Tourists

In far northwestern Massachusetts, roughly equidistant from Boston and New York, the Berkshires are undergoing the sort of revival that travel trend pieces are made of. Thanks in part to the redevelopment that’s accompanied MASS MoCA, the contemporary art museum, the formerly industrial town of North Adams is living a second life as a booming cultural destination. Outside the town center, on the road to neighboring Williamstown, you’ll find another piece of reclaimed Berkshires heritage: TOURISTS, a Sixties motor lodge reborn as a very modern, very hip little country boutique hotel.

Its name was inspired by an old “Tourists Welcome” sign, and the aim is to remove some of the stigma around the term — we can’t be locals everywhere. Its partners are drawn from several disparate worlds, from hospitality and development to chef Cortney Burns and Wilco bassist John Stirratt, who may be tourists in the hotel business but boast authentic cultural connections.

The vibe is pared-down but stylish, with a modernist simplicity but a rustic edge, studiously avoiding urban opulence and mid-century modernist kitsch. In its eclectic acknowledgement of its disparate influences it feels somehow timeless, and strikes a balance between summer-camp conviviality and the quiet you expect of a proper rural retreat. Soon to open is Loom, Cortney Burns’s restaurant — until then there’s a menu of light fare available in the lounge and bar, as well as all the nearby restaurants just down the road in the North Adams town center.

Text Courtesy of Tablet Hotels