- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
The Porches Inn
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
15 reviews for The Porches Inn
We love Porches particularly in the winter time with the heated outdoor pool, hot tub and sauna. The rooms are fun, comfy and worthy of just relaxing with the videos you can borrow, books that you bring or sipping the coffee brought to you in metal lunch boxes along with amazing pain au chocolat. We love the breakfasts with the great bread, hard boiled eggs, New England cheddar and fruit. We always tag going to Mass MOCA into the trip which combines over stimulation along with relaxation. The buildings are imaginative. The decor is yard sale chic elevating china and paint by numbers to another level. There are cool things to buy in the gift shop. And, the clientele are people that seem interesting and interested in much the same things we are.
We loved Porches so much, we spent our 25th wedding anniversary there!
I stayed at The Porches Inn in spring 2009 with my husband and dog (pet friendly). It's an incredibly stylish and comfortable hotel, with any amenities a reasonable traveler could want. The room was clean and nicely appointed. The bathtub was roomy and the shower seemed to be state-of-the art. There was a casual bar in the main building where several guests sipped locally-brewed beer and snacked on the fresh-made cookies. The immaculately-kept wide porch has plenty of comfortable rocking chairs. The only downside is the busy road in front of the hotel, but it was not at all noisy when inside.
I LOVE this hotel - so much so, I keep the toiletries in my medicine cabinet as a reminder of my trip, which was probably five years ago! It's hip, cool and modern, with the rooms in former lodging for mill workers, back when the mill industry was booming in North Adams. The owners thought of every detail, like metal lunchboxes in the rooms that store treats for guests.
The town itself is a little weird - with the mills going belly up, there's abandoned buildings that pepper the area. At the same time, there's a really cool artistic vibe to this community, plus the Mass MOCA located conveniently nearby.
People thought this was:
- Useful (4)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (3)
I had seen the Porches Inn in a documentary about Mass MOCA. That said, it was my first choice of lodging for our stay in North Adams. After reading some of these reviews I was prepared to deal with an unfriendly staff. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I think a vortex took the aforementioned 'FDAH' back to Brooklyn and replaced him with smiley, more chipper staff who were nothing but helpful - even when I informed them that I was a clutz and broke a lamp. I returned to the room to find the glass swept up, the bed turned down (with mints), and the shades drawn.
The room was great - I covet the room. More specifically the cozy bed all in white, the pocket doors, and the bathroom. Needless to say, I was all over the jacuzzi tub and the fuzzy robe. While it was too cold to brave the pool/hot tub, I did think about hitting the sauna.
I think that the Porches Inn has paid a lot of attention to the little things that make hotel stays special. Like fresh baked cookies and warm cider to greet you, a cork screw and wine glasses in your room, and organics for breakfast. I also enjoyed all reading nooks, the warm fireplace, the rocking chairs and the board games. Before I start making too long of a list, I will say that the Proches Inn is on my short list for weekend get aways - especially if you never want to leave your room.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (2)
I had a mixed experience here. First, my room was great, and I had my cat with me, so I was pleased to see the food and water bowls awaiting us in the room as soon as we checked in -- a thoughtful touch. Aside from one creepy old baby photo on the wall, the decor was great. It seemed like they wanted to do something very modern, but had to throw in a touch of Olde New England so they could use adjectives like "quaint" and "charming" in their promotional materials.
The amenities were great, too. The 24-hour pool and hot tub were superb -- very nice things to look forward to after a full day of traveling. The fitness room is not bad, either, and the included breakfast was more than I expected, with fresh bread, cheese, organic yogurt, and pastries. They even had soy milk -- cool!
My experience with the staff, though, was not as positive. When I arrived (around 11:00 p.m.), the front desk clerk acknowledged me with no more than eye contact. No "good evening," "welcome to Porches" or other pleasantries. I had to make the first move: "Ummm, I need to check in, obviously." Then it literally took 15 minutes to check in, and I was given the wrong set of keys. Replacing them took another two minutes, for reasons I'll never understand.
In the morning, I received the same cold reception in the breakfast area, where a staff person just stood and stared at me wordlessly, until I explained "ummm, I need to get some breakfast?" I mean, come on people: When you are in the hospitality business, you need to make people feel welcome, not uncomfortable. Part of how you do that is by welcoming them in, not staring them down. Weird.
