“What’s New”

Spring 2013 Edition Betsy Larkin, Betsy.Larkin@state.ma.us

Massachusetts Lodging News & Event/Attraction Roundup

News for Summer/Fall 2013 & Winter 2014 Greater Boston Lodging & Dining News There are nearly two dozen new hotel projects planned in Greater Boston, some already under construction, some soon to break ground; others still in the planning stages. They are a mixture of chain hotels, boutique properties, and extended-stay facilities. More than half the rooms are planned for the South Boston Waterfront District near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. There is potential for a maximum of 2,700 new hotel rooms in the next 3-4 years. New development on the Waterfront: New 120-room, 6-story $40M Marriott Residence Inn Seaport to open at 370

Congress Street in July 2013 in the heart of Boston’s Fort Point Channel/South Boston Waterfront District; it will be the neighborhood’s first boutique hotel.

The 25-acre Seaport Square development will offer 6.35 million square feet of residential, office, retail, and potentially four new hotels, with a total of 1,000 rooms and 850,000 sf of hotel and civic/cultural space. Upon completion, the project will include 539,900 square feet of residential and hotel space; a 248,000-square-foot hotel complex, and a 418,000-square-foot retail and hotel complex.

A $50 million 135-room 6-story luxury ‘Autograph Collection’ hotel by Marriott will open on the Fort Point Channel near the landmark Boston restaurant, The Barking Crab (88 Sleeper Street). Plans for the new hotel include a rooftop terrace overlooking the Boston Harbor, a pedestrian plaza linking the property to the Boston Harborwalk, and a rooftop terrace with commanding views of the downtown skyline. Each Autograph Collection hotel possesses its own distinct identity and gives guests’ access to the award-winning Marriott Rewards loyalty program.

Seaport Square will also contain several new parks, which will preserve views of Boston Harbor and the city’s skyline, and add to Boston’s impressive array of 21st-century urban green spaces that include the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the

new Armenian Heritage Park. Construction is already underway at Q Park along Seaport Blvd., near the new Marriott Residence Inn Seaport.

A 330-room Aloft hotel & a 180-room Element hotel to open on a 5.6-acre parcel on D Street opposite the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). Ground breaking for the 137.8 M project, and will bring 510 new hotel rooms in close proximity to the BCEC is expected in late-2013, with the hotels opening in 2015. The convention center is also in talks with five hotel companies to open another 1,000-plus room headquarter hotel in the area. A hotel has been approved as part of New Balance’s $500 million New Brighton Landing real estate development project in the Brighton section of Boston. The sneaker giant, which recently opened a flagship apparel and sneaker store at 583 Boylston St. in the Back Bay, a short sprint from the finish line of the Boston Marathon, aims to create a “health and wellness district” with new recreation space for public use. The city’s bike share system has been named the New Balance Hubway due to the company’s sponsorship. The headquarters, sports complex and the hotel portions of the six-phase project are expected to be completed by 2015. The architect is Elkus Manfredi whose recent work in Boston includes Liberty Wharf, Fan Pier, and InterContinental Boston.

Boston-based Saunders Hotel Group has purchased the former John Hancock Hotel and Conference Center and plans to restore and convert it into an up-market boutique hotel. The John Hancock was recently renamed the Boston Common Hotel, and Saunders plans to operate it as such for approximately two years while it undergoes a major renovation. Four floors of conference space will be converted to hotel rooms and the hotel, centrally located in Boston’s Back Bay at 40 Trinity Place; one block east of Copley Square, will grow from 64 rooms to approx. 220 rooms. Dining “on the Waterfront” Restaurants by Boston celebrity chefs, Barbara Lynch and Joanne Chang and the Legal Sea Foods LTK (Legal Test Kitchen), were among the first new eateries to open in the South Boston Waterfront District. Restaurants at Liberty Wharf, on the Harborwalk (Strega on the Waterfront) and others followed.

Celebrity chef Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger) transformed a former deli on A Street in South Boston into Blue Dragon, his take on an Asian gastro pub.

Veteran restaurateur Seth Greenberg (Mistral, Woodward at the Ames) will open a French eatery in a former textile factory on Melcher Street near the Fort Point Channel in spring 2013.

The Bee’s Knees Supply Company, a gourmet grocer which features a fishmonger, butcher, and chocolate cafe, is located on Farnsworth Street in the former location of the Made in Fort Point shop, which has since relocated to 30 Channel Center Street.

