Highlights: Mayflower Inn & Spa

•The Mayflower Inn is set on 58 acres in Washington, Connecticut--named New England’s prettiest small village; hotel grounds are awash with magnificent gardens and groves of tall trees

•Unpretentious yet seamless service from a well-trained staff that really seems to care and knows how to make guests feel pampered

•Unique guest rooms, all evoking quiet elegance with flowing silks and brocades, Tabriz rugs, marble baths, and European artifacts

•The Tea House features an ideal setting for small corporate retreats or gatherings

•Recently expanded fitness center and a new 20,000-square-foot spa along with wellness rituals and outdoor activities round out the exceptional on-site facilities

Amenities: Mayflower Inn & Spa

• 24 rooms, 3 story. Children over 12 years only. Check-in 3 pm, check-out 1 pm. High-speed Internet access, wireless Internet access. Restaurant, bar. Fitness room, fitness classes available, spa. Outdoor pool. Tennis. Credit cards accepted.

General Impressions: Mayflower Inn & Spa

The Mayflower Inn is ideally situated next to the Steeprock Reserve and its abundance of trees, foliage, and wildlife. Less than two hours out of New York City, it was obvious from reading the license plates of the cars parked in the Inn’s lot, that with New Yorkers, the word was out. This was the place to come.

Recalling the traditions of Europe’s finest country house hotels, this stately Dutch Colonial with twin gambrel roof, gardens, and décor has achieved status as a member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux group. It wasn’t always so, however. Built in the late 1800s as a grand estate, the Inn later became an all-boys school until 1919, when it morphed into The Mayflower Inn and then sadly fell into disrepair.

In 1989, Robert Mnuchin, a managing partner of Goldman Sachs, and his wife, Adriana, creator of the Tennis Lady and Cashmere-Cashmere stores, came to the rescue, leaving their thriving careers in New York to purchase property near their summer home in the Litchfield Hills. Taking on the tremendous task of rebuilding the Inn on the footprint of the former building, renovating the other buildings, and revitalizing the grounds was a huge job. Trees were carefully selected to enhance the surrounding countryside, and in the manner of England’s famed landscape designers, Robert created magnificent gardens, including the Shakespeare Garden and the Poet’s Maze on the other side of the house.

The Mayflower Inn has enough guest rooms spread throughout its four buildings to create a sense of privacy, yet the place is intimate enough not to overwhelm. Inside, live orchids grace the public and private spaces, while other fresh flowers burst exuberantly from vases and urns. Most of the 18th- and 19th-century paintings on the walls are original, a byproduct of the Mnuchin’s L&M Arts, a New York City gallery.

Even if the weather is on the gloomy side, you’ll be able to enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the Mayflower Inn. If you can tear yourself away from your room, go curl up with a book in front of the fireplace in the wood-paneled library or head to the cheerful wicker-furnished porch‑-it’s enclosed and heated.

Because of the quiet nature of The Mayflower Inn, families traveling with young children might not feel totally at ease. However, the Inn is perfect for couples and the spa is ideal for girlfriend or mother-daughter retreats to indulge in treatments and services that focus on the mind, body, and spirit. Although the Wi-Fi services are important to business travelers, the lack of good cell phone service may throw a wrench into plans to combine work with pleasure.

(+) For those who love the countryside, it doesn’t get much better than this

Guest Services: Mayflower Inn & Spa

In the new spa at The Mayflower Inn, there are a variety of treatments offered, but if you don’t find one you like, the spa director will help you customize a treatment just for you.

A Mayflower Coordinator is on duty to tend to your special requests, whether it’s to make sure that you have a golf game scheduled at the nearby golf course, or the best time for a spa visit. The coordinator can also help you get access to various types of outdoor recreation, including kayaking, horseback riding, and ballooning.

(+) Coordinator and other staff ready to fulfill your requests and make your visit memorable

Guest Rooms: Mayflower Inn & Spa

Each of The Mayflower Inn’s 30 unique rooms and suites is tastefully overstated when it comes to luxury. Think marble, empire petit fleur, and Regency wall coverings, down duvets, Frette linens, hand-carved four-poster canopy king beds, and fireplaces, and you get the picture. Although the majority of rooms (15) are located in The Mayflower, there are four rooms in the Speedwell, four in the Standish, and six in the Allerton buildings.

