New 3 BR rustic-yet-elegantly modern 2300 sq ft country castle on 3+ secluded acres in Manor Lane, part of a private compound off Hurlburt Road in Great Barrington, MA. Take the time to read the full description below -- you won't be disappointed.
Centrally located in the heart of the Berkshires in Smithsonian Magazine's "Best Small Town in America" 2015, Great Barrington. An idyllic basecamp to take advantage of spectacular hiking, biking, skiing, and views, with one of the longest, richly colored fall foliage seasons in the country, from September deep into October. When the winter snows fall, take out your snowshoes and experience the drifting silence of the woods. In summer, enjoy long days in nature and leisurely evenings. Fabulous local shops and restaurants rival any in the big cities. Great, quiet escape from NY City or Boston (or anywhere else). A great gathering spot for a family or group of friends.
This private country home is spacious, extraordinarily comfortable, bright, cheery, uplifting, modern but not art deco, and not cookie-cutter. You’ll find that our house, the property, and the location are even better than in the pictures. The location is literally the best in Great Barrington, and the house and the property are among the best in town. We built our house specifically so we wouldn’t have a disappointing vacation rental ever again -- and you won’t either!
The house is located on a beautiful, quiet country road, and still close to town. You don't have to choose between rural country life privacy and convenience when staying at this home -- it offers the best of both! Just down the road from Simon’s Rock, and 2 miles to the Big Y or the center of downtown Great Barrington. A swim at Lake Mansfield with a beach and lifeguard is just 5 minutes away, it’s 5 miles to both Butternut and Catamount ski areas and the Appalachian trail, and 15 miles to the music and cultural events of Tanglewood to the north. A perfect four-season getaway!
No expense was spared in rebuilding this home. Charming, bright, spacious modern farmhouse interior, with beautiful large windows throughout. A real gourmet chef’s kitchen with cathedral ceiling, pro range, SubZero fridge, and farmhouse sink. And the water in the house is quadruple filtered, so the water coming out of the kitchen faucet is the best you've ever tasted! We stock all the dinnerware, flatware and kitchenware you’ll need to entertain. Seat up to 10 around the large, expandable rustic dining table. Beautiful, comfortable cathedral ceilinged living room. On rainy days or cold winter getaways, cozy up in front of the rustic gas fireplace that turns on with the flip of a switch. Each bedroom has a beautiful private bathroom, with fully tiled shower with heavy glass shower door and Hotel quality linens. Grand master bedroom on the main floor has 11’ ceilings and beautiful, large master bath. Another guest bedroom is on the main floor, and a third bedroom is up in the tower. All three bedrooms have outstanding, comfortable mattresses. (Another reason we built this house was because we couldn’t find a rental with comfortable mattresses!) Well-appointed den with comfortable sofa, and computer monitor and laser printer to hook up to your laptop. Three large flat-screen TV’s are tastefully installed in the living room, master bedroom, and den, with excellent cable TV, internet, and cellular service, and high speed triband wifi throughout the house, along with direct ethernet jack plug in to the network if you need it.
Gas heat throughout the house ensures that you’ll stay toasty warm during the colder months. During the summer months, the main and second floors remain cool with the stone and wood floors and central air. The bedroom in the high tower has its own split unit for heating and cooling. There’s a full size washer & dryer in a nice laundry/utility room. Plenty of books to keep you occupied, and dozens of cookbooks with recipes to try. Out back, there's a large patio with table, chairs, and Weber gas grill for summer meals. As Manor Lane is a rural, forested area, we have the house professionally treated with pet- and child-safe products every month by Orkin for ants, bugs, mosquitos, bees, and other critters, so you'll be comfortable and bug free dining outside at night on the patio. There's a single car garage for your use, with direct entry via mudroom into the house. The house has a keypad front door lock and wifi Liftmaster garage door, so you won't need any keys!
Our house was purposefully designed for weekly, monthly and longer term rentals. We do want to accommodate weekend rentals if we can fit them into the schedule, but for 2- and 3-day weekend booking requests, we may wait to book till no further out than 2-3 weeks before arrival.
No smoking, and please inquire about children and pets.
Note that for stays less than 31 days, Massachusetts charges a room occupancy excise tax of 5.7% and Great Barrington adds another 6%, for a total tax of 11.7%. VRBO collects that for stays less than 31 days. The bright side is, stay 31 days and there's no tax, you save 11.7%! And in addition, we offer a 5% discount for weekly stays or more. Out of season, we offer a 10% discount for monthly stays.
Please note that events at the house (e.g. weddings) are unfortunately prohibited by town order.
Please also see VRBO listing# 1175519 (owned and managed by Justin & Abigail Henderson, along with my property) if you're interested in the grand French manor house that is at the other side of the Manor Lane compound.
