T+L Reports: Connecticut Cool

Judging from the interiors of the Boulders Inn, you'd never guess it was built more than 100 years ago. That's because businessman Steven Goldstone and managing partner Martin O'Brien, a former executive at Ian Schrager Hotels, gutted the Ehrick Rossiter-designed Dutch Colonial mansion and invested $2 million to create a luxe lakefront getaway just 80 miles north of New York City. An Adirondacks-meets-Telluride theme—an antler chandelier, antique armoires, antelope-skin carpets—is echoed throughout the 20 understated rooms in the main lodge, carriage house, and four cottages. But it's the little things that count: candles lit at turndown;bikes, kayaks, and hiking maps ready at a moment's notice. Wind down with a glass of red wine from the cellar's 300-plus bottles and a sunset dinner of olive-crusted rack of lamb in the dining room, overlooking Lake Waramaug. Boulders Inn, Rte. 45, New Preston, Conn.; 800/455-1565 or 860/868-0541; www.bouldersinn.com; doubles from $350, including breakfast.
—Hillary Geronemus