During my stay, I absolutely loved my bed, which was topped by a feather mattress and dressed in Frette linens, lush oversized pillows, and a down comforter. The marble bathroom was enormous and was outfitted with a European-style deep-soaking bathtub, glass-enclosed shower, brass and Limoges fixtures, and a separate toilet area. In-room amenities included terry robes and slippers, Red Flower toiletries, a large in-room safe, flat-screen cable satellite TV, free local calls, complimentary newspaper, and a mini-bar. Express laundry and dry cleaning and nightly turndown are also part of the services.

(+) Guest rooms are so elegantly appointed and spacious you won’t want to leave them

Facilities & Activities: Mayflower Inn & Spa

Serene white-on-white, natural colors and textures and the clean blue of water sets the tone for the new 20,000-square-foot Mayflower Destination Spa, which sits on a hill above the rose garden. Under the direction of the Mnuchin’s daughter, Lisa Hedley, the spa provides an idyllic retreat with massages, scrubs, wraps, soaks, and facials. Destination Spa programs take place during weekdays for spa guests only, while the new spa is open to Mayflower guests on the weekends for a fee. Many of the treatments sound like sensuous desserts. Take Hammam, a red flower treatment ritual, or the Deep Blue Lavender Embrace, where “red flower’s synergistic blend of lavender, peppermint, rosemary, ginger grass, and fir accompany you through a gentle sequence of buffing, steam, and massage.” You will not be disappointed with either the range of treatments or the therapists.

Complimentary access to a fitness center in the Mayflower Inn is available to guests during the week. Located in the main Manor House, the state-of-the-art Mayflower Fitness Club is open daily and privileges are extended to hotel guests. Here you’ll find the latest in Paramount weight-training machines, treadmills, step machines, and stationary bicycles. Fitness and yoga classes are available, as well as steam and sauna facilities. Mayflower Inn guests can also enjoy an indoor and outdoor pool, a tennis court, putting green, and acres of gardens to enjoy. I found the hotel to be a perfect base for exploring the bucolic countryside. And yes, you do come upon cows grazing in the fields. But before you push off, stroll through the Poet’s Maze, and note the poets’ quotes at the various intersections.

The surrounding area of The Mayflower Inn delivers an overwhelming dose of natural beauty. Guests can choose to hike on the many trails that wind through nearby Steeprock Reserve, or go mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, or picnicking by clear gushing streams. For car buffs, there are the races at nearby Lime Rock, while treasure seekers will enjoy a treasure trove of antique shops and art galleries. The Sloane Stanley Museum is well worth a stop, and shopping in Kent is a treat, with shops like R.T. Facts, which features one-of-a-kind vintage architectural items.

Also check out nearby Woodbury, another lovely town where antique shops and a few restaurants line the main drag, including Carol Peck’s Good News Cafe.

(+) Leisure and quiet time are available both within the hotel and in the surrounding countryside

Dining & Lounge: Mayflower Inn & Spa

Certainly a stay here should include dinner in The Mayflower dining room. I especially liked the fact that Executive Chef Timothy Au uses local organic produce and other regional products. In fact, vegetables, herbs, and lettuce are grown in the hotel’s own Rossiter greenhouse.

The servers were were knowledgeable about the special menu items, and combined the right amount of attention without being pretentious or overbearing.

For more casual fare, try the Tap Room for a great bowl of soup, salad, or steak sandwich. It’s cozy, romantic, and less expensive than the main dining room. For those thinking healthy, a spa menu is offered both in the spa and dining rooms.

(+) Outstanding organic cuisine, with some of the ingredients grown on the property

Business Services: Mayflower Inn & Spa

You might expect a small inn in the middle of a scene straight out of a Grandma Moses painting to be out of touch with things like Wi-Fi and pay per view. While The Mayflower Inn appeals to leisure travelers, the services and facilities also allow business-oriented types to stay connected. With a desk in each room, two-line speakerphones, and data port connections, you can keep up on your latest e-mails without breaking a sweat. I was able to easily connect to the Internet using the hotel’s wireless network, and my voice mail and two-line phone was also a pleasant surprise. You’ll need land-line phone access here—cell phone reception is sketchy at best.

The Inn’s Tea House building is an ideal place for a corporate retreat. The 1,200-square-foot space, with a 400-square-foot breakout room, is set up for presentations with the a T-1 line and A/V equipment.

(+) Accommodations for small corporate retreats or gatherings
(-) Cell phone service is one thing not under the control of The Mayflower Inn; it is difficult, at best, to get a connection