You can spend the night in a ‘gingerbread house’ in the historic Santarella Estate and Gardens in the Berkshires

Looking for accommodations seemingly straight out of a storybook for your next vacation? At an estate and gardens in the Berkshires, you have the option of spending the night in the tower of a building that has been affectionately called the ‘Gingerbread House’.

Located on the largest Santarella Estate and Gardens and located in the small town of Tyringham, the tower section of Gingerbread House is currently run by couple Joshua Williams and Shaun Mosley as accommodation through Airbnb.

The whole property was transformed a century ago by Sir Henry Hudson Kitson, an Anglo-American sculptor best known for the Lexington Minuteman statue and the Plymouth Rock Maiden statue – with the estate and gardens becoming the focus principal of the sculptor during the last 25 years of his life. using several of the spaces as art studios, according to the Santarella website.

Gingerbread House’s 80-ton asphalt shingle storybook roof is its most striking feature, the Santarella website said, while a cluster of other nearby buildings designed in the same book-inspired theme Tales were also created by Kitson, including a cottage and a detached tower.

Santarella guests can also stay in two other buildings overnight on the property – The Historic Kitson Farm and the small independent tower – both available for booking via Airbnb, as well as the Gingerbread house tour.

The Gingerbread House tower can sleep up to four people according to its Airbnb listing and contains two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Described as “magical”, “newly renovated” and “one of a kind”, it includes a filled open-plan living space, a kitchenette, a cozy dining area and a third-floor bedroom up a spiral staircase, according to Airbnb . There is also a bohemian bedroom with a large bed behind a sliding door.

Meanwhile, the small freestanding tower — just 350 square feet — can sleep two people in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom space, according to its Airbnb listing, which urges guests to “live your own fairy tale” and describes the tower as “whimsical” and “romantic”.

It has a kitchenette, lounge area and dining area that overlooks a creek on the first floor – while in the Superior Room guests can find a four-poster bed with “incredible views” at through tall windmill windows that make you fall like you’ve lived in a ‘tree house’.

Kitson’s rustic 18th-century farmhouse, the last rentable overnight accommodation on the estate and gardens, is two stories high and features four bedrooms accessed by a central staircase and hallway, as well as two full bathrooms and a guest bathroom. water on the ground floor, according to Airbnb.

Other notable features include a spacious living room with a stone fireplace, formal dining room, laundry room, screened porch, and sunny nook with pastoral views of a nearby farmhouse. Kitson’s farm can accommodate up to nine people, according to its Airbnb listing.

All of the buildings are also located amidst the larger property’s “enchanting garden,” filled with exotic plants and fish, the Santarella website added.

The property has changed hands several times over the years since Kitston’s death and has hosted a variety of different functions, such as hosting art galleries and serving as a museum dedicated to Kitson and his sculptures, according to its site. website.

Mosley and Williams, the current owners, first came across Santarella in 2020 when they wanted to find a “magical property” in a town in the Berkshires with a community they hoped would be similar to where they grew up in the upstate New York, according to their website.

Mosley and Williams said online that they began to fall in love with the area – ticking all the boxes they were looking for in a place to live – and began to formulate their dream of owning and operating a small business where the couple could accommodate guests and events.

The couple said on their website that they got engaged after buying Santarella and planned their own fairytale wedding in Santarella – a service that Mosley and Williams also provide to other couples there as well as special event planning, according to Santarella. Facebook page.

Santarella is located 3.5 miles from Exit 2 on the Massachusetts Turnpike, a two-hour drive from Boston and a two-and-a-half-hour drive from New York City, according to the estate and gardens website.

The property’s Airbnb listings highlight its accessibility to Berkshires attractions such as hiking trails like the nearby Appalachian Trail, in addition to nearby ponds for swimming and kayaking and ski trails and ski areas in winter.

The listings also highlight close-at-hand cultural attractions such as Jacob’s Pillow, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and Tanglewood, among others, in nearby and nearby towns.

Related Content: