Delamar Southport

"Why book? For tranquility materialized—Importance of Being Earnest countryside realness. Set the scene Close enough to the Long Island Sound that you’ll feel that sea breeze-freshness in the air—Southport Harbor and the Pequot Yacht Club lie just a 15-minute stroll away—Delamar Southport is a country estate of 43 rooms with neat little grounds, a fabulous restaurant, and doting staff. It’s like Downton Abbey by way of New England. The backstory The second Delamar in Connecticut, the hotel opened in 2009 just under 21 miles east of the Greenwich Harbor location. As with the original, owner Charles Mallory has decked the walls in paintings from his personal collection. The rooms Every room here is different—most rooms have four-poster beds and wallpaper in one rich choice or another. The Pequot Suite is a 2,200-square-foot, two-bedroom spread with a full kitchen and a Waterworks air tub in the master. It’s really more of an apartment—much bigger and better appointed than my own back in Brooklyn. It’s vast, with warm neutrals and crisp whites reminiscent of the master bedrooms in some of my richer friends’ homes growing up. Food and drink Mallory and executive chef Frederic Keiffer put their heads together to dream up the first Artisan Restaurant—subsequent iterations have popped up in West Hartford (just as successful) and Traverse City, Michigan (writer has yet to visit). A recurring motif that originated here is the mural, big and green and purple flora brightening an otherwise earthy dining room. Beverage manager Christopher Cantanesi takes fabulous care of me with his recommendations—champagne with seafood chowder (preserved lemon is the MVP here), cioppino in lobster broth with pinot freaking noir. I rolled out happy. The spa is so nearly completed and ready to open at the time of my visit that I'm tempted to just stick around and wait. This is the first Delamar with a sauna, whilst facials and massages on offer mirror those at the other properties: Biologique Recherche products, winning service, and so on. The neighborhood/area Aside from that aforementioned stroll to the shore, guests at the Delamar Southport are among other things in close proximity to Connecticut’s premiere chocolatier. Atelier BE Chocolat sells their chocolates onsite at a counter in Greenwich property’s lobby, but guests of the Southport property are more conveniently positioned to enjoy the chocolate making process of Belgian chocolate master Benoit Racquet. Racquet teaches me how to write my name in dark chocolate on a milk chocolate bar, and then leads me to his back room for a tasting with a wine pairing—this sounds more elicit than it is, we share the space with all of his back of house workers. The service Kind and attentive, but also blink-and-you-miss-it—if all you want is a fleeting “hello!” shouted from the hotel desk, that’s all you get. When I locked myself out of my bathroom, my maintenance man and I bond over his prior career as a photographer for Vogue. Anything left to mention? Like at the Delamar West Hartford, there are a host of chauffeured car experiences on offer here. I particularly enjoy my picnic, a two-hour excursion in a Bentley Continental Flying Spur wherein we took the scenic route along the Connecticut shore to the grounds of Delamar sister property the Inn at Longshore. Sets me up with my outsized wicker picnic basket (contained within are a bottle of red, a hearty and fibrous kale salad, salmon, and cheesecake for dessert) atop a flannel blanket, I read and ate while gazing out at the water." - Charlie Hobbs

"Just 90 minutes north of New York City, the Delamar is a perfect weekend escape with on-site spa (using Biologique Recherche products) and destination restaurant, Artisan, under French chef Frederic Kieffer. Check-in begins with a glass of sherry or port, and rooms contain an attractive mix of traditional New England furnishings and colorful modern art. Added bonus: Given that the hotel is an easy, seven-minute walk from the nearest Metro North rail station, there's no need for a car to gallery-hop or to explore Southport's historic downtown." - CNT Editors