original Turner oil paintings – that is, Beatrice Turner the American artist who once lived there. The added bonus to the fall foliage here, is that there's an extra shade of red as the roses at Cliffside Inn stay in bloom into early November.
Read the full review: Cliffside Inn, Newport
Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, Newport
Situated on historic Goat Island, within minutes of downtown Newport, this beautiful modernist designed hotel, offers breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay, as well as a sophisticated Italian restaurant and a bright spa, all wrapped around a working lighthouse right on the property. Fire pits on the outdoor deck mean the property transitions well into the autumn season too, when the state becomes awash with warm hues.
Read the full review: Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, Newport
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The Dean Hotel, Providence
This stylish 52-room hotel first built in 1912 has quite a unique character, which makes sense as it’s been, among other things, a church building and a brothel. Today, it’s also home to a karaoke bar, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and a cocktail lounge, making it a popular hangout for locals as well as guests. You can seek out foliage on many of Providence’s tree lined streets, or use the town as your starting point to explore the small state in its prime.
Read the full review: The Dean Hotel, Providence
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Vermont
Four Columns Inn, Newfane
This luxurious yet earthy inn, set in a tiny, picturesque village in southern Vermont’s beautiful Green Mountains, has a must-visit restaurant with fabulous farm-to-table food, a back-to-nature spa, and lovely gardens leading to a river and woodlands. Furnishings are Nouveaux Classic but unshowy – the small sitting room off the lobby pairs outsider art with a petrol-blue canvas chesterfield sofa by the fireplace – leaving the setting of flower-edged ponds and woodland the strongest statement.
Read the full review: Four Columns Inn, Newfane
Kimpton Taconic, Manchester
Nestled among the magnificent Green and Taconic Mountains, the smart Kimpton Taconic has both the great outdoors and, contrastingly, some of the best high-end outlet stores on its doorstep. Wonderful Audubon wildlife prints hang in the hallways, a big fire pit glows on the patio, and the lobby’s stone surrounded fireplace has inviting couches, creating classic New England hygge.
Read the full review: Kimpton Taconic, Manchester
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Stowe Mountain Lodge, Stowe
Stowe Mountain Lodge is found at the base of Mount Mansfield, and there’s an alpine feel in the décor throughout. Expect Vermont woods and stones in the rooms, as well as picture windows to make the most of the mountain vistas. Golf enthusiasts can combine their annual dose of autumn leaves with a round of the sport on the resort’s course, and there are plenty more outdoor activities to get stuck into, such as zipline rides, hikes and treks, canoeing, bouldering and fishing.
Read the full review: Stowe Mountain Lodge, Stowe
Woodstock Inn & Resort, Woodstock
Take one look at an aerial shot of the village of Woodstock in Vermont’s Green Mountains, and you’ll see why it’s a leaf-peepers dream. The streets are lined with tall trees and the village is surrounded by many more. This historic inn exhibits a classic New England style from the exterior, and inside room are, for the most part, done up in pale hues. Wood-burning fireplaces and handcrafted bed frames are cosy touches.
Read the full review: Woodstock Inn & Resort, Woodstock
Contributions by Lizzie Frainier, Linda Laban and Kim MacKinnon.
