Classic Summer Camp Meets Elevated Hotel: Inside Prospect in Egremont
All the nostalgic charm of camp, but this time it's comfortable... Really comfortable.
In 2020, Jade-Snow Carroll and Ian Rasch acquired a historic campground on Prospect Lake in Egremont, Massachusetts. The property included aging RVs, overgrown pine trees, and the historic Cliff House—a structure dating back to the late 1870s that had served variously as a residence and tavern. Over the past five years, they have transformed the site into Prospect, a modern hotel set to open on May 16.
Prospect currently features 49 stylishly designed cabins, a pool, tennis courts, four saunas, a snack shack, and a New American restaurant housed within the renovated Cliff House. Carroll and Rasch, natives of the Berkshires and Hudson Valley respectively, aim to offer a contemporary hospitality experience that creatively inspires guests to get back to nature and focus on wellness.
Carroll, a graphic designer and the owner of organic linens company Sister Moons, and Ian, the co-owner of Alander Construction, had never done any kind of hospitality project before. “We always thought the property was awesome and cool, but we didn't realize what we were getting ourselves into,” Carroll says.
High Style Laid Back
The idea for the property was to project the feeling of a community park. Roman Montano, Rasch’s business partner at Alander and Prospect, says, “We wanted to keep that concept alive; inviting people to experience nature, community, and the lake.” To do this, the team conceptualized a hotel composed of individual cabins. Immersing guests in nature as much as possible, Alander’s designs took inspiration from Scandinavian architecture and prioritized lake views. They also chose cedar siding, which will weather naturally, greying and darkening like the trees around them, and blending into the space.
When designing the cabins, they ran into a slight hitch, though. To maintain their grandfathered-in status as a campground, the cabins couldn’t exist as individual dwelling units. The solution? They built them on wheels—like chic RVs. Alander designed the cabins and then worked with building company Zook in Lancaster Pennsylvania who constructed them and installed them on site in just four months.
Inside, there’s no way to know. The cabins are spacious, with pine walls and a no-frills design that gives a modern look. All the rooms have king-sized beds and are outfitted with bedding and robes from Sister Moon (also available for purchase). The cabins all have air conditioning and radiant floor heat. “At first we were a little worried because it's very windy here, but they stay very warm, very cozy,” Carroll assures. There are also small, but meaningful, details throughout, like retro striped beach chairs.
The decoration is intentional, valuing function above all else. “When I was doing the interior design, I wanted to keep it quiet and super simple,” explains Carroll. “I feel like we're just kind of bombarded with so much stuff in general.” The result is a clean, earthy feel like the exterior, which makes the 400-square-foot and even the smaller group of 135-square-foot cabins feel spacious and breathable.
The 40 larger cabins have kitchenettes, some have pull-out sofas for smaller guests, and all have private bathrooms with showers. Nine smaller cabins share a bathhouse. This was Carroll and Rasch’s solution to providing accommodation options at a lower price point.
When walking around Prospect, there are moments when you’re reminded that it was, in fact, a campsite. One of those is in the communal bathhouse. Although Alander completely transformed the original camp’s bathhouse into this new bathing facility, the layout is essentially the same as an average summer camp. But that’s not entirely an accurate comparison, unless it was a summer camp with organic biodegradable soap, ceramic towel hooks, and shower curtains from Quiet Town in Brooklyn.
In the cabins and throughout the property, there are pops of curated style from artists like Jess Marsh, who hand-painted the numbers on the cabins and the signs throughout the property. Carroll did most of the branding and graphics of the in-room notebooks and soap bottles.
More summer camp nostalgia can be found behind the cabins, where there’s an updated saltwater pool and tennis court, as well as a snack shack set to serve summer classics like slushies. This recreation area all sits aside a lush grassy lawn just begging to be used for picnics. Day passes will be available for purchase, and plans are being made for events like yoga classes and workshops.
Additional waterfront activities include swimming, paddleboards, kayaks, and sailboats. Revitalizing the waterfront and landscaping was a priority throughout the project. The owners worked with Yale School of Forestry to clear foliage responsibly, and Raina Weber, a local landscape designer specializing in ecological restoration. Weber focused on the waterfront, reintroducing 200 native species, hand-planting them along the lakeside. She also removed the camp’s beaches, replacing them with docks to better support the local ecosystem.
The Cliff House
The newly remodeled Cliff House is a seasonally focused restaurant that will open in June, led by Berkshire industry veteran and icon, Nancy Thomas of Mezze Hospitality Group, The space is adorned with antler chandeliers, and hides hang off the back of chairs, creating a cozy feel. A porch with wraparound windows connects the restaurant to its surroundings.
In addition to dinner, the Cliff House plans to serve a simple on-the-go breakfast and weekend brunch. During the day, the space has a coffee shop vibe, with a serious coffee program led by David Waldman.
Get Steamed
With plans for Prospect to be open year-round, Carroll and Rasch knew saunas had to be part of the equation. There are two large indoor saunas in the pool house (available for public use) and two saunas across the property on the lake, which can be privately booked by both guests and day visitors alike. Carroll says they also hope to be able to cut into the lake ice in winter to offer cold plunging.
While Prospect is a hotel, just like the land’s previous iterations, its owners hope it will become a gathering place for visitors and locals. “We want to welcome the community,” Carroll says. “What’s important to us is that the community is welcome to come to the Cliff House for dinner, take time in the saunas, buy a day pass to the pool, or engage in some of the classes and activations.”
For over the past century, the Cliff House property has been part of Egremont summers. This next era hopes to uphold that legacy, with a few more bells and whistles. While the new spot might look like a significant overhaul from summer’s past, Prospect and Cliff House might be considered more of an attempt at resurrection than renovation.
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