Sometimes fate shines favorably on romantic whims. Take Glenmere, for example, the hilltop mansion built by the Gilded Age magnate Robert Goelet at the behest of his wife, who yearned for her own Italian villa in the U.S.
Fortunately for Goelet, he belonged to one of New York's most prominent families, with a vast fortune in Manhattan real estate. So in 1911, he hired Carrere and Hastings, the architects behind Manhattan's Beaux-Arts New York Public Library, to design a 35-room Tuscan villa overlooking Glenmere Lake in the lower Hudson Valley of New York.
Surrounded by a sylvan landscape of rolling hills and verdant meadows less than 60 miles from Manhattan, Glenmere became one of America's grandest country homes, notable for hosting heads of state and royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as well as entertainers and sports stars such as Babe Ruth. By the end of his 25-year tenure at Glenmere, Goelet had amassed a 3,000-acre estate with gardens by Beatrix Jones Farrand, America's first female landscape architect.
Glenmere's current renaissance as a luxury hotel and spa commenced in 2010 after a painstaking, three-year restoration that reputedly cost in excess of $30 million. The three-story mansion retains its grand cortile and marble staircases as well as formal landscaping inspired by Farrand, who created the estate's sunken Italian garden. Farrand, a niece of writer-designer Edith Wharton, was also responsible for the graceful drive up the hill that enables a soft approach to the imposing Italianate villa.
The cortile has marble columns and friezes.
According to proprietor Alan Stenberg, Glenmere's rebirth was the result of a whim by his partner Dan DeSimone, who has a penchant for refurbishment. Less than a year after its opening as a luxury hotel, Glenmere was invited to become a member of Relais & Chateaux, which has honored only 83 properties in North America.
Notable for its personal service, and in keeping with its illustrious past, Glenmere has hosted various celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel and John Legend. Guests such as Hillary and Bill Clinton can choose to arrive via personal helicopter on the estate's front lawn, whereupon butlers await their landing.
Designed by Scott Snyder, Glenmere's interior spaces are an amalgam of sumptuous furnishings and curated antiques complemented by contemporary artworks and statuary. Two magnificent matching marble fireplaces anchor the Grand Salon with its multiple French doors that open onto a massive terrace with panoramic views of Glenmere Lake. At the heart of the villa is a cortile with marble columns and friezes that depict guests at a Venetian costume ball. An enclosed loggia connects the mansion to the Italianate garden, the pool house and a spa with a hammam.
Glenmere Mansion's library.
While it's lovely to sip a signature Glenmere martini in the opulent library or smoke a cigar on the library terrace, the estate also offers a variety of physical pursuits. Apart from the pool with its private cabanas, Glenmere has two regulation bocce courts, complete with benches designed by Wharton. Proper tennis whites are encouraged for those playing on the Glenmere's two courts.
Each year, the Glenmere Mansion Croquet Club hosts several sanctioned U.S. Croquet Association events on its meticulously groomed bent-grass court (where whites are required). Beyond the 150-acre estate, the surrounding area includes the Dia:Beacon gallery, the Storm King Art Center, the Harness Racing Museum, the 11-mile Heritage Trail and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. There's also golf courses and outlet stores at Woodbury Commons.
Glenmere offers two noteworthy restaurants on property, both of which are helmed by award-winning executive chef Gunnar Thompson, who was the 2012 Grand Chef of the Year for Relais & Chateaux worldwide. Frogs End serves classic cocktails as well as seasonal produce from local purveyors, while more stately dinners are hosted in the China Room, so named for the numerous sets of porcelain that line the walls and cabinets. Framed in silver-leaf eglomise (gilded) panels, the Supper Room is equally romantic by candlelight as it is for breakfast when its French doors open onto a broad terrace with lakeside views.
Glenmere's 18 rooms and suites (named for the mansion's various luminaries, such as Vanderbilt and Ogden) are lavishly appointed with antiques, complemented by high-tech gadgetry and modern art, and some have working fireplaces. Perhaps most impressive are the mansion's Carrera-clad bathrooms, which evoke the Baths of Caracalla, a "mine's-worth of marble," according to Stenberg, who shudders delightedly in recalling the cost to create such indulgence for Glenmere's guests. Each evening, turndown service includes housemade, dark chocolate bouchons, which are guaranteed to keep you dreaming of a life lived in such sweet splendor at Glenmere.
Visit www.glenmeremansion.com.