Berkshires Untold — Hotel in Lenox

I recently stayed at this “boutique hotel” with my daughter this week and was beyond disappointed with almost every aspect of our stay.

This hotel is advertised as a modern, upscale, four star, boutique hotel experience….when, in reality, it only provides a VERY basic roadside motel experience with a nice lobby and cute room decor.

The staff is nice and the location is convenient…but not nice or convenient enough to make up for how far the hotel, rooms and overall experience were for what was advertised.

GENERAL ISSUES:

This is absolutely NOT a 4 star hotel! It’s just a roadside motel with nice furnishings and a cute lobby…don’t get catfished by their instagram and website content!

Zero amenities on site, the staff is impossible to reach from the room, no room service or delivery from the restaurant is available (there’s not even a menu/Qr code or info about what is served when in the room), no ice machine, no mini market for essentials….this hotel offers FAR less than even a Hampton Inn (a very basic 3 star hotel)

Decor is cute and the lobby is welcoming, but the guest rooms are weird and poorly updated aside from the furnishings, very much still feels like a roadside motel with nice decor

There is no front desk to call and the chat bot doesn’t work

No one answers the phone when you call the main hotel line, they said this was because they were busy at the time, but I tried calling at multiple points during my stay and the call was never answered (they also never answered any of the times I called before my stay and always had to return a message later that day)

Had to walk up to the lobby to speak to someone directly anytime something was needed

Witnessed more than one other guest complaining about issues with their room (dirty, bugs, missing items)

The entire hotel seems to be staffed by only two people at a time who serve as the manager, front desk, concierge and restaurant staff

The staff was super nice, but seemed overwhelmed (probably because they are having to do 2-3 jobs each, while dealing with frustrated guests)

The “restaurant” is just a glorified snack bar with super limited options and basically nothing allergen friendly

Maintenance appeared to be someone offsite that they were able to call to come in for repairs (or it truly 20 minutes to arrive and an additional 20 minutes to get a different screwdriver from within this small hotel)

ROOM ISSUES:

The “suite” is their handicap accessible room, and it definitely feels like an ADA room, although it is not advertised as such

The room echos and feels like a basement, cool and damp

There is a quiet but constant vibrating/hum in coming from the walls

The door has no inside lock (only card activated lock) or dead bolt/chair lock and the room is at ground level

No iron, ironing board, phone, note pad, do not disturb sign, extra blankets, etc. in the room

Horrible water pressure from shower head, had to use handheld, which was broken and took 45 mins to be fixed despite one of the fixtures just needing a new screw (not being able to shower on time caused us to miss the first activity we had planned for the day)

The shower is a handicap shower with no lip on the edge of the shower floor and the curtain doesn’t touch the floor, so water spills onto the floors when showering and soaks the bath mat

No vent fan in bathroom or window that opens, makes the whole room feel muggy and disgusting after showering

Lots of bugs in bathroom (coming from drains?) my daughter woke up with bug bites she didn’t have the night before...

Overall, the experience of staying at this hotel was fine. However, an incessant air of feeling duped clung to our one night stay and left a lingering dissatisfaction.

When considering the basics of locking door, average bedding/mattress, relatively clean, and functioning necessaries, it had all that was required.

What was lacking was a feeling of transparency and authenticity.

The marketing is very well done, so much so to the point of suggesting a large four star resort. The photography is outstanding. It is accurate, but shot at such angles as to distort reality. The images make the parking lot entirely disappear, suggesting spacious outdoor seating where in truth there are only a small selection of seating options separated from the parking lot by some bushes.

There is an impression of an on-site restaurant where actually exists a fairly small single lobby with a bar and some dining tables on one end and some chairs next to a fireplace on the other.

The website for the Untold Collection (a collection which includes only this hotel) boasts “experiences to learn and engage”, “culinary excursions”, and hosts who are “local guides”- however it appears they simply mean that those opportunities are available in the vicinity of the county. This is not an inclusive resort, it is a motel with connections to local businesses. Staff was polite, if not necessarily enthusiastic. They expressed no interest in being helpful, rather seemed to feel with the bare minimum achieves that their job was done.

It is clearly a refurbished motel which has changed names apparently several times in the recent years. It is well decorated and attractive. Care has clearly been taken to craft the aesthetic and they should be proud of the work done. Unfortunately, they give an impression of using those aesthetics as a mask.

I believe that this business will continue to have dissatisfied guests until they reassess their marketing strategy and embrace their identity and reconsider their pricing. Luxury hotels are more than well decorated spaces- they embody excellence in guest services and exceptional thoughtfulness. Berkshires Untold is not, despite what they tell you, a luxury hotel.

If I had known what to expect, I genuinely think it would have been a positive experience. Although, if I had known what to expect, I likely would have chosen another hotel. There were many other options closer to town with equivalent or...

We stayed for two nights in room 118 and had our two kids and dog with us. Overall, a very underwhelming experience. First, let’s be very clear that this is a motel that has a nice front room/lobby. Don’t expect to find anything for toddlers or kids in this space. It is not within walking distance to any local amenities, purely a drive in/drive out motel. While it is dog friendly, there is not designated dog walking area, no dedicated dog refuse containers, and no poop bags so many guests have left their poop on property without cleaning up.

Three biggest disappointments: Poor customer service: Our room (118) had a large mechanical unit in the room, and it turned on with no way of turning it off. It made a very loud noise and the entire room vibrated (see video). It made it unfit to sleep or relax in the room. When we asked about this, the staff said it had been a recurring issue but there was no way to turn it off. When we asked for a remedy, they said they could try and move us to another room. After over an hour, the staff received approval from the manager, but offered no help to move our gear. It was 9:30pm and we needed to move our toddlers, dog and gear to a room nearly half the size. The next day the manager didn’t apologize, didn’t offer any compensation. Of course the property has not sent out a satisfaction survey after our stay. No EV charging on site. How do you build a ‘modern’ roadside motel / property in 2022 and not put any charging capability? I tried to use a 110 plug in to do trickle charging and the outdoor plugs all tripped as this was too much for them to handle. In room experience is poor. Yes, they will advertise LeLabo and Revival linens but bed was not comfortable, pillows were cheap and not pleasant. There are no built in USB-C ports (again, built for 2010), no hooks to hang coats on in a region where it’s cold for half the year, no hooks or racks in bathroom to hang your towel or robe—not even one on the back of the door?! The suite we were in had a day bed in it that had the most odd / ugly faux leather topper on it that looked like it came from a 1990s hospital and was very uncomfortable to sit on. We had to ask for linens to make it up...