8 Gorgeous Spring Getaways Near NYC to Book Now
Posted: 03/06/2015 12:15 pm EST Updated: 18 minutes ago

This will-it-ever-end winter has us all more than a little bit eager for spring to arrive. And spring is almost here. That morning will come when you don’t hear the clanking heaters or shovels scraping the snow off the sidewalks and you’ll know it’s time to pack a bag for your weekend escape to one of these eight beautiful hotels, each an easy car-free ride away from New York City.

Whether you retreat to a Berkshires estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted or to a new boutique inn on Shelter Island, the rooms at the following breathtaking destinations will quickly fill up with winter weary travelers–and you’ll want to be one of them.

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Wheatleigh Hotel | Lenox, MA
If ever there was a time to use the word enchanting, this is it. Wheatleigh’s setting is something out of a Jane Austen novel–its 22-acre park was originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted–and though its location in the Berkshires near Tanglewood and charming towns couldn’t be better, you won’t want to–nor need to–leave the hotel grounds for a thing. Rooms from $715, wheatleigh.com
How to get there: Take Peter Pan bus to Lenox, MA. One-way tickets are from $30 and the ride takes 4 hours.

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Weekapaug Inn | Westerly, RI
You could easily spend a day lounging on the private white sands of Weekapaug Beach, reading a book against the backdrop of Block Island, Montauk and the Rhode Island coastline. But you’ll likely be tempted to celebrate spring by biking to Watch Hill, kayaking around the inn’s estuary, playing croquet, or sailing a restored Beetlecat on Quonochontaug Pond. The inn offers many other complimentary activities, including daily culinary classes, spa and wellness clinics, and astronomy nights. After a $20 million renovation, the property reopened in 2012 with farm-to-table dining options and 31 rooms and four suites with a modern-meets-colonial revival aesthetic as soothing as the views outside your window. Rooms from $225, weekapauginn.com.
How to get there: The Westerly station is located 15 minutes from the Weekapaug Inn, on the Northeast Regional line (one-way tickets are from $55 and the ride takes 3 hours). Call the hotel in advance to arrange for transportation to and from the Inn.

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Bedford Post Inn | Hudson Valley, NY
A getaway to the Bedford Post Inn, owned by Richard Gere, is a simple, elegant and dependable escape. Here, you eat at newly opened Campagna, do praying mantis in the yoga loft, and love the peace and quiet of an afternoon by the pool. After exploring the hiking trails surrounding the inn, you’ll take a bath in a clawfoot tub in a mosaic-tiled bathroom, and go home on the train feeling completely rejuvenated and ready for whatever the new season has in store. For more information about the hotel, read oM’s full review. Rooms from $395, bedfordpostinn.com.
How to get there: Take Metro North to Bedford Hills Station, then a cab ride ($18) to the inn. The train ticket is $11.75/one way off peak and the ride takes 69 minutes.

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Jedediah Hawkins Inn | Long Island, NY
Built in 1863 by a ship captain named Jedidiah Hawkins, this inn alone is worth planning an overnight getaway to the North Fork. After you’ve arrived at the hotel, tucked away on an unassuming road with hammocks and chickens and 22 acres of gardens and farmland, you won’t know what to do first: start with a tipple in the solarium or speakeasy and then enjoy some of the complimentary wine tastings provided by the inn’s 14 vineyard partners; or take out a free bike and head three minutes away to Jamesport beach before returning for boozy bocce ball. Between yoga and painting classes, make sure to inquire about the inn’s intriguing history (complete with secret passages and trapdoors). Rooms from $250, jedediahhawkinsinn.com.
How to get there: Take Hampton Jitney to the Jamesport stop, then a five-minute walk to the inn
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/offmetrocom/8-gorgeous-spring-getaway_b_6817126.html

