lemonwade

It’s always a good sign when a hotel bathroom is almost as large as the bedroom. And so it was at the Hotel Fauchere in Milford, PA, where I just spent a very pleasant night. Milford is a two-hour bus ride from New York, but the many urbanites who have followed the Fauchere’s Pied Piper, my friend of many years Sean Strub, to the area, either as weekenders or as full-time residents, tend to have their own autos, and on a good day speed through New Jersey, making the trip in an hour-and-a-half. In 2001, Strub and his business partner, Dick Snyder, bought the Fauchere, which was built in 1880, and performed an impeccable restoration. Since its reopening in 2006, the hotel has welcomed guests from all over the world, a trend that will keep gathering force now that the Fauchere has become part of the elite Relais & Chateaux group of properties. Some of the highlights of my stay: a delicious sushi pizza in the chic basement-level Bar Louis; breakfast in the Delmonico Room, the main dining area that boasts a traditional yet modern menu; and the overall helpfulness of the staff (especially appreciated after the bus back to New York neglected to pick me up; a long story).

Readers of LemonWade might be interested to know that the Fauchere has welcomed a Who’s Who of artistic and political personalities throughout its history: Robert Frost, Sarah Bernhardt, Teddy Roosevelt. And early-film pioneer D.W. Griffith shot several silent screen epics in the Milford area. I could go on and on but I won’t. I’ll only say, in Michelin-guide parlance: the Hotel Fauchere (there’s an accent grave on the first “e” of Fauchere, but my computer is typographically resistant) isn’t just worth a detour; it’s worth a special trip.

by Brendan Lemon | 5/3/09 | Leave a comment |