Troutbeck’s secluded cottages in the Hudson Valley are perfect for a late-season escape
The Hudson Valley is home to an abundance of reinvented barns and design-forward inns. But Troutbeck – an estate hotel homesteaded in the mid-18th century – stands out. The Dutchess County property was once frequented by the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Thurgood Marshall. A two-hour drive from New York, its current stone manor house has been standing since 1919 and reopened under new ownership in 2018. The estate has been burnished this summer with the addition of four new free-standing river cottages which, while only a short walk from the main building, feel a world away. A new gatehouse entrance, leading to a revived network of pedestrian paths, eases guests from Troutbeck’s shared spaces into a private retreat. Landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand has nested the cottages among native wildflowers, trees and shrubs.
Architecture firm Stonehill Taylor, whose hospitality projects include The Crosby Street Hotel and Ned’s Club in Washington, sited the cottages along a wooded hillside above the winding Webutuck River. It used a detailed tree survey to preserve the canopy. “Our approach was to think of these cottages as an opportunity to extend the relationship between the built environment and nature,” says the principal of Stonehill Taylor, Neill Parker. “So we designed the structures to offer even more privacy and geographical immersion, while remaining undeniably part of Troutbeck’s identity.”
Inside, Champalimaud Design’s interiors reinforce the collected, country-house feel with tiled-glass fireplaces, antique blanket boxes as coffee tables and four-poster beds dressed, in true To The Manor Born fashion, in Frette linens. Tall windows flanked by curtains of Holland & Sherry fabric frame westerly views onto the 250-acre estate below, while a warm, neutral palette complements vintage furnishings and original artwork by Thompson Street Studio founder Kiva Motnyk.
The cottages offer full-service accommodations (and king-size beds) for up to 12 adults when booked together. This gives Troutbeck a leg up for multi-generational retreats or group buyouts, which are increasingly in demand. Troutbeck’s new additions round out its already exceptional amenities, including its acclaimed restaurant, wellness facility The Barns, swimming pool, tennis courts, fly fishing and robust cultural calendar. It seems that its history-making days aren’t behind it just yet.