Restaurateur Seth Greenberg plans to open Bastille Kitchen, a moderately priced 140 seat French Bistro at 49 Melcher Street near the Fort Point Channel in September 2013. The restaurant will include a 70-seat private dining area called Chalet on the lower level.

The new Palm Boston will open in May 2013 in the lobby of One International Place along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The new location will offer 8,300 sq. ft., seating for more than 300 patrons, and steak and seafood specialties. There will also be an outdoor dining deck overlooking the Evelyn Moakley Bridge, Greenway and entrance to the Seaport District. The Palm adds to a number of new dining options along, or just off, the Greenway, including Blue Inc., Rowes Wharf Sea Grille, Aragosta, Smith and Wollensky at Atlantic Wharf. Attraction News The Harvard Art Museums — comprising the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum — will re-open in the fall of 2014 at its fully renovated and expanded landmark building at 32 Quincy Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the transformative facility will bring the three museums and their collections together under one roof for the first time. The expansion will create new spaces and resources to advance the Harvard Art Museums’ mission of teaching across many disciplines, conducting research, training museum professionals, and presenting exhibitions and programs for the public. The project will create new resources for innovative teaching, research, and scholarship, and provide greater access to the collections—among the nation’s largest and most renowned—held by the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler museums. A $5 million gift from the German Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum will support one of three new study centers. www.harvardartmuseums.org New England Brewery Tours was recently created to provide an unforgettable beer experience and to give visitors an inside look at all the incredible things going on in New England’s beer industry. A passion for locally created microbrews has instilled in the company a desire to share that love and knowledge with visitors and beer lovers alike. This is a fun and safe way to visit Greater Boston’s breweries and sample award-winning beers. On their tours, visitors will see smaller breweries as well as the more-seasoned ones that are amongst the largest craft breweries on the planet. And along the way, they will enjoy gourmet food paired with local beer that the company’s team hand-selects to complement the meals. Whether you are a beer-drinking novice or a beer connoisseur, New England Brewery Tours will give you a better appreciation for the wonderful beers being produced in Greater Boston. www.newenglandbrewerytours.com Outside The Box is a brand-new, ground-breaking, eight-day performing arts festival taking place in Boston, featuring music, dance, theater, circus and culinary arts. Its first annual debut is set to run from July 13-20 this summer on the Boston Common and City Hall Plaza. The festival is designed to engage and encourage the residents and visitors of Boston to explore, discover and participate in the arts. For 10 hours every day Boston will experience music, drama, dance, and culinary creations from our city, our nation and around the world. Performers from six continents and more than 80 countries will perform at the festival – and local groups such as Shakespeare & Company, the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, and the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) will participate. There will be a diverse program of nearly 300 events involving close to 1,000 artists performing in total. All outdoor performances will be free and open to the public.

www.OutsideTheBoxBoston.org In Fall 2012 the New England Aquarium launched a $17 million revitalization program, starting with a complete renovation of its spectacular four-story Caribbean coral reef exhibit—the Giant Ocean Tank. The Giant Ocean Tank will be getting a top-to-bottom, 21st-century transformation, including new acrylic windows that are clearer than glass, a redesigned reef, a new education center at the top of the tank, and, of course, many new species of fish, totaling about 1,500 animals in all. At the top of the Giant Ocean Tank visitors will see what the divers into the tank see on rear projection screens. The top of the tank will also serve as a new exhibit and educational space. In addition, this revitalization program will include an innovative new exhibit on the first level called the Blue Planet Action Center. The new space will highlight major challenges facing the oceans and connect the Aquarium’s conservation and research work around the globe to the visitor’s experience on Central Wharf In Boston. Special features include a giant interactive touch screen wall and kiosks that will allow visitors to monitor the ocean’s heath index. The project will be completed in early Summer 2013. What to expect during the renovation: All construction will happen at night and the Aquarium will be open as usual. Most of the penguins will be in off-site facilities during this time, except for the little blue penguins, which will be in their special temporary exhibit with even closer viewing access. The Aquarium’s other exhibits, including The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank and the fur seal and sea lion exhibit in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center will be open as usual, completely unaffected by the renovation. www.neaq.org/index.php All whale watch cruises departing from Boston’s Long Wharf will operate under the same banner and will be co-branded by New England Aquarium and Boston Harbor Cruises. There will be professional researchers trained by the NEAQ on board every cruise, as well as new “education stations” for questions and hands-on learning when travelling to and from Stellwagen Bank, a rich feeding ground for whales, dolphins, sea birds and other marine life and one of the world’s premier wildlife viewing areas. The high-speed-catamaran trips will be three hours and there will be as many as six departures during peak season. New England Aquarium Whale Watch provided by Boston Harbor Cruises resumes on March 30, 2013. Boston Harbor Cruises 90-minute high-speed Boston-Provincetown ferry resumes service on May 16th; daily service starts June 6, 2013 and continues through Oct. 14. BHC’s high-octane thrill ride CODZILLA returns to Boston Harbor on May 11, 2013. Daily high-speed ferry service between Boston & Salem resumes May 23rd. From Lighthouse Cruises to the Boston Tea Party Cruise, Boston Harbor Cruises has many cruising & dining options for groups. www.bostonharborcruises.com Frost Ice Bar, a dramatic, artfully-sculpted lounge, the first of its kind in New England, to open at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in spring 2013. Ice bars and ice hotels have captivated the imaginations of adventurous travelers and fun-seekers around the globe. From remote locations in Norway, Alaska and Sweden, to some of the world's most cosmopolitan urban centers such as London, Tokyo and St. Petersburg, Frost Ice Bar now adds Boston to this list of cutting-edge cities. "While Boston is traditionally defined by its history and heritage, the City is today brimming with a new energy that supports a trendsetting dining and nightlife scene," stated Frost Group CEO Cindy

