Hudson Valley vs Berkshires - weekend away
 

Hi, my girlfriends and I (late 20s / early 30s) are planning a weekend away (our first without kids) in early summer and have narrowed our choices down to three locations: Rhinebeck or Hudson, NY or Great Barrington, MA. We're looking for an artsy town, with local, organic restaurants, small shops, with scenic beauty nearby. We'd also like a massage / day spa option. Seems like all three fit the bill. Any recommendations between the three to help us decide? Thanks!

We used to live in the Berkshires outside GB. I'd go there (though I know little about Rhinebeck).

In Great Barrington: there are new restaurants since we left in 2010, but the Old Inn on the Green in New Marlborough is a candlelit throwback with great food and service, Baba Louies is great local pizza, Rte. 7 Grill was good. There is a great coffee shop in Sheffield on the east side of Rte. 7. Southfield store in Southfield.

Scenic beauty - tons of it. Drive from Salisbury CT up to S. Egremont on 41. 41 all the way to W. Stockbridge is nice. Monument Mountain is pretty. Blue Hill Road is a nice drive. Tyringham, Southfield, Egremont, New Marlborough - the small towns are unique.

There are plenty of day spas - and there is Canyon Ranch and a yoga place near Lennox. Small stores in Lennox and Great Barrington are what you are looking for.

Although the Hudson Valley is beautiful, the Berkshires are one of my favorite places in the country. We used to live in the southern part of the Hudson Valley.

@jas_miner - thanks for all the recommendations! Much appreciated.

@IMDonehere - thanks for your reply. I hear the Berkshires are so special. Can you tell me a little bit more about why it's one of your favorite places?

Why special?

Walkable towns.
Good shopping.
Great eats.
Scenic roads (if you stay off the main routes)
Homes of the famous open to the public: Daniel Chester French, Edith Wharton, Herman Melville, etc.
Historic houses from 1700 to the 1960's
Museums: Hancock Shaker Museum, Norman Rockwell Museum, Williams College Museum, Clark Museum of Art

I am also a Berkshires lover. It is a very special, low-key area with diverse options. But, it is more of an area to be explored and taken advantage of, than it is a town to stay in. Don't get me wrong - there are special towns, such as Lenox (near Tanglewood - outdoor Boston Symphony, Shakespeare & Co., theater, arts, shopping restaurants), Stockbridge (literally THE quintessential Norman Rockwell town), Great Barrington (restaurants, shops, movies). Not a serious nightlife in the area, although I'm sure you can find some options. One needs a car to get to/from different activities. I'm not sure if that is the case in Rhinebeck, a place I've heard a lot about but never visited. The Berkshires tend to attract a largely well-heeled crowd, older and family groups - although there are plenty of 30-somethings. Again, not sure how this compares to Rhinebeck. You will not want for things to do in the Berkshires, as Ackislander has pointed out. I think you need to hear more from someone familiar with Rhinebeck to do a good comparison. As I often like to remind myself when I am trying to decide between these options, these are good problems for us to have and one where you almost can't make a major mistake. Once you get to know the Berkshires, you will always want to return and bring your family with you for a lifetime. Good luck

As noted the area is beautiful. Things are understated, the night life during the summer is more sophisticated not glamorous or glitzy. The centuries old towns have do not try to be more than they are. Around Great Barrington there is a sense of community.

one of the things I like about the "nightlife" in the Berkshires inthe summer is the vast array of cultural options...theater, dance, music. It starts around June but there is a ton to do if you like that sort of thing.

Great Barrington is definitely has a bit of that upscale hippy feel to it, with organic places and local foods and a few fun crafty shops. I tried two new-to-me restaurants on my last visit... Cafe Adam, which is upscale and very nice, and The Prairie Whale, which has local foods, and is very casual, but makes a great burger or fried chicken and some barbecue items plus a nice selection of microbrews. We liked both a lot.

I can't recommend a day spa in particular, though I'm sure you can find one. i think Canyon Ranch offers day packages if price is no object.

When you get back, you need to send your husbands and/ or boyfriends because Great Barrington has one of the greatest hardware stores in the United States. It is on a side street, and it has everything you need to build a log cabin, a split rail fence or inlaid furniture.

There also was a high end stereo shop with brands like McIntosh that you usually only find in big cities. In addition to Canyon Ranch there is the Kripalu Center in. Lenox. I think they pour oil over your head.

What no one has said is that you need to make reservations YESTERDAY because it is very popular in the Berkshires, especially when Tanglewood opens. If you can come during the week, it will be easier.

If you want to see some performances, then I think Tanglewood makes the Berkshires more attractive, though it's easily accessible from the Hudson Valley as well.

I guess I'm one of those people who prefer the Hudson Valley (but then it's just the place I know best and am most comfortable with), so I'd probably choose Hudson, where there is a lot going on these days in terms of interesting new restaurants. It also tends to be cheaper than Rhinebeck. But I'd definitely drive over at least to Chatham from Hudson. Or you could go to Kinderhook (where Martin van Buren was born). There's also an alpaca farm nearby and a sheep farm where you can visit and buy excellent cheese.

There is nothing wrong with the Hudson Valley and Storm King is spectacular, overall I like Berkshires better.

Well, Doug, I have made the case for the Hudson Valley elsewhere.

I think it is America's Rhine, and if it were properly promoted, it would be full of visitors on river cruises. The view from Amttrak trains between NYC and Albany is spectacularly scenic if you lift your eyes above track level.

There is a lot to see in between, and I confess that I haven't seen much of it. I especially regret not having gone to the Dia Foundation in Poughkeepsie, though Hudson has been a regular stop for years.

What makes the Berkshires so attractive for a group like the OP's is that it is so compact. Check in once, and you can see it all on a day trip. My perception that you can't do that in the Hudson Valley is what holds me back from a longer trip there. But if I lived in NYC and could just get on Metro North, I might look at it differently.

Still, it is in the future.

You know, American Cruise Lines does offer a season of Hudson River cruises in the fall to see the foliage turn, so if you are ever interested in doing that, it's possible. They cruise from a pier in Manhattan up the river, though I'm not sure how far, but I suspect you can get pretty far on a weeklong cruise. (Granted, these cruises are not cheap, so that has to be a consideration.)

Acks, I am a woman and I love that hardware store also.

I love both destinations; but I would go to the Berkshires. So many museums and theatre/ concert venues.

Two sisters-in-law, who are well traveled, took the Hudson River cruise from NYC to I think Quebec City on Blount. While they liked it, they would not recommend it or do it again.