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HOTEL FAUCHERE |
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PENNSYLVANIA, USA
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The beauty of the Delaware River Valley, only 90 minutes' drive from Manhattan, will astonish first-time visitors. The lovely valley's quaintest town is Milford, and Milford's quaintest building is Fauchère, which opened as a hotel in 1852, became a hangout for early movie-industry titans, and closed in the 1970s. Now a New York entrepreneur has reinvented the hotel, creating lovely, traditionally styled suites, as well as starkly modern public spaces and somehow making the two work together. The bathrooms, which combine Pennsylvania bluestone and Italian marble, are gorgeous; beds are heavenly down confections with Frette linens; and the complimentary wine and chocolates in each room are delicious. Downstairs, there's a formal dining room serving French-inspired cuisine, and the ultra-modern Bar Louis, where a photo of Andy Warhol kissing John Lennon sets the tone and the food is free-ranging (the sushi pizza, on a 'dough' made of tempura-fried rice, topped with raw tuna, is a thrill). The owner is trying to emulate The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, which draws guests for its culinary pyrotechnics, and he's succeeding. Milford has lots of attractions (architecture, antiques shops, idyllic river beaches), and for spa lovers there's The Lodge at Woodloch, a world-class Destination Spa that opened in June 2006, just 30 minutes' drive away. But for food and lodging, Fauchère is the place.
WHEN TO GO
The region is at its loveliest during the autumnal 'foliage season'.
ROOM TO BOOK
Number four has a semi-private balcony for sipping wine at dusk.
CONTACT
401 Broad Street, Milford, Pennsylvania, USA (00 1 570 409 1212; www.fauchere.com).
COST
Doubles from $275; Room Four from $325
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