INSIDER insightinsight Maggi Smit, managing director,
America As You Like It “This tour had so many highlights. Old Westbury
Gardens was beautiful, and the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum was fascinating. We enjoyed a memorable lunch at Oheka Castle, while the Union Church of Pocantico Hills with its Marc Chagall windows and Matisse’s last
work was spectacular. Another highlight was learning about
Saratoga’s horse-racing history, as well as Troy, which had a bustling Saturday market.”
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Old Westbury Gardens; The New Yorker hotel; lavish dining rooms at Staatsburgh OPPOSITE: Lyndhurst Mansion PICTURES: Karl Rabe; Clifford Pickett
a Gatsby Hour is held every night in the bar for both guests and non- guests to admire its grand interiors.
DOLLAR IS KING Mark Sykes, North America and
Caribbean product manager, Freedom Destinations “I enjoyed exploring the Gilded Age mansions and ornate gardens throughout the countryside, seeing how they offer such a contrasting experience to Manhattan’s neon lights. Places such as
Saratoga Springs keep things up to date with craft breweries, farm-to-table dining and boutique shopping. With easy access from the UK, New York state makes for an exceptional self-drive or rail holiday.”
It was a late-19th-century period of conspicuous consumption and unbridled capitalism, known as the Gilded Age, that gave rise to these extravagant estates. The HBO series of the same name, written by Julian Fellowes, depicts the decadence in delicious detail – and, as a further selling point for the region, is set to return to screens this year. Fittingly, a Downton Abbey (also
written by Fellowes) vibe pervades properties in New York state. Old Westbury Gardens is modelled on an English manor house and is home to more than 800 hectares of gardens and woodland, making it a must for walkers and nature lovers. Then there is Dutchess County’s
Staatsburgh: a 79-room beaux arts mansion overlooking the Hudson
40 6 FEBRUARY 2025 A late-19th-
century period of conspicuous consumption and unbridled capitalism gave rise to these extravagant estates
River and tree-covered Catskill Mountains, completed in 1895 by President Herbert Hoover’s treasury secretary, Ogden Mills. The neoclassical pile looks not unlike the White House from the outside, and its 18-metre marbled dining room is opulent enough to host the loftiest of state banquets. Dawn Hopper, managing director of tourism market development at Dutchess Tourism, says: “Just like Jay Gatsby, Mrs Mills – Ogden’s wife –
threw a big society party here every weekend. If you got invited, it was a hell of a big deal.” Finally, there’s Lyndhurst
Mansion, which abuts the Hudson. The property’s executive director, Howard Zar, says: “We’re the first Gothic house in the US, and the architect copied elements from British Gothic and Tudor structures. “What makes a visit here easy
is we’re the closest Hudson Valley great estate to New York City, so if tourists want to visit without renting a car and changing hotels, the train ride from Grand Central station is about 40 minutes.”
GOLDEN ERA
If clients would like to get even more Gilded Age glamour into a stay, suggest trips to towns such as Troy, with its unspoiled 19th-century architecture, and Saratoga Springs, the state’s summer capital in the 1900s.
travelweekly.co.uk
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