The main mansion of Eastover Resort in Lenox is in the final stretch of a multimillion dollar renovation to turn it into a holistic retreat.The public is invited to tour the grounds this weekend.
LENOX, Mass. — A new chapter of the Eastover Resort in Lenox is starting this weekend.
For the last four-plus years, Ying Wang has been overseeing the renovation of the 600-acre property, which she and her husband, in the form of HG October Mountain Estate LLC, bought in 2010 for $5.4 million. This weekend, the grounds will open to the public for a sneak peek at the multimillion dollar renovation.
The resort will permanently open next summer, Wang said, as a new destination for holistic, group and personal retreats.
"It's coming together," she said during a recent tour of the grounds, still undergoing substantial renovations but ready to preview their future to the public.
The open house weekend starts with a Friday, Sept. 19, dinner at 5:30 p.m. The bulk of the celebration will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, when the grounds will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for tours and workshops, as well as a noon celebration of International Peace Day at Tallyho, the restaurant located on Eastover's grounds, and a Saturday night concert with Steven Michael Pague and the Winged Heart Band. Sunday, the grounds will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. For a complete schedule of events, visit eastover.com. Attendance is by optional donation ($20 suggested) to benefit Pursuit of Happiness, a nonprofit collaborative of educators, scientists and Web professionals at the forefront of the "Educating the Heart" global movement.
When it opens permanently, Eastover will offer workshop and program rooms with multiple meeting and studio facilities for teachers, groups, company retreats and trainings. The estate, designed around the style of a "summer cottage," aims to create a contemplative and holistic environment; from its courtyards and terraces overlooking English and Japanese gardens to its mix of manicured lawns and meadows, woodland trails and breathtaking views of Mount Greylock to the north and October Mountain to the southeast. There will also be a host of amenities that will include spa services, a sauna, hot tub, spacious heated indoor pool and indoor clay tennis courts.
Mount Greylock can be seen to the north from the front of the mansion at Eastover in Lenox.
Wang, originally from a resort area in China, came to the Lenox area with her children, one of whom plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. In looking for a unique summer residence, she fell in love with the Eastover property, which was for sale at the time and which she and her husband toured on a whim.
"We saw this beautiful place and we said, 'Oh my goodness,' " she said. "I fell in love with the wetlands. I'm not a house person."
She ended up needing to be a "house person," overseeing the renovation of the mansion, which included roofs, kitchens, water mains, sewer pipes and more.
"I didn't know we'd have to do so much infrastructure work," she said with a laugh. "I didn't know what I was getting into to."
Once that became apparent, she and her husband started brainstorming ways to make the property a year-round destination that would support their investment.
"After all these years of renovations, we can't just do a summer thing. It has to be year-round," she said. "How can we figure out a sustainable business model?"
So she decided to go along with what she was interested in: a quiet place for meditation, tranquility and peace.
"I want a place for people not coming here for a short-term pleasure," she said. "Something more profound that can affect their lives."
Born from that were the pieces of Asian ink art adorning the walls of the mansion, a tranquil library, sunny tea room cafe, areas for mediation and massage, and more. The first floor of the mansion will be open for people to stop by for some relaxation, while the seven completely renovated suites on the second floor will be used for VIPs and donors. The third floor will be studio space for yoga and massage.
The property includes several outbuildings that also have been completely renovated that will offer reasonably priced hotel-quality accommodations for the majority of the people who choose to visit Eastover. But with only 90 rooms available, Wang said, Eastover is not a traditional hotel in any sense.
"We don't sell rooms," she said. "We sell an experience."
Wang hopes many visitors to this weekend's open house will be proprietors of holistic businesses looking for a site to hold retreats and workshops in the future. She also would like to hold a yoga festival on the grounds and continue a concert series that started when she hosted the music festival "Berkshire Stock" two years ago.
Bringing those kinds of instructors to Eastover to share their knowledge is something Wang feels very passionate about in starting this new chapter in the life of an old mansion.
"Almost every teacher I speak to, I learn so much from them," she said. "And I learned so much about myself. I feel so grateful."
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The main mansion of Eastover Resort in Lenox is in the final stretch of a multimillion dollar renovation to turn it into a holistic retreat. The public is invited to tour the grounds this weekend.
Mount Greylock can be seen to the north from the front of the mansion at Eastover in Lenox.
