Week in the Berkshires

A June 2005 trip to South Lee by Elaina123

A fun and relaxing trip - "culture in the country," as they say on brochures

  • 6 reviews
My husband and I enjoy historical things - we went to several historical houses open for tours, as well as the Hancock Shaker Village about 20 minutes away. The Norman Rockwell Museum was very enjoyable as well.

Quick Tips:

As usual, you can find tons of pamphlets on local area attractions at resorts, visitor centers, shops, and restaurants. We also went online to the Berkshires website and got info on area attractions before we left.

Best Way To Get Around:

There IS a “trolley” that goes from the resort into Lee and Stockbridge, but we didn't use it. A car is best!
Best Things Nearby:
Lots of cultural things - galleries, museums, Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow (dance festival), shopping, dining

Best Things About the Resort:
Not much... we didn't like it!

Resort Experience:
The Berkshires are beautiful at any time of year. Lots to see and do! The resort, however, wasn't so great. Dark and dingy buildings, tacky furniture, and small dark units. Had to ask several times at the front desk to get anything. We asked for a towel exchange early on (twice), and housekeeping finally sent someone up who dropped off an entire bag of towels (about 30 of them), which we had to look at and trip over all week (not to mention the pile of dirty ones!). No insulation in the flooring—the people above us sounded like a herd of elephants walking across the room! We would NOT stay there again—I think a chain motel would have been better!

  • Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
  • Activities: Poor
  • Amenities: Fair
  • Unit Satisfaction: Poor
  • Family Friendliness: Fair
  • Service: Poor
  • Member Rating 1 out of 5 by Elaina123 on June 30, 2005

Cork'N HearthBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This was a bit nicer than family dining. The dining rooms had large fireplaces and a view of the lake out back. Beef, chicken, seafood - there was something for everyone on the menu. The food was quite good - we were very satisfied with it.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Elaina123 on June 30, 2005

Cork'N Hearth
Route 20 South Lee, Massachusetts 01238
(413) 243-0535

Salmon RunBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This has a family atmosphere, although there is a bar on one side. There is casual dining and terrific food!!! I had a steak, and my husband ordered fish - both were excellent!
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Elaina123 on June 30, 2005

Salmon Run
78 Main Street Lee, Massachusetts 01238
(413) 243-3900

This is a wonderful museum if you like Norman Rockwell's work. There are lots of original oil paintings that were then used for the covers of the Saturday Evening Post. You'll learn the history of Mr. Rockwell, as well as some insight on his paintings.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Elaina123 on June 30, 2005

Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Glendale Rd. Stockbridge, Massachusetts 01262
(413) 298-4100

We took a wonderful tour of Edith Wharton's home, which she had built (and designed herself) in 1901. It is a huge house with wonderful gardens. The tour guide seemed quite knowledgeable (we've taken other tours where the guide knows ONLY the speech they have to memorize, which was not so in this case). There are old furnishings in the house that are still being restored.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Elaina123 on June 30, 2005

The Mount Estate and Gardens
2 Plunkett St. Lenox, Massachusetts 01240
(413) 637-1899

About the Writer

Elaina123
Elaina123
East Hampton, Connecticut

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