Some of the other staff were very pleasant, but overall I found the architecture and design of the physical plant far more appealing than the hotel management and operations.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
Porches describes their rooms as 'industrial grandma,' and it's pretty apt: painted beadboard from floor-to-ceiling matches the exterior color of whichever house you're staying in. It's starkly disorienting at first, then dazzling yet cozy, kind of like a digital world conjured up by Mother Ann Lee. Some might consider this creepily uber-hip and only for polyglot visitors to Mass MOCA, but give it a couple of years and it'll be charmingly quaint. Breakfast can be left at your door, but it's much more fun to sit in the dining area and watch who's self-consciously eating the healthy crap or the buttery-good chocolate croissants.
Yeah, heated outdoor pool, and I guiltily agree with Derick F on this point, but when we were walking to our room on a very cold moonlit night, a couple of little kids were yelling and having a great time in the water and we both wished we were them.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
The Porches is cool, in all senses of the word. Cool as in stylish - hip graphic design and room furnishings that take into account both Contemporary Art sensibilities & the rural setting. Cool, as in freezing cold, which is how the hallways and rooms are when you arrive in the evening in the winter. Cool, as in the reception you get when out of town guests pay a lot of money and the staff doesn't get paid enough. I would avoid the Porches and instead go to Jae's Inn -- way less hip, but a little cheaper and a lot friendlier.
Update: free breakfast? delivered?! I guess the Porches doesn't take care of its business travelers.... :(
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
This place is amazing, I seriously did not want to leave.
It's all the little details around this place that make it so great:
The way the rooms are decorated.
The homemade chocolate mints left bedside.
The free delivered breakfast that comes in the most adorable lunch box, with the juices in old school milk bottles.
The fire pit outside, with the lit path to get to it.
I could seriously go on and on.
Everything about this was perfect, not a single complaint!
Even if you're not looking to go to Mass MOCA, you should come here for a relaxing getaway weekend.
One note, not all the rooms have porches, and it's definitely worth the extra money to get one.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
I have stayed at Porches twice now: once in the bare-treed crispness of early April, and once in the glorious gaudy fire of October foliage. I loved:
- the nostalgic but not quite kitschy decor
- the many seating areas throughout, board games, and book showing the renovation of the place
- the bathrooms - spa-lovely instead of motel-icky; claw foot tub and separate shower
- nice breakfast buffet
- the setting, nestled in the leafy hill
- MassMOCA and the town are a very short walk away
- the pool looks amazing but the cold air has caused me to wuss out both times.
If I'd done the fall trip with friends instead of my parents, I would have joined the beer-and-S'more party that was huddled around the fire pit (which, by the way, lends a lovely burnished autumn smell to the place - eat your heart out, Yankee Candle Company.)
It pains me, but I have to knock off a star for the staff. I'm not the kind of fancypants traveler who wants a bellhop and a bed-turner-downer all up in my beeswax. I like a low-key, hands-off sort of vibe. But these folks are, as Beth said, cool. Not necessarily hip, just chilly in their treatment of guests. We made a reservation for a King-sized bed and a twin aerobed (yeah, I shared a ROOM with the 'rents) and it wasn't in the room when we got there. No problem, says Front Desk Aspiring Hipster (FDAH), I'll have them bring it up at turndown. We return from dinner. Bed turned down. No aerobed. After 2 phone calls to FDAH (in which he seemed not to remember talking to us 30 minutes before) and 2 visits to the desk (in which I was tempted to rip his Magnetic Fields CD out of the stereo until he got me a bed), we FINALLY got another guy to deliver an aerobed. Which completely deflated within an hour. In the morning, the hipster was back on duty - he didn't charge us, but he and the assistant manager also didn't apologize.
Also, the first time I went, they "upgraded" me from a room with a porch to a suite without. Not so cool.
But overall, I really love what they've done with the place and my 4 stars stand - they just need to train staff to be warmer on these chilly autumn nights. I hope to enjoy more romantic getaways to Porches, if any boyfriends out there are reading this.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
We stayed at Porches during our honeymoon weekend. We traveled the couple hours down Route 2 after our morning wedding and lunch reception. When we finally arrived, we were so excited to jump onto our bed to chill out after the crazy day we had. We loved the coral pink/red hue of our room, and our bed was so nice and comfy. The decor in general is just fabulous. Really cozy and comfortable yet chic and modern. Everything is so creatively appointed. And the bathroom! Gorgeous! I loved the slate tiles and minimalist white walls, and we thought the two-person shower stall with glass doors was really cool. The white bathrobes and towels were nice and soft as well. There's nothing like fresh, soft white towels.