Brown. "Ice bars around the world have proven to be sensationally popular among a broad range of audiences and we believe Frost Ice Bar will be equally well received in New England. We're thrilled to play a part in further promoting the City as a leader in world-class entertainment and hospitality." Frost Ice Bar is designed and furnished entirely of ice and kept at a cool 24 degrees Fahrenheit and presents ever-changing offerings of specialty beverages, music and décor. The concept for a year-round Boston ice attraction is spearheaded by Frost Group in collaboration with the team behind Boston Duck Tours, drawing upon their nearly 20 years of expertise designing whimsically creative guest experiences that are fun for all ages. www.frosticebar.com The Boston Ballet will kick off its 50th season with a tour to London in July 2013; it will be Boston Ballet’s first visit to London in 30 years. Artistic director Mikko Nissinen plans to bring two programs to the London Coliseum for six performances, July 1-7, 2013.The first program for the London tour features George Balanchine’s “Serenade” and “Symphony in Three Movements,” Vaslav Nijinsky’s “Afternoon of a Faun,” and Boston Ballet resident choreographer Jorma Elo’s “Plan to B.” The second program, which emphasizes contemporary works, includes Jirí Kylián’s “Bella Figura,” Christopher Wheeldon’s “Polyphonia,” and William Forsythe’s “The Second Detail.” The tour is sponsored by State Street Corporation and British Airways. Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Today, Boston Ballet is one of the major ballet companies in North America and among the top companies in the world. Boston Ballet maintains an internationally acclaimed repertoire of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works, ranging from full-length story ballets to masterworks by George Balanchine, to new works and world premieres by some of today's finest contemporary choreographers. Boston Ballet School also runs the largest ballet school in North America. www.bostonballet.org Boston’s New National Park Service Visitor Center offers FREE ranger-led tours of Boston’s Trails to Freedom - the Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail - just steps from the Greenway coach drop off & pickup area. Boston’s new $7 million National Park Service Visitor Center at the Faneuil Hall landmark opened in summer 2012. With new interpretive exhibits, educational space, and up-to-date technology, the center is one of the most advanced of any in the National Park Service’s 395 parks. The Welcome Center provides information about the 20 National Parks in New England from the Boston & Cambridge National Parks, Cape Cod National Seashore, Salem, Quincy, Concord to Acadia & The Appalachian Trail. The Center will feature iPad-based way finding information, public restrooms, a bookstore, education & office space. There is also a NPS Visitor Center in the Charlestown Navy Yard. A new Boston Harbor Islands National Park Service Visitor Center opened on the Rose Kennedy Greenway adjacent to the Coach drop off & pick up area in Summer 2011. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy opened the Shattuck Emerald Necklace Visitor Center in the Back Bay Fens opposite the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and in close proximity to Fenway Park. Tours are available for student groups that would like to learn more about the work of the great American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a dynamic “laboratory of democracy” to open in 2014. The new 40,000-square foot facility,

