4-Hour Rule: Lenox, MA

Stipulated: the perfect travel time for a three-day weekend getaway is four hours. More, and you waste your vacation. Less, and you’re still near home. Hence our series, The Four-Hour Rule, dedicated to revealing the best destinations that are far away, yet still close to home.

33 main (3 images)

STAY
Truth be told, BnBs aren’t my thing. They smell like the medicine aisle, are typically run by a lovely woman named Sue who wants to know how I “got to the Big Apple,” only come with a thimble of port in the liquor cabinet and are too quiet for getting busy. But boy do I love being proven wrong. Which is exactly what 33 Main did.

A meticulously revamped Federal-style building from the 1830s, 33 Main is the handiwork of design queen Annie Selke, and it has all the makings of a dog-friendly Cloud Nine experience. The bathtubs are deep and modern, the robes are made of silk marshmallows, the bar cart next to the fire is stocked with wine, spirits and games with all the pieces, and the breakfast is elegant, fresh and filling. Then there’s the bed: a dream you’ll never want to wake from courtesy of Hästens, Swedish makers of hand-assembled five-figure mattresses. You’ll want for nothing, including privacy. And for the price, we challenge you to find this level of luxury a stone’s throw from the city.

33 main eat (3 images)

EAT
Every time I roll up into a small town in the middle of the night, I think “I could live here.” And then I try to find something to eat and go to bed hungry. But not this time. Intimate Brava Bar delivers and then some well into the night. The beer and award-winning wine lists are as long as the list of resolutions I’ll be breaking this month, with 85 brews and more than 100 vino selects, of which 40 can be ordered by the glass. Do not, I repeat do not, let the word tapas fool you. You’re getting much more than three bites per order. And don’t sleep on the pizzas. Should you slide into town at a decent hour, there’s more refinement than you’ll know how to stomach. From the date-worthy Bistro Zinc, with a happening bar scene and top-shelf steak frites, to the hyper-regional and subdued Nudel, with a Long Island Duck you won’t be willing to share, Lenox’s food scene is humble and divine.

33 main do (2 images)

DO
Personally, when someone asks me what I did all weekend, my favorite response is “nothing at all.” Which is why settling in fireside with a book at 33 Main and coasting through an afternoon with a game of Scrabble equaled perfection. But the quintessential northeast town of Lenox is brimming with art and culture should you desire. If you’re planning in advance, books tickets to the renowned Shakespeare & Co. theater and consider a hop up to the underrated MASS MoCA. A visit to the Berkshire Scenic Railroad Museum and The Clark Art Institute will also do an impromptu weekender justice. But the highlight of the weekend was definitely paying a visit to Lenox’s library. It’s charming, stately and historical, a fitting reflection of the town itself.