Refreshed
A LOOK INSIDE THE REDESIGNED MAYFLOWER INN & SPA IN WASHINGTON
The Mayflower Inn & Spa has made a name for itself in Litchfield County. It was the alleged inspiration for the show “Gilmore Girls” and it was the backdrop of a 2018 Real Housewives of New York episode.
Also in 2018, the upscale historic hotel changed hands and became part of the Auberge Resorts Collection.
The new ownership came with some changes, including the hiring of Chef April Bloomfield as chef-in-residence, a new boutique called The Huntress and a partnership with New York City’s THE WELL, which offers “an integrated holistic experience with a suite of medical and health coaching services, along with custom spa treatments, a rotation of ‘Visiting Masters’ across eastern and western healing practices ... daily movement and fitness classes and a calendar of seasonal retreats,” according to Mayflower Inn &
Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection General Manager Israel Benyair.
There was also an interior redesign that was completed in October 2020 by interior designer Celerie Kemble, who said she aimed to honor the property’s “New England heritage.”
“Drawing inspiration from storied English and Scandinavian country houses, we revived Mayflower’s historic interiors with a palette of florals, complex patterns and color, Gustavian antiques and contemporary art,” Kemble said via email. “I wanted the Mayflower’s redesign to feel like a gracious country house except you can be a guest again and again and never worry about overstaying your welcome ... Our hope was that you might feel you were an esteemed guest in a guest room of a great house.” Kemble went on to explain that she swapped out the previous gray and beige color palette in favor of colors, florals and printed wallpaper. “We eschewed formality for comfort and beauty,” she said.
Though the hotel has been in business for decades, the the new ownership and changes landed the Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection on Travel + Leisure’s recent list of “Best New Hotels in the World.”
“How do you transform a staid but storied country hotel into a destination for the modern age? First, Auberge Resorts Collection appointed interior design star Celerie Kemble to infuse character into the Mayflower’s main building by replacing the damask and frills with one-of-a-kind pieces, including Turkish rugs, paperflower arrangements, and a shoppable library of firstedition volumes from Johnnycake Books,” the site writes.
“We are humbled that the trusted and discerning editors of Travel + Leisure have acknowledged Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection on their distinguished list,” Benyair said via email. “To have our passion acknowledged with this accolade has been incredibly exciting for us, and we look forward to continuing to provide guests with inspired New England experiences and memories that will long be remembered,”
The Wall Street Journal also recently featured the hotel’s dining experience in recent article. Chef Bloomfield, who originally hails from Birmingham, England, has been working in the culinary arts for more than 25 years. She won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York City in 2014 and also received an Emmy nomination for her work on the PBS series “The Mind of a Chef.”
“WE ESCHEWED FORMALITY FOR COMFORT AND BEAUTY.”