designed by world-renowned architect, Rafael Viñoly, has already broke ground. The facility will be designed and operated with sustainable practices, and is on track for LEED certification. The Institute is located on the UMass Boston Campus, adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on Columbia Point overlooking Boston Harbor. This proximity will encourage visitors to explore both facilities. The two institutions will partner closely. The Institute will emphasize civic education, providing educational programs in history and public policy issues, current and past, as well as in-depth information about the Senate, its history, rules, customs and personalities. These programs will emphasize the value of critical skills such as teamwork, leadership, negotiation, compromise, debating, and persuasion. www.emkinstitute.org Shop, Explore, Taste and Play at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Faneuil Hall Marketplace in the heart of Boston is as alive today as it was in 1742 when the nation’s fathers proclaimed it “The Cradle of Liberty.” Enjoy world-renowned street performers, browse and shop over 75 national, regional and locally loved shops and specialty pushcarts. Smell and taste wonderfully diverse ethnic foods in the Quincy Market Colonnade – the largest international food hall in New England. Their new $55 commissionable package includes: A $25.00 Shopping & Dining Gift card good at most all stores and restaurants, Quincy Market Dining Voucher (valued at $9), VIP Welcome Packets full of shopping incentives, information about the area, a directory, and a complimentary logo gift item, Faneuil Hall Marketplace custom tote bag Historical information about Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and many local discounts on shopping and attractions such as the Freedom Trail Foundation, Boston Duck Tours, New England Aquarium, $10 off non-prime Blue Man Group performances, buy one pair of jeans at L'Attitude Boston Boutique and get the second pair for half off, and more! http://shopamericatours.com/shop-america-tours-for-boston-massachusetts On Location Tours introduces a new version of its popular Boston TV and Movie Sites bus tour. It's a two hour tour, and has trivia questions that pertain to students as well as a tilt on younger and newer movies. The tour also has a couple of points where the students read lines from movie scenes right on the spots where they were filmed. On Location Tours Inc., brings fans closer to their favorite on-screen characters, by offering tours that allow students to straddle the border between fiction and reality, letting them feel as though they are part of the show, ultimately bringing them closer to the characters they love. Two separate tours are offered in Boston: the Boston TV & Movie Sites bus tour and the Boston Movie Mile walking tour, each including locations from films and TV shows such as The Town, Ted, Good Will Hunting, The Departed, I Don't Know How She Does It, and Cheers. All tours are led by local actors who offer inside industry information, from a first-hand perspective. www.screentours.com More convenient and affordable group dining options for motorcoach groups are in development in the Boston area. At present major shopping, dining & entertainment destinations for groups in the Boston area include: Faneuil Hall Marketplace, The Shops at Prudential, CambridgeSide Galleria (Cambridge), Legacy Place (south of Boston, Dedham, MA) and Wrentham Premium Outlets (south of Boston, Wrentham, MA). Popular group-friendly restaurants include Fire + Ice Harvard Square, Fajitas & ‘Ritas, Dick’s Last Resort, Chart House, Hard Rock Cafe Boston at Faneuil Hall

Marketplace, Summer Shack Boston & Cambridge, Tia’s at Long Wharf, Uno Chicago Grill and Woodman’s of Essex (North of Boston). Affordable dining opportunities at The Shops at Prudential Center include a food voucher program with 14 options to choose from and group dining at over 15 different restaurants and eateries, indoor and outdoor performance locations for student orchestras, bands and choral groups. With over 60,000 people passing through the shops each day and over 75+ events each year at The Shops at Prudential Center, you are guaranteed interested passersby. CambridgeSide Galleria and Faneuil Hall Marketplace also offer a Food Voucher Program and performance opportunities in highly visible, high traffic areas. On-site activities at The Shops at Prudential Center include visiting the Skywalk Observatory, taking a Boston Duck Tour, partaking in our customized Scavenger Hunt, and shopping and dining at over 75 shops and restaurants, is sure to keep any group entertained while experiencing the City of Boston. Its indoor location makes planning worry-free as weather is never a problem inside The Shops at Prudential Center. The Rose Kennedy Greenway – the long, winding stretch of green park space that runs from the North End to Chinatown through the heart of downtown Boston – is now the place to eat lunch! The Seattle Times has said that the Greenway has some of the best food trucks in the country. Vendors include the A4 Truck – featuring items from popular eatery Area Four in Kendall Square, Cambridge; Bon Me, one of the winners of the City of Boston's Food Truck Challenge, which serves Vietnamese-inspired food with local sourcing; the Boston Shuckin Truck, featuring fresh, local seafood; and Clover Food Lab, one of the most popular food trucks in Boston, which recycles cooking oil to help power the truck, and offers a wide variety of local, seasonal, and delicious vegetarian food. Clover has been named one of the 10 best lunch trucks in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal. There is a Coffee Trike (Tricycle) serving gourmet coffee to go, a creperie serving both savory and sweet crêpes, a grilled cheese truck (“Roxy’s Grilled Cheese”), and a bicycle cart (“Culinary Cruisers”) featuring fresh-fruit popsicles, hand-made locally in flavors such as ginger-grapefruit and watermelon-blueberry-basil. For dessert, try the Boston Harbor Ice Cream Company, a roaming bicycle cart featuring ice cream & frozen yogurt, the Cookie Monst, serving delicious homemade cookies and homemade ice cream sandwiches, and even a cupcakes truck carrying a unique variety of flavors baked from scratch daily. Plus, 10 other trucks featuring everything from sustainable Chinese-American cuisine to tacos! Additionally, the Boston Public Market at Dewey Square is open 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday from late May through November. Buy seasonal farm-fresh produce, homemade artisan breads, fresh milk, farm-raised meats, and more. www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/food

