by Sandra Hutchinson

Periodically, my longtime friend Miss E and I (friends since seventh grade at Robert E. Bell Middle School) get together, stay a night or two at a nice inn, and if available, pair it with a spa visit. We’ve had wonderful stays at the Inns at Aurora (New York’s Finger Lakes region), the Woodstock Inn (Vt.), the Red Lion Inn (Stockbridge, Mass.), and as of this week, the Beekman Arms, in Rhinebeck, NY.

Said to be the oldest inn in America (see the sign), the Beekman Arms has rooms in the main building (seen above), as well as in a number of other buildings in the village, within a short walk from the inn. We elected to stay in the original inn, inquiring upon check-in whether there might be ghosts in our room. The desk clerk said while the lobby is reputed to have spirits, our room was not known for that.

I love the atmosphere in the original inn’s lobby and the adjoining colonial tavern. The wood-burning fireplace was roaring on the two cold December days we were there.

I particularly like the part of the tavern that has two rows of wooden booths—it’s cozy and private. It is there where years ago I memorably had my first Cosmo.

Adjoining the lobby is a comfortable library.

A nearby dining room has wonderful portraits of important, local historical figures— George Washington, Sir William Johnson, Chancellor Robert Livingston and Margaret Beekman Livingston. As a much younger person, I spent a summer working as a guide at Sir William Johnson’s home in Johnstown, NY, and another summer, I was part of an excavation team at the Livingston family’s Hudson Valley estate called Clermont, so I really loved seeing these portraits displayed together. Margaret Beekman Livingston was the Chancellor’s mother, and after her husband, father and father-in-law all died during 1775, she was in charge of the expansive Clermont estate when the British burned it to the ground in October, 1777. She then oversaw the reconstruction. I admire this strong, capable woman.

We stayed in the original inn. Our room was not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, and had two twin sleigh-type beds. Based on my experience, anyone taller than 5′ 8″ would have trouble stretching out in these beds! I guess that’s a mallard flying overhead.

A continental breakfast was included in our room rate, albeit served at one of the other buildings, but we didn’t make it, opting instead to have a late cooked breakfast at a mom & pop type diner down the street, called Pete’s Famous Restaurant. Web site: https://www.petesfamous.com

Our visit to Mirbeau Spa the afternoon we met up in Rhinebeck was our second time there. We had first gone after the Covid lockdowns ended, and stayed on site. Mirbeau has its own inn, a restaurant, and a wing devoted to the spa. The Rhinebeck facility is just one of several operated in New York State and Massachusetts by the Mirbeau company. The exterior looks a bit like a French chateau. Web site: https://www.rhinebeck.mirbeau.com

While waiting for our treatments, we enjoyed the comfortable ergonomic chaises in the quiet room, which has a large gas fireplace, a central fountain, and very low light.

After our massages, we took advantage of the outdoor terrace with its large hot tub, and cabanas with heat lamps. There’s an outdoor gas fireplace, plenty of towels, and a terrace bar that has drinks and snacks.

We hung out on the terrace until after dark……enjoyed a couple aperol spritzes!

Overall, we were less satisfied this time with our visit to Mirbeau, basically because we felt the treatments were shorter than promised when we booked. The services are pricey — a signature 50-minute massage is $150 Monday to Thursday, and $170 Friday to Sunday, with tax and a 20% gratuity then added on. Nonetheless, the amenities are nice, particularly the outdoor hot tub on a cold winter’s day.

After the afternoon at the spa, we had dinner at a small French restaurant across from the inn, called Le Petit Bistro. Very authentic, with marble-topped tables crammed in closely next to each other along the wall of the bar.

We had an escargot appetizer, then two different entrees— steak frites, and half roasted duck, paired with some nice wines by the glass. We were both happy with our meals, although we waited an interminable length of time for the escargot. We think perhaps our order got lost, and the waitress nicely comped a couple glasses of our wine. I would happily return. Web site: https://lepetitbistro.com

In case you’re interested in some of the other getaways I’ve mentioned, here are the links to my earlier blog posts:

Checking out the Spa at Inns of Aurora

Finger Lakes getaway — Aurora, New York: wineries, MacKenzie-Childs outlet, boutique inns

December Getaway at Stockbridge’s Red Lion Inn