Deerfield Inn, A Historic Inn on America’s Prettiest Street

Turn onto Old Main Street in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and a sense of calm immediately follows.  Perhaps it’s the feeling that you’ve returned to a simpler time; maybe it’s the beautiful old trees surrounding restored colonial buildings.  Either way, it’s understandable how this street earned the distinction as “America’s Prettiest Street”.  Upon passing by Deerfield Academy, one of the oldest private high schools in the country, one is quickly brought back to the 21st century as boys clad in coats, ties and baggy shorts cross the street (the uniform requires a coat and tie but doesn’t stipulate a code for pants!).  Then you spy the Deerfield Inn, with its white clapboard exterior and front porch with rockers and tables, and immediately a sense of “ahhhhh” follows.  

When the Deerfield Inn first opened its doors in July 1884, it was described as “in all appointments far ahead of the average hotel”. Breakfast started at 30-cents and a double room with running water was $1.50.  While the prices have risen just a little since then, and the inn has grown to offer 24 individual guest rooms, a fine dining restaurant and casual-fare tavern, it still maintains the historic appointments that gave it distinction 125 years ago.  While the décor is historic and traditional, the amenities are contemporary.  Flat screen TVs with DVD players, CD alarm clocks, complimentary wi-fi access and a guest computer, and DVD library offer the kind of extras travelers seek today. The new Champney’s Tavern offers up a selection of 101 martinis, all named after illustrious Deerfield characters or stories.  Fine dining is served Friday through Monday in the formal dining room, and casual fare is available in the tavern for lunch and dinner seven days a week.  A sumptuous continental breakfast is included in each guest’s stay.  

The Deerfield Inn is part of the Historic Deerfield, a beautifully restored collection of eleven museum houses with trained guides, world-class collections of antique furniture, textiles and colonial artifacts.  It’s the most well documented historic village in the country, all in the heart of a 330-year-old New England town.

"Historic Deerfield is one of New England's lesser known gems," said Jane Howard Sabo, an innkeeper at the Deerfield Inn. There's so much history in our 125 years here, and it's been captured and displayed with complete accuracy.  With stories ranging from Paul Revere's silvermaking here to the Blue an White Society of women who gathered at the inn to create renowened embroidery, Historic Deerfield and this inn offers the opportunity to experience colonial New England in a way no other living museum can offer," finished Sabo.  "Yet, we're still committed to providing comfort and service to our travelers," finished Karl Sabo, the other half of the Deerfield Inn innkeeping team.  "Our guests will find wi-fi access, flat screen TVs, and the piece de resitaance, 101 martinis - all named after illustrious Deerfield personalities and stories - in our newly opened Tavern," finished Karl Sabo.

While the village may be small in size, it is monumental in its collection of educational institutions. Historic Deerfield offers unprecedented access to study of colonial relics.  Memorial Hall, another museum in Old Deerfield, has an engaging program for educators and like Historic Deerfield is known in its field for hands-on history educator programs for school children.  Additionally, there are three private schools for children from grade four through twelve.  For wandering educators, Historic Deerfield and the Deerfield Inn offer the ideal immersion into historic New England.

For more information and reservations at the Deerfield Inn, call 413-775-7214 or visit www.deerfieldinn.com. 

For more information on Historic Deerfield, visit www.historic-deerfield.org.