North & West of Boston Attraction News A 175,000-square-foot expansion is planned for the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, 35-minutes north of Boston. The PEM endowment is among the top 10 largest for art museums in the U.S. The Peabody Essex has raised $550 million - with plans to bring in $100 million more. The previous record was set by the Museum of Fine Arts with its $504 million campaign, completed in 2008 for its own recent expansion, which introduced the new Art of the Americas Wing, Sharf Visitor Center and Shapiro Courtyard. “In 2016, visitors to the Peabody Essex Museum will see new galleries, a new restaurant and roof garden, and more… Located in downtown Salem, the Peabody Essex has announced a record-breaking fund-raising campaign and an expansion plan that will make it one of the largest and most well-endowed art museums in Massachusetts.” - Geoff Eggers, The Boston Globe. www.pem.org Cape Ann Foodie Tours launches the new Taste Gloucester tour, providing a tasty overview of the 400-Year-Old Port City. There are many ways to experience Gloucester MA, however none are as fun or as satisfying as the new Taste Gloucester food and cultural walking tour launching Guests of the tour can get a true sense of this charming New England city as they make their way on foot through downtown Gloucester sampling food from local vendors. From chowder, to olive oil, to a special sandwich that Gloucester natives have been enjoying for decades, Taste Gloucester will expose guests to local treats they’d be hard pressed to discover on their own. The 2.5 hour (roughly 1 mile) tours are led by dynamic tour guides providing the backdrop to this 400-year-old city with fascinating stories and interesting facts about the oldest working seaport in America. Other tours include Rockport Sights and Sweets, Taste Newburyport, and Ales & Tales. Tickets: $47 (includes all food tastings) Tour Info: Tours run on select days throughout the summer at 11:00 am and 2:30 pm rain or shine. www.tastegloucester.com www.capeannfoodietours.com Paul Revere’s Ride and Battle of Concord “April 19, 1775” exhibition coming to the Concord Museum in 2014. This exhibition will pull together amazing objects, images and documents from Paul Revere’s Midnight ride, the ‘shot heard ‘round the world,’ and the Battle of Concord that began the American Revolution. For groups there is no better place to experience the quintessential New England than at the Concord Museum. As the gateway to historic Concord, Massachusetts, with one of the oldest and most treasured collections of Americana in the country, the Concord Museum is the best place to begin your exploration of Concord's remarkable revolutionary and literary past. See one of the famous Paul Revere Lanterns from 1775 and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Study. Combine your Museum visit with all that Concord has to offer – elegant streets, charming cafes and shops, historic sites – an experience to be remembered for years to come. The Museum offers tours for adults/seniors, students,

