Chambery Inn, Lee Massachusetts-An Old Schoolhouse with a New Purpose
Visiting Massachusetts
Sometimes people forget there is more to Massachusetts than Boston. Sure, the coast is nice, North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod, but mid and western Massachusetts if full of culture, State forest lands, waterfalls, and quaint little towns that will rival any you find in any other New England state. The western half of the state is incredibly beautiful in the fall.
Stockbridge Massachusetts is one of the quintessential small-town destinations, made famous by the Saturday Evening Post illustrator, Norman Rockwell.
Needless to say, it is where the people go, so of course, we chose somewhere else. There is no shortage of places to stay at a wide range of price points.
Lee Massachusetts and the Chambery Inn
Just down the road from the tourist mobs, is Lee, Massachusetts. Quiet, and quaint, but it still has a little realism of day-to-day life. We stayed in a renovated 1885 school-turned-inn, the Chambery Inn.
Lovely, clean rooms with a gas fireplace, comfy beds, and a few historical touches throughout the building’s past and how it came to be in its new location as an inn.
So, the foliage was so, so and Jeff will give details on that in another article, but it was still pretty nice in my book, and besides, there is so much to see and do in this area that it was one of my favorite trips of the fall of 2019 for me.
It was late when we arrived, places were closing, so we had dinner at the bar and grill just down the street from the inn, the Locker Room Sports Pub. The food was fine, it’s a pub, no-nonsense frills but filling.
We asked the desk clerk at Chambery where to go for breakfast. She asked, “Do you want the fancy place or where all the locals go?” Of course, we said where the locals go. In the morning, we headed to Joe’s Diner. It’s on a sharp curve on Route 20 across from the gas station/truck stop, you can’t miss it.
It’s one of those little hole-in-the-wall local emporiums that serve up the very best breakfasts with a side order of local history. If you enjoy listening to the local gossip from the regulars sitting at the counter, then this is most certainly the place for you. The walls are covered with local celebrities and sports heroes who have stopped in over the past 50 years or so.
We learned that the inn does not have a space for a breakfast area. They do, however, provide a unique way to offer breakfast, a sort of breakfast-in-bed service. You get to choose the evening before what you want for your continental breakfast and when you want it served, and it is delivered to your door in a wicker basket the next morning.
It is a very charming way to have your breakfast if it is a dreary day and you don’t want to go out and just sit by your fireplace. However, I am not sure a couple of muffins or scones and coffee or tea are worth the additional $20+ price tag, but it is an option.
Exploring the Berkshires in the Fall, what is nearby?
There is so much just in this little town that I would have liked to explore, but the foliage calls. I definitely would go back to this area and do more exploring.
We did get to visit a couple of what I call “American” castles. We got to the Naumkeag Estate just in time for the pumpkin display and there was a self-guided walking tour of the estate as dark descended and the ghosts and goblins came out to play.
The Naumkeag in Stockbridge is a historic estate, now a museum open to the public at certain times, and the Blantyre Estate is now a resort, but we walked the exterior and it is amazing. And there are several more in the area that we missed.
If you are into the arts and literature, visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. We didn’t stop on this trip but we have been there before. And some places we missed were the Edith Wharton estate, and Herman Melville’s home and my list of things to visit in Western Massachusetts is ever-growing. There is too much to see in just a two-day trip.
Also, plenty to do for outdoor lovers. There are acres of state forest to explore and a section of the Appalachian Trail runs through the area.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
Jeff – you will absolutely love the Edith Wharton estate. Take the house tour and then wander the rooms and grounds on your own. Many wonderful photo opportunities. Next time you are in the Berkshires put it at the top of your list!
Jeff – you will absolutely love the Edith Wharton estate. Take the house tour and then wander the rooms and grounds on your own. Many wonderful photo opportunities. Next time you are in the Berkshires put it at the top of your list!
Jeff, even in the summer, combine a visit to the Berkshires with a concert at Tanglewood (Lenox MA) and it’s a great experience. I did this last August.
Jeff, even in the summer, combine a visit to the Berkshires with a concert at Tanglewood (Lenox MA) and it’s a great experience. I did this last August.