Blue Vista Motor Lodge: A High-Altitude Welcome At The Top of The Mohawk Trail
A 60s-era motel is remodeled and reopened as a contemporary lodge, but the stellar view hasn’t changed.
“This place is all about the view,” says Stella Downie of her new venture, Blue Vista Motor Lodge in Florida. But this is Florida, Massachusetts, so instead of referring to palm trees and ocean, she’s talking about the mountain view from the peak of the Whitcomb Summit, located on the scenic Mohawk Trail between Charlemont and North Adams. You drive up and up and up, and you’re rewarded with not only the vista but the completely refurbished, reimagined motor lodge designed around the view.
Folks who have traversed the Mohawk Trail (and if you haven’t, you should) may remember the property as the Whitcomb Summit Motor Lodge, built around 1960, and the accompanying and unsightly fire tower (more recently, only the footing remained). Even earlier, in 1914, the first business on the site, a roadside shack, welcomed visitors to the highest level of the Mohawk Trail at 2,173 feet above sea level. Now, as Blue Vista Motor Lodge, the two-story motel building, while retaining the 1960s roadside motel exterior, looks brand new. The old parking lot in front is being replaced by a sloping lawn; the dilapidated cabin and restaurant are gone to allow for more expanses of green, and the rooms have been completely refreshed. The motel and grounds, too, are ADA compliant. While there are no restaurants on site (heads up: it’s a bit of a drive to get to one from the mountain), snacks and beverages are available in the reception area.
Downie purchased the 19-acre property last December and amid ongoing construction, welcomed her first guests in October with a soft opening. The former motor lodge was a seasonal motel, but Blue Vista will be open throughout the year. That’s great for the skiers, who will be a 12 miles from Berkshire East and 26 miles from Jiminy Peak, the nearest ski resorts. But also prime for those who hanker to hibernate on top of the world in wintry white; Downie has installed two view-centric firepits as well as two hot tubs and a sauna — one hot tub large enough for a group, the other smaller that you can rent for an intimate party.
Photo courtesy Blue Vista Motor Lodge
Rooms come in several configurations: a king suite, double queen and king, all with mini-fridge, microwave and coffee makers, and front porch access with patio seating. The room décor is modern and simple, and that’s by design. Whether you’re inside or out, “all falls away so you’re looking at the view,” Downie says. Although pretty much all of the infrastructure was replaced, the floors, bathrooms and bedding are new, Downie says she was still trying to reuse what they could, being mindful of the environment.
Snow flurries whipped around during a recent visit to Blue Vista. It was a cloudy day and yet the mountains held their own variegated gray beauty. “Being close to nature means being close to the weather,” Downie says, adding that because the lodge is set on Route 2, snow plowing service is excellent, allowing for decent travel to and from. In the summer, it’s an easy drive to outdoor recreational activities and Berkshires culture.
It was partly Downie’s own desire to leave urban life and be surrounded by nature that she entered the hospitality business, although her “third big venture” is not such a far stretch from her earlier occupations. Originally from Somerville, Massachusetts, she owned a toy store in Cambridge, and then opened the first trampoline park on the east coast, eventually running five of them in Boston and Providence.
“I felt cut off from nature,” she says. “The idea of a motel appealed to me and satisfied my desire to offer people a place where they could appreciate nature and feel refreshed.” She began searching for a property in neighboring Franklin County and stumbled upon the for-sale Whitcomb Summit Motor Lodge. She rents a cottage nearby and has hired a full-time manager and a housekeeper manager.
Stella Downie
Using the off season to complete the finishing touches to the lawns, walking paths and relocated parking lot, Downie is paying attention to her early guests’ comments and making plans to hold group outings and retreats at the lodge. On January 21-22, she’s hosting a wildlife tracking weekend led by Bob Metcalf, naturalist and licensed guide at New England Discovery. Discounted room rates are available to registrants.
The Whitcomb Summit, the peak of the foot path used by the Indigenous People, was originally called Spirit Mountain. With Blue Vista Motor Lodge, it has been imbued with new vitality in which to appreciate the everlasting mountain view.