and programs and tours for scouts. 2013 exhibitions include: Early Spring: Thoreau, Concord, and the Citizen Science Tradition, April through Sep, 2013, exploring the work of Thoreau as a scientist studying seasonal events. www.concordmuseum.org The Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center is opening a new restaurant, The Postern Grille that will serve upscale American fare in an intimate yet casual space for guests looking for a quality meal. The restaurant will feature a gorgeous new modern bar and open kitchen that will provide an area of activity and excitement. Private dining will be available. www.sheratonframingham.com The Annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival will take place in Framingham, 20 minutes west of Boston, at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, February 14-16, 2014. Named one of the top ten bluegrass festivals in America, this three-day event features workshops, concerts, and round-the-clock pickin’. www.bbu.org/jvhome.htm New in Natick, just 20 minutes west of Boston, is Skybokx 109 GastroSports, adjacent to the Hampton Inn and across the street from the Natick Mall, the largest enclosed shopping mall in Eastern Massachusetts. This entertainment-style restaurant boasts the most sophisticated, expansive, and largest high definition sports entertainment system in the region. The 22 screens, up to 90” in size bring you so close to the action, that you’ll practically smell the turf. http://skybokx109.com/ Garden in the Woods, the largest exhibit of native New England plants, debuts its completed revamped gardens and horticultural experiences in early 2014, thanks to its new master plan. Operated by the New England Wild Flower Society, Garden in the Woods offers an unequalled educational experience regarding native New England flora, including more than 100 rare and endangered species. www.newfs.org/visit/Garden-in-the-Woods The Paradise City Arts Festival will take place at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, Marlborough, March 21-23, 2014. Paradise City celebrates its 17th year in Marlborough as the Boston area's most acclaimed fair of fine and functional art. Innovation and diversity are key to this show’s appeal. 175 outstanding artists gather together under one roof to provide a sampling from every corner of the country of the best in American artistry and craftsmanship. www.paradisecityarts.com

South of Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod and the Islands Lodging & Dining News The Mirbeau Inn & Spa will open a second USA location in Plymouth at The Pinehills development in spring 2014. Mirbeau at The Pinehills will be joining the growing number of businesses within The Pinehills Village Green located just 45 miles from Boston and 8 miles from Cape Cod. Nestled on top of a knoll, Mirbeau at The Pinehills will overlook spectacular gardens, the Village Green, and Pinehills Golf Club with the only two five-star public courses in New England designed by Nicklaus Design and Rees Jones. Architecture for the Inn is reminiscent of an old manor house in the countryside of France complete with Monet- inspired gardens. The Inn will include 50 rooms, a fine-dining restaurant, wine bar and bistro, world-class spa, fitness area and accommodations for weddings, corporate meetings, and other social functions. Guest rooms and massage rooms in the spa all feature warm and inviting fireplaces. The legacy Mirbeau Inn & Spa in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes wine region is renowned for its gracious hospitality, award winning dining, and world class spa services, and is the only Forbes Four-Star Award winner for hotel, spa and restaurant in New York State, and an AAA Four-Diamond winner. Steeped in elegant French country style, Mirbeau is graced by Monet-inspired gardens. The Plymouth property has broken ground, and is expected to open in spring, 2014. www.pinehills.com/village-green/shop/mirbeau-inn-spa-at-the-pinehills In summer 2013, The Wauwinet, the only Relais & Châteaux property on Nantucket, will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary with $25 meals, wines, spa treats and more. To celebrate its Silver Anniversary, this favorite waterfront inn is offering a few perks for its guests throughout the season and 25 is the magic number. Guests can enjoy a $25 two-course lunch select dates in May and June (excluding Sunday Brunch) and several specially selected $25 wines at TOPPER’s, the one-site restaurant which was awarded a perfect score of 100 for its cuisine on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2013 Gold List – the only hotel in the Northeast to receive this honor. A $25 spa and dinner credit (valid until June 14) will also be offered upon check in. www.wauwinet.com Martha’s Vineyard’s new restaurant Copper Wok offers Pan-Asian cuisine! Located in Vineyard Haven at the Mansion House Inn, offers a full Sushi bar, Thai, Vietnamese and a heavy Chinese presence. www.mvmansionhouse.com The Hampton Inn Franklin/Milford, located about a 45-minute drive from Cape Cod, Plymouth and the Greater Boston area, has just completed an entire hotel renovation, including rooms, meeting rooms and lobby. The hotel is just 4 miles from Wrentham Village Premium Outlets and nearby are two commuter rail stops that can bring visitors right into Boston. www.franklinma.hamptoninn.com

Attraction News Car-free Travel in Boston USA: Introducing the CapeFLYER! Seasonal weekend rail service between Boston and Hyannis, Cape Cod to return for the first time in nearly 25 years: starting Friday, May 24, 2013, visitors will be to relax and avoid automobile congestion at the Cape Cod Canal bridges and take the CapeFLYER to Buzzards Bay for its first of two stops and terminating in downtown Hyannis. You can even bring your bike on board. From Hyannis, visitors will have easy access to the local bus network, Hy-Line Cruises Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard island ferries at the Ocean St. Dock, local beaches and to all of the food and fun that Cape Cod has to offer. Find a list of things to see and do and places to stay and eat here. visitors can expect a train leaving South Station on Friday nights near 5:15pm and round-trip trains leaving Saturday and Sunday mornings and returning at the end of each day. The service will run on the weekends between Memorial Day and Monday, September 2nd. The train seats 1,200 passengers and trip time will be approximately 2 1/2 hours. www.capeflyer.com NEW SEASTREAK ferry service operated by the Bay State Cruise Company has developed a new, daily motor coach connection service from Boston’s South Station to the SEASTREAK terminal in New Bedford. www.seastreak.com Fall for the Arts on Martha’s Vineyard! Enjoy the harvest bounty and fall colors of October during this month-long celebration of arts and culture! Every weekend is filled with a fabulous activities and festivals, including Food & Wine, Art Island, Wild Local Food Challenge, the Art of Chocolate, Vineyard Artisans handcrafts, gallery strolls and so much more! www.artsmarthasvineyard.com The Food and Wine Festival on Martha’s Vineyard in October is a celebration of food and wine, including local harvests from the sea and Vineyard farms. Enjoy wines from around the world, food prepared by local and renowned chefs; attend seminars and tastings and so much more. www.mvfoodandwine.com

Western Massachusetts & the Berkshires Lodging & Dining News In celebration of its 75th anniversary this year, Bascom Lodge, the iconic Berkshire landmark lodging and dining facility at the summit of Mount Greylock, has planned a series of special events and programs related to the rich history of the Lodge, the mountain, the 1930s, and local history and folklore. In honor of the anniversary, the Bascom Lodge Café will tip its hat to the classic roadside diners, truck stops and cafés that were once found on the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine with a season-long series of 1930s classic “blue plate” lunch specials. The menu will include Maryland crab cake salad, salmon croquettes, Philadelphia cheese steak sandwiches, "Miles Standish" club sandwiches, Carolina pulled-pork sandwiches, New England clam chowder, Georgia peanut soup, and Maine lobster rolls. Bascom Lodge officially opens for the season on June 1, serving three meals daily at its breakfast and lunch café and dinner restaurant operations, and will offer lodging accommodations and dining through Sunday, October 20. The Lodge has come a long way in 75 years. Built in the 1930s during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide a rest stop and rustic accommodations for hikers, nature enthusiasts and vacationers, in recent years the Lodge has been transformed to become a go-to destination for locals and visitors alike for mouth-watering meals with a focus on fresh, locally sourced foods and regional American cuisine. Mount Greylock State Reservation, which surrounds Bascom Lodge, encompasses more than 12,500 acres with 50 miles of hiking trails over a variety of terrains, including a segment of the ”Georgia-to-Maine” Appalachian Trail. A paved road, that opens in mid-May, reaches the summit. www.bascomlodge.net Another terrific lodging property enhances the Pioneer Valley with the summer 2013 opening of the new Residence Inn by Marriott in Chicopee. Easily accessible from the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Inn will provide guests with exceptional long-term stays in a comfortable setting that features 115 suites, each with a fully-equipped kitchen, an indoor pool, exercise facilities and business center, among other amenities. www.waterfordhotelgroup.com The Pioneer Valley Hotel Group have completely renovated a former Holiday Inn site in Springfield, spending $4.5 million to completely renovate it and create a brand new La Quinta Inn & Suites. They opened as La Quinta in December 2012 with 182 guest rooms, on-site lounge, indoor pool and fitness room, as well as 9000 square feet of function space, including the Mt. Tom Ballroom located on the 12th floor and boasting spectacular views of the Pioneer Valley and CT River. www.pvhg.com The PVHG’s Comfort Inn & Suites property in Ludlow will be converting to a Holiday Inn Express in early April, following months of renovations. The guest rooms, meeting room and breakfast area were updated and modernized, and the exterior now includes a new portico. www.pvhg.com

The Pioneer Valley Hotel Group has also announced the opening of the Hadley Farms Meeting House, set for July, 2013. It will be a banquet and meeting facility located in the Hampton Village Shoppes in Hadley. The facility will hold up to 260 people, including 3 breakout spaces. www.pvhg.com The Garden Gables Inn in Lenox has just opened its Lenox Petit Spa, now open to the public. www.gardengablesinn.com/lenoxspa.html The Haflinger Haus Restaurant & Inn has recently opened in Adams. The building has been newly renovated and not only offers a great lodging experience but the newly opened restaurant is offering world class Austrian food to locals and visitors alike. http://haflingerhaus.com Luxury property Wheatleigh in Lenox is starting a new tradition this year. Every Wednesday night between June 26 and September 4 they will hold The Midsummer Night’s BBQ. http://wheatleigh.com Bell and Anchor in Great Barrington is a new restaurant that focuses on farm to table/nose to tail – They buy local produce as much as possible, as well as whole animals. This means the menu changes daily. www.facebook.com/BellAnchorgb Event & Attraction News The Paradise City Arts Festival will take place at the 3 County Fairgrounds in Northampton, October 12-14, 2013. Innovation and diversity are key to this show’s appeal. 175 outstanding artists gather together under one roof to provide a sampling from every corner of the country of the best in American artistry and craftsmanship. www.paradisecityarts.com ClarkNOW encompasses more than 60 exhibitions, installations, and academic programs that are being presented in Williamstown, New York, and around the world as the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute completes the final phase of its campus expansion program. The Clark’s Williamstown campus will remain open throughout the expansion project, providing visitors with new presentations of its permanent collection and a series of special exhibitions and collaborations. ClarkNOW allows the museum to bring its extraordinary collections and intellectual activities to U.S. and international audiences in new and exciting ways. The Clark continue to present the thoughtful and resonant exhibitions for which it has become known, deepen its relationship with the landscape and community in Williamstown, and extend its reach by engaging audiences through a mix of new programs presented in new places. The Clark is in the final phase of its campus expansion program, which includes construction of a new Visitor, Exhibition, and Conference Center designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, renovation of both the original museum building and the Manton Research Center, and a sweeping new landscape plan. This project represents a vision for the future that allows for physical expansion, improves circulation, and dramatically

expands the public use of the Clark's 140- acre campus. Construction is currently underway on both the new Visitor, Exhibition, and Conference Center and the museum building. Renovation work on the Manton Research Center will begin in summer 2013 with the installation of a new fire suppression system in the Clark's library. This work is expected to be complete by summer 2014. www.clarknow.org The Trustees of Reservations, which works to preserve historic landscapes and properties across Massachusetts, has several properties in the Berkshires both enchanting and intriguing. Naumkeag in Stockbridge features a world-famous garden emblematic of the Gilded Age. When Mabel Choate inherited this family summer home in 1929, she shaped the magnificent themed gardens, including Tree Peony Terrace, the Rose Garden, and the famous Blue Steps, a series of ascending fountains and pools set in a serene birch grove, arranged between four dramatic flights of stairs. The Blue Steps have been under a major renovation this year, to be completed by June, in time to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of their completion. Fletcher Steele, known as America’s first modern landscape architect, designed the steps. The gardens are one of the nation’s finest examples of early American Modern landscape architecture and a rare surviving example of the work of Steele. Naumkeag has also begun extensive garden & landscape restoration – the first phase of this $2.6 million five-phase restoration effort began in February. www.thetrustees.org/microsites/naumkeag/media-kit.html Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham – also a Trustees property and about a 15-minute drive from Naumkeag – is the 30-year creation of contemporary composer John McLennan, whose emphasis on elegant form and proportion in music is expressed through his garden design. The gardens blend several natural features – a stream, native deciduous trees, a rounded knoll, and rising flanking meadows – into an ordered arrangement with both formal and informal beauty. Among the formal you'll find are the Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge, and Trellis Triptych. Urns, columns, and statuary ornament the garden, while foot bridges, foot paths, stone stairs, and grassy terraces connect various parts of the garden. www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/berkshires/ashintully-gardens.html The Norman Rockwell Museum and the Berkshire Botanical Garden are offering a new group tour opportunity. Explore the world-renowned Norman Rockwell Museum, filled to the brim with original Norman Rockwell art and an always-exciting roster of changing exhibitions. Stroll through the Berkshire Botanical Garden, a 15-acre oasis just down the road whose display gardens are among the oldest in the USA and have been expanded over the years in breadth and variety. The BBG’s collections emphasize plants that are indigenous to or thrive in the Berkshires; more than 3,000 species and varieties are represented. Visit both locations for $27 per guest. This applies to groups of 10 or more with complimentary admission for your group leader and driver. www.nrm.org / www.berkshirebotanical.org First Fridays Artswalk in Pittsfield is a new visual arts focused program unifying many of downtown Pittsfield’s visual arts venues, providing a full evening for the art appreciator. http://firstfridaysartswalk.com