Tucked away on 250 acres outside the hamlet of Amenia, New York, Troutbeck Resort is the quintessential fall getaway. Here, where century-old elm and sycamore trees spread their golden canopies above clipped lawns and perennial gardens just gone to seed, autumn is an art form. Think warming wood-fires, bowls of fresh-picked apples and gourds, and pumpkins piled in appealing tableaus. It’s one of those places where guests come to relax and unwind, ride bikes, go antiquing, visit art galleries and browse quaint shop-lined streets. Or they come to do nothing at all.
Troutbeck’s storied past includes a period as a private home, an estate and a country inn and tavern. Col. Joel Sringarn (a co-founder of Harcourt, Brace & Co.) and his wife Amy bought the property in the early 1900s and welcomed such esteemed friends as the writer Sinclair Lewis, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Teddy Roosevelt. The couple was active in the Civil Rights Movement and hosted two critical early meetings of the NAACP at Troutbeck—known today as the Amenia Conferences of 1916 and 1933. Among the distinguished attendees was W.E.B. Du Bois.
When its present owners, Anthony and Charlotte Champalimaud, bought Troutbeck in 2016 the property was in need of an overhaul. They began resorting the original manor house with the help of Anthony’s mother, renowned interior designer Alexandra Champalimaud, and relaunched in 2018. Today, Troutbeck walks a fine line—maintaining its historic bones while exuding a contemporary ease. The vibe is country house hotel meets midcentury martinis by the fire.
Its 37 rooms are done in soothing hues—greens and sky-blues—and are designed to complement the surroundings. There are 16 rooms in the stone Manor House, ten in the original part and six in the newer west wing. The older rooms vary in size, and many still retain much of the original detailing—dormers, beamed ceilings, beautiful oak flooring and leaded glass windows overlooking the peaceful grounds.
On the first floor are several cozy spots, including a library with original wood paneling and a fireplace, a corner banquette piled with throw pillows, nail-head leather couches and armchairs draped with fleecy throws. There is a brightly lit sunroom, which does double duty as a breakfast café and a gallery space with art shows that change frequently. (The resort partners with the nearby Wassaic project.)
In the dining room, guests feast on seasonally inspired and locally sourced dishes. For those who can’t resist the siren call of a homemade cookie, there are some available to buy on the honor system in the stocked pantry.
A short walk from the main house across a sweet stone bridge that spans the Webatuck River is the Benton House (renovated in 2021), with 13 guestrooms, each with a private balcony or terrace. The adjacent Benton Cottage (dating from the 1700s) has four rooms and is ideal for a family or a group traveling together, as is the Garden Cottage, which overlooks the resort’s clematis-lined walled garden.
The grounds are made for strolling. From the Manor House terrace, wend your way over the red bridge toward the gazebo, and take a peek into the remanants of what may have been a small stone chapel, original to the property. There are hammocks for lounging, and at night guests often reserve one of seven firepits by the river for after-dinner drinks, s’mores and stargazing. Also offered: an all-season tennis court and a pool area (which closes after Labor Day).
Be sure to make time for The Barns, Troutbeck’s wellness facility—a two-building complex made of reclaimed wood from the original Tappan Zee bridge. The tall barn offers yoga and fitness classes, and the long barn is home to the gym, sauna and two treatment rooms. This was my first stop on a recent visit, ready for a bit of pampering after a stressful week. I had gravitated to the 90-minute radical botany facial, which included several healing modalities. Anything with the word radical in it seemed right up my alley. “Do you mind having a male esthetician?” the manager asked over the phone. “I’ve never had a male esthetician, so I don’t know if I’d mind or not,” I said. “But I’m guessing he’ll be terrific.”
So it was that I found myself in the capable hands of Ernest—massage therapist and esthetician extraordinaire, who immediately endeared himself to me when he peered at my skin and said, “Nice. You take good care of it.”
As Ernest smoothed and stroked and applied all kinds of wonderful-smelling potions to my face, he also spent time massaging all the kinks out of my muscles and even threw a little reflexology into the mix. It seems appropriate that at a resort surrounded by old-growth trees, the product it uses is a a sustainable and cruelty-free line from the UK called Wildsmith, named for famed 19th-century horticulurist William Walker Wildsmith who believed in the rejuvenating power of plants. I love a full-circle moment. And I particularly loved the dewy complexion that greeted me in the dressing room mirror as I traded my plush terry robe for my clothes—relaxed and ready to take on whatever the rest of the day had in store.