Hotel at a Glance: The Heritage Hotel 

The Heritage Hotel occupies a tree-studded patch of land in Connecticut’s charming Litchfield Hills, just a short drive from the Woodbury Ski Area. The resort offers plenty of apres-ski relaxation: enjoy dinner by the fireplace at its onsite restaurant, or soak in the hot tub in the onsite health club. Manhattan is only 90 minutes or so from the resort by car if you want to venture out and take a day trip.

• Shadrach’s Restaurant and Lounge serves up traditional New England clam chowder and has a crackling fireplace. Visit the onsite pub and you can enjoy a free game of billiards.
• Tres Jolie Day Spa: Guests can get pampered with mani-pedis and massages here.
• King and double rooms feature Sealy pillowtop mattresses and free WiFi.
• Swim year-round in the indoor pool, which is part of a fitness center that includes ping-pong tables and racquetball courts.

Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills: Rural Towns, State Parks, and Rolling Mountainside

Litchfield Hills, located about 30 miles west of Hartford in the foothills of the Berkshires, was originally farmland settled in the 18th century. Today, the area is still largely rural, attracting weekenders from metropolitan New York and Connecticut with its pristine natural scenery. The state’s three largest lakes are here, which, along with a pair of broad rivers, provide opportunities for fishing and canoeing. Visitors also come to hike the region’s acres of mountainous state parks, including a portion of the Appalachian Trail along the ridges of the Southern Berkshires. In the winter, skiing is popular, as is touring the winter wine trail to see the quiet beauty of local vineyards in the off-season.

A steady stream of visitors has brought a certain amount of wealth and style to the towns of Litchfield Hills. You can see this in everything from upscale shops and restaurants to stately manors. Each town offers something different. Kent has a large concentration of art galleries, including some that are nationally renowned. A few miles northeast, Cornwall has several homes owned by celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg. In the Naugatuck River valley, Waterbury serves as one of the region’s urban centers, complete with an upscale mall.

The town of Litchfield is home to many antique shops and historic homes, including one Georgian house where George Washington slept during the Revolutionary War. Strolling the avenues here, one can imagine what life was like in a typical late 18th-century New England village. To learn more about the area’s history, head to the town green to see several war monuments and visit the Litchfield Historical Society, where exhibits showcase furniture, clothing, and other artifacts from the colonial era.

Love to travel? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for travel tips, inspiration, and photos from around the world.