Belden House and Mews is the new hotel conceived and developed by the team that owns and operates Troutbeck, the widely acclaimed Hudson Valley estate hotel in Amenia, New York. I first wrote about Troutbeck in Westfair soon after it opened in 2018.
Situated in the historic center of Litchfield, Connecticut — the landmarked town’s first full-service high street hotel in more than a century – the restored, three-acre Belden estate has an 1888 Colonial Revival mansion with meticulously preserved period details at its core. With 31 guest rooms and suites –10 in the main house and 21 in the Mews — Belden House also offers gracious period public rooms, including the house’s original living room, dining room and library.
The Mews, a modernist three-wing structure, also houses a fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible room.
On a recent Friday night, I arrived in time for a late supper, after which I was shown to my suite on the second floor of the main house by the night butler. Dominated by a magnificent carved four-poster bed, this elegant room comprised a sitting area, large desk, pantry with upscale edibles and one of those magical fireplaces that ignite at the touch of a button. A dressing room with a small terrace off it sealed its “luxury” credentials.
Touches like the radio set complete with antennas – remember those? – and fur rug-covered chairs in the dining room, along with its original tiled fireplace, give Belden House a retro feel, which, when paired with the Brooklyn-esque vibe, creates the unique atmosphere these experienced hoteliers are so good at framing.
The upholstery? Yes, it’s pukka, meaning “swell,” in spite of those “karate chops” as a dear friend of mine describes the mandatory V-shape knocked into the top of heavy pillows, now an interior design fashion statement which no self-respecting decorator dares to ignore.
Step outside the house and pathways lead to the Bathhouse, Belden’s wellness center, for massages and all manner of treatments, and onwards to the 50-foot swimming pool and the lawn club for a game of croquet. The flower beds and borders are still a little sparse but a great deal of planting has already been done. Within a couple of seasons the backyard, if we can call it that, is going to be nicely mature, a riot of color in summer.
In the dining room, which is headed by executive chef Tyler Heckman, a Connecticut native, I waited so long for bread – admittedly ordered as an afterthought by yours truly once the appetizer had already been served – that I almost grew a beard in the interim. But boy oh boy was it worth the wait – two great hunks of soft, almost billowy sourdough focaccia underneath a thin sheet of crisp crust that shattered like glass on contact with the knife. Served with rich, cultured butter, this was an epochal, fantasmagorical piece of bread. Go to Belden House for that alone and the journey will have been worthwhile.
But, of course, it didn’t stop with bread. Other dining room standouts – everything sourced with care from nearby farms and the New England coast – included an appetizer of fresh milk curd with peaches, fennel and pollen, which may sound like baby-food but was in fact a superb, very sophisticated and cohesive dish; and a silky Lobster custard, with heirloom corn and basil. This was an original treatment for lobster, which, a treat though lobster is for most of us, many Nutmeggers I suspect may be growing weary of this far into the summer season.
Service, by, the way, is excellent, although being asked three times by three separate staff members at breakfast whether I was enjoying my local Arethusa yogurt with flax-seed granola may just have been bordering on overkill.
But at the end of the day, it’s not the history or location, nor the luxury touches — like the BMW at your disposal should you want to explore the region; the Frette linens and slippers; the radiant heated bathroom floors or the natural British Wildsmith bathroom products — but the ambiance of Belden and the people who work there which make it special.
So, a shout-out to Ian, only a few days into his portering job, but kind and helpful, always carrying my bags; to Elizabeth at the front desk, the smiling “face” of Belden; to Mark – aforementioned butler; patient Katrina in the dining room; manager Greg, and many others besides who all help make Belden the utterly-luvverly, cultured-butterly place it is.
