TOURISTS Hotel Embraces Nature With Design in Western Massachusetts

Author Photographer
  • Peter Crosby, Nicole Franzen, R'el Dade and Marcus Lloyd

This riverside retreat gives the American Motor Lodge a long-awaited and well deserved redesign


Published: 04-01-2021

Updated: 05-23-2024

About the author

Ellen Eberhardt
Ellen Eberhardt
Ellen is an New York City-based writer, designer, former architectural worker bee, and current reporter for Dezeen.

Tourists, a riverside retreat in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts is giving the American Motor Lodge what it’s always deserved—a little TLC. The 48-bed property centers design and the outdoors (sounds familiar), all inspired by its bucolic location on the banks of the Hoosic River.

Led by a team of four partners, the hotel’s location lends itself to easy exploration of both nature and art. The Mohawk and Appalachian trails converge on-site, while Mount Greylock, Massachusets’ tallest mountain, is a hike away.

Both MASS MoCA and the Clark Institue are within a short drive, amoung other lesser-known attractions like the Hancock Shaker Village and more. While the retreat has limited group-gatherings in and outdoors due to COVID, in safer times they plan to continue hosting open-air concerts and private events.

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"Adventure" is a key part of the Tourist’s experience, with an extensive catalog of various walks, hikes, and outdoor activities organized by an in-house Art and Adventure coordinator.

Guests can book morning or sunset hikes, wildflower and outdoor sculpture tours, group yoga, meditation by a waterfall, or a “Craft and Sip” session, where you can create room sprays with essential oils, leather keychains, beeswax candles, herbal bath salts, and more. Safe to say they know their customer.

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by Nicole Franzen

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The rooms themselves feature minimalist, modest design, accented by custom wooden furniture and various nature-inspired products and art. Each has a private deck where guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee and alcohol—ordered via text. A saltwater pool sits at the center of the grounds, with access limited due to social distancing.

With strict COVID protocols seemingly in place, for our readers itching to get back out there or in need of a much-deserved break in reality—this may be the place to start.

From December 2020 through April 2021, the hotel is operating on a Thursday-Sunday schedule with a minimum stay of two nights, to ensure rooms the property remains as safe as posisble. Rooms start around $221 a night.

BOOK NOW

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For more Berkshire stays check out 11 Best Cabins to Rent in Western Massachusetts