Absence makes the heart grow fonder — sometimes you have to leave the places you love. And though we love New York from the heart, we could occasionally use a break from the frozen hellscape that is our home this time of year. To preserve mental health, and in recognition of leisure driving’s modest comeback, here are ten weekend ideas within three hours’ drive from midtown Manhattan:

1. CASTLE HOTEL & SPA
Tarrytown, Hudson Valley — In terms of vineyards and medieval monuments, the Hudson certainly doesn’t compare with the Loire, but it’s been immortalized by its fair share of great storytellers. Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, brought to the screen by none other than Tim Burton, was written right here in Tarrytown. Citizen Kane features brilliant aerial shots of Kykuit, John D. Rockefeller’s famed mansion situated on the highest point of nearby Pocantico Hills. And finally, on a hill overlooking the valley, one finds the Castle Hotel & Spa , a Norman-style edifice complete with crenellated towers, arched windows, award-winning cuisine, and extensive spa services. Your court awaits.

2. HOTEL FAUCHÈRE
Milford, Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania’s long stretches of woods and fields recall family outings where bored youths pass the hours on the road by counting cows and license plates. At first glance, the Hotel Fauchère seems just another old-timey roadside attraction: aging porch, rocking chairs in a row, stars and stripes flapping idly in the wind — Americana at its best. Yet inside, the rustic cliché gives way to modern, elegant interiors and the best in contemporary hospitality. Giant portraits of Lennon and Warhol wink from behind the cocktail bar. Sometimes it’s good to revisit the classics.

3. JEDEDIAH HAWKINS INN
Jamesport, Long Island — Country roads, flowering vines, farm-to-table fare — Long Island’s North Fork represents the beachgoing rural ideal far better than occasional weekends at the Hamptons. Here, just minutes from Peconic Bay, the Victorian gem that is the Jedediah Hawkins Inn attracts fans of rest, reading, and eating alike. Happily, the charm doesn’t dim in the winter months — the fireplace at the foot of your bed and the pervasive scent of freshly baked bread will see to that.

Estimated travel: 95 minutes from Midtown via I-495 East.
http://magazine.tablethotels.com/en/2015/02/escape-from-new-york-3dux/

Weddings: Hayley & Steve // Jedediah Hawkins Inn
DEC . 18 . 2014 Posted in: weddings1 comment
Hayley & Steve were married this past August at just about the coolest venue we’ve ever been to. Jedediah Hawkins Inn is a historic house in Riverhead, NY– and it is just so beautiful. And awesome! (It has a speakeasy in the basement.) And, to date, it was the best experience we have ever had as vendors. The staff was so kind and helpful and happy– and overall it was so clearly the perfect place for Hayley & Steve to tie the knot. Hayley wore a stunning BHLDN dress and held a wildflower bouquet. You cannot miss their first-look, the special surprise at the end of the ceremony, their gorgeous and carefully crafted details, and I cannot even get started on how amazing the band was. You can find more about them here, elan artists. They threw an amazing party.

Hayley & Steve- we wish so much we could shoot your wedding every weekend. It was so wonderful to share in– and also, I would not say no to eating that amazing food every night of my life. Thank you so much for having us!
See the photos at Kelsey Combe

Moroccan Carrots
Pumpkin Soup with Fideos
Fried Cauliflower and Chicken Kebobs
Twice Cooked Eggplant with Red Peppers
Salmon in Charmoula
Rugelach with hazelnut and date filling

The dinner menu will be overseen by Michael Solomonov, the James Beard Award winning chef/owner of Zahav in Philadelphia. Recently, Michael was chosen as Chef-of-the Year 2014 by Eater Magazine. He’s also the chef/guide of Roger’s film, The Search for Israeli Cuisine.

courtesy Florentine Films

Let’s Eat & Talk Israeli Cuisine
with Filmmaker Roger Sherman

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14 at 5 pm

A Three Course Dinner

A Founder of Florentine Films, http://www.florentinefilms.com/sherman/ Roger is a Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Still Photographer and Author. Roger’s films have won a host of awards including an Emmy, a Peabody, and two Academy Award nominations.

