Literary escapes: 5 book-themed hotels for a character-filled stay
Dine in the Reading Room at the Library Hotel in New York City. Credit: Library Hotel
For friends and lovers with a penchant for the written word, the following five bookish lodgings — from a four-guest room inn to a large city hotel — allow you to revel in your passions.
Live the literary life in NYC: Library Hotel
299 Madison Ave., at East 41st Street, Manhattan
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: About an hour away
Explore the Library Hotel in New York, featuring over 6,000 books. Credit: Stefano Pinci
Intentional or not, The Library Hotel fits right into the neighborhood, standing a block from Patience and Fortitude — the lions that guard the entrance to the New York Public Library (476 Fifth Ave. at 42nd St., 917-275-6975, nypl.org) — and four blocks from The Morgan Library Museum (225 Madison Ave., 212-685-0008, themorgan.org; $25, free 12 and under). The Library Hotel’s collection of over 6,000 books is organized by the Dewey Decimal Classification, with each of 10 guest room floors dedicated to a particular category. All 60 hotel rooms are stocked with 50 to 150 books and artwork exploring a topic within each category.
COST: Rooms starting at $400 per night; 212-983-4500, libraryhotel.com
One of the iconic lion statues at the main branch of the New York Public Library. Credit: Getty Images/barbaraaaa
READERS WEEKEND RETREAT: Stay with the theme and tour both the New York Public Library and The Morgