The Cranwell--Massachusetts

413-217-0166

Back to the Berkshires beloved nine, it's turning into an annual trip I suppose. The rigors of a career that allows a family vacation in two days leaves us little choice.  We went from one old hotel (Red Lion) to another in the Cranwell for a long weekend hoping for some golf, until the weather and a golf outing put an end to that.  So fuck it, another trip to the Prairie Whale and a much more expensive dinner at the Cranwell.

So Iconman, how was the food?  Over priced.  It was uncomfortable watching the staff.  They were doing their best to make it nice, and the picturesque setting in the rolling hills of the Berkshire mountains certainly helped, but they was nothing professional about the staff nor service.  It was as though they were hired to fill a role without any training, so they did their best to improvise what they think a nice resort should do.  Sadly, these clubs are a dying breed, with baby boomers doing their best to emulate their parents when this is what people did.  And to play along, the staff was doing their best to replicate the splendor of a huge club without the support of thousands upon thousands of loaded customers.

What to do?  Well, hire cheap staff.  Corporatize your golf operation.  Add a spa.  Invest millions into dumbing down the operation to be a mere shell of what it was in its splendor.  Damn it Iconman!?! How was the food?

Okay.  I got lamb chops and they were tiny, but still priced expensively. The ol' wifey wife got some fish or another, and our friends got a bunch of other slop that was what you get when an untrained chef watches too many cooking shows.  To be perfectly honest, it wasn't that bad.  I mean, we're willingly chose to stay at a castle, so who's the real asshole in this equation?  And considering that I have yet to actually play the golf course, there's a fair chance that we may return.  So I guess the food was good enough if you drink a dry martini and make believe it was decades ago.  Maybe there will be some renaissance down the road, and these places will come back into favor.  In the meantime, manage your expectations and you'll be okay.