The only thing I personally didn't enjoy about our room was that it was on the ground floor and the only shades covering the windows were khaki-colored linen curtains. I didn't feel secure sitting on the toilet (pardon the detail) or changing into my bathing suit to use the swimming pool and hot tub (across the walkway from us) in the biting cold and SNOWY weather. Yes, we actually swam and used the hot tub as it snowed this one weekend in February. It was really cool, but I wasn't smart to dunk my head under water in the pool. We warmed up, however, in the hot tub and later in the sauna inside the clubhouse adjacent to the pool and hot tub.
But I digress.
We also enjoyed the breakfast that was delivered in traditional steel lunchboxes to our door each morning, at the timeframe we requested the night before. Very hip and convenient. The breakfast came with The New York Times, too, but you could choose The Boston Globe or the local newspapers. The muffins and croissants were yummy, as were the coffee (in a stainless steel Thermos) and fresh orange juice (in glass milk bottles), and preserves.
Unfortunately, out of our three nights there, they twice screwed up our breafkast order. One morning, I had ordered a muffin, but they gave me a chocolate croissant instead. The next morning, they gave us only one coffee mug, (thankfully we had a glass for orange juice), and I saw an opened and empty sugar packet in my lunchbox. We didn't complain, though, because in the end, we really did have a fabulous, fun, romantic, and memorable stay. And we shall return!
I LOVE Porches. The decor is striking at first, and only grows on you more as your stay progresses. The hottub and pool are nicely situated, well maintained and add a great activity to a day of museum-going or hiking. The breakfast is GREAT too.
However, I wouldn't opt for the geocaching package. The free lunch that comes with the package wasn't ready when we ordered it, and the staff sent us to pick it up at a local cafe that was closed when we got there. Then the gps device they provided didn't work, and it turned out that Mount Greylock isn't such a pretty peak, though it's the highest in MA and it's nice to say you climbed it if you're a regular hiker. So go ahead and get the romantic or yoga packages instead.
Also, some of the staff had attitudes, though others were super-nice.
People thought this was:
- Funny (1)
The Porches Inn is located in North Adams, MA across the road from the Mass MOCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art ). The Inn resides in a series of 6 renovated interconnected Victorian row houses.
The inn oozes casual chic and the rooms have a retro Pottery Barn feel. The bathroom alone is enough to make me go back with its large, walk-in, glass enclosed shower and seperate oversized clawfoot tub.
Porches is the perfect place to stay for a getaway in The Berkshires.
Sauna, outdoor heated pool and hot tub. Except for the fossil-fuel burning climate-wrecking guilt, this was a very relaxing way to spend a cold January evening.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
We had the best time visiting The Porches in April. The converted row houses in the beautiful industrial city of North Adams oozed character and charm. Our monochromatically pink suite came with an immaculate king size bed and a comfortable living room. The bathroom was large and immaculately appointed. I particularly enjoyed the rainfall shower head. A delicious (and free) breakfast was delivered to our room each morning in stainless steel lunch pails. We found the staff to be very courteous and helpful. The Porches is a fun and memorable place to stay, and of course, it's location right across the street from MassMoCa cannot be beat I highly recommend this hotel to anyone traveling to North Adams.
I have to agree with the poster who said " I did not want to leave." Seriously! My guy and I contemplated how we could become instantly wealthy so we could come up to beautiful North Adams once a month.
My highlights from the trip included the cat! I cannot believe no one has mentioned her (him)? Such a sweet touch. The decor was perfect and as others we selected a room with a porch. The simplicity of the cotton curtains for privacy on it was divine. It was Halloween night that we stayed and when we got back there was halloweed candy on our bed. What a nice touch! The room was nicely decorated and comfortable. As others have noted the bathroom was lovely. The robes are a nice touch and the toiletries are nicer then most. Being a green hotel I would have like to see something more natural like Aveda. The breakfast in the morning was wonderful. I do have to note like others that (one of) the staff members had no business in the customer service industry. The gentlemen who checked us in was great on Friday (around 3 if you want to know) but the woman who checked us out was frankly chilly. I dont get it. This place takes the time to pay attention to each detail but the staff should be its first priority.
I do have to note that this does not affect my decision to return(which I will) and me reccomending it. This is why I gave it 5 stars. Go! Please make sure to visit the Clark institute down the road as well as MOCA.