Roger will show clips of The Search for Israeli Cuisine, the new film he is producing, a National PBS Special. It is the first film to bring the richness and diversity of Israel’s food culture to Americans. The discussion will focus on Roger’s experiences filming in Israel at over 100 locations and the 70 plus cultures that make Israeli cuisine one of the most dynamic in the world, with an emphasis on wine. Israel has 350 boutique wineries. The dinner menu will be overseen by Michael Solomonov, the James Beard Award winning chef/owner of Zahav in Philadelphia. Recently, Michael was chosen as Chef-of-the Year 2014 by Eater Magazine. He’s also the chef/guide of Roger’s film.

$75 per person. Please call 631.722.2900 to book, space is limited.

Get Ready for Thanksgiving!
Cooking Classes
Sunday Nov. 23
and Monday Nov. 24
4 pm

Learn to cook a turkey and the sides with Chefs Craig Attwood and Kyle Strong Romeo
$50 a person

Let us do your shopping
Take home a 15 pound D’Artagnan organic free-range turkey and enough local farm produce for 6 to 8 guests.
$125 (please order in advance)

Book a room on Sunday Nov.23 or Monday Nov. 24 and the cooking class is on us

RSVP 631.722.2900

Our historic Inn, Restaurant & Speakeasy is the perfect venue for your holiday party. With its breathtaking setting, central location, fine cuisine, and many private rooms with fireplaces, the Inn is the most sought after location on the East End of Long Island for private events.
Take advantage of seasonal offers and special booking rates for our rooms.

FOUR COURSE HOLIDAY MENU
FIRST
soup of the day
heirloom beet & arugula salad, goat cheese mousse, spiced almonds
SECOND
escabeche of spanish mackerel, gala apples, jalapeno, horseradish crème fraiche
arancini squash, goat cheese, pickled red cabbage
THIRD
roasted amish chicken, brussels sprout leaves, wild mushrooms, spaetzle, raclette
petit filet of beef au poivre, pearl onions, farm greens, rutabaga
monkfish a la plancha, roasted cauliflower, turnips, golden raisins, horseradish brown butter
root vegetable and squash lasagna ricotta cheese, wild mushroom veloute
FOURTH
figgy pudding hard sauce, dried fruit
candy cane crème brulee

$55 per person Sundays through Fridays (minimum 8 persons)
$65 on Saturday night

add a glass of bubbly, spiced wine, or eggnog for $9

Bride and groom in front of trees

Gelmina and Ed, bride and groom in front of Jedediah Hawkins Inn, before their wedding.

http://sherrypickerellphotographyblog.com/

NORTH FORK WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER-GELMINA AND ED’S JEDEDIAH HAWKINS INN WEDDING-9/6/14
Gelmina and Ed met each other while working and just hit it off! They have a sweetness between them that you enjoy watching. Gelmina brings out something special in Ed. She has a spunkiness about her that just brings a smile to your face. They chose the beautifully restored historic JEDEDIAH HAWKINS INN in Jamesport, NY to have their September 6th Wedding which included their closest family and friends. The rainy weather that was headed our way held off for their outdoor ceremony and the evening ended up running just perfectly. They had gorgeous hydrangea bouquets designed by one of the great Florists out here on the North Fork, MATTITUCK FLORIST in Mattituck. It was truly a wonderful day to be a part of! I also was lucky to have my good friend JULIE LOWRY here from Alabama to photograph their day with me. A special thank you to her for making the trek up here to help me. Here are some of my favorites to share:

In the Barn Gallery at Jedediah Hawkins Inn, we welcome a group of artists from the Alex Ferrone Gallery. The exhibit is on through October 14th and open during restaurant hours.

Poster for photography exhibit at the barn gallery at Jedediah Hawkins Inn