Brentwood Hotel

About three hours’ drive straight up the Hudson River from New York City is the town of Saratoga Springs, one of a few upstate communities that’s undergoing a bit of a renaissance as city folk rediscover the charms — and low rents — of small-town life. It’s also famous for the Saratoga Race Course, which hosts horse races in the summer months. And just across the road from the racecourse’s paddock and stables is the reason we’re here: the Brentwood Hotel.

In its current incarnation it’s the product of a Brooklyn design group called Studio Tack, who bought the Seventies motor lodge and set about updating it in a way that’s sensitive to its setting — gone is the roadside-motel vibe, replaced by a bit of genteel equestrian atmosphere — and chock full of personality.

After all, when the designers are also the hoteliers, they tend to sweat the details a little harder, and at Brentwood, there’s a sense that every piece of furniture, every shade of paint, every gilt-framed painting was chosen with the utmost care. With just 12 rooms it’s a small enough place that you’ll get to know your fellow guests in the lobby over morning coffee or evening cocktails, or out by the fire. And don’t be surprised if, as you cycle around town on one of the hotel’s Linus bicycles, you start entertaining thoughts of moving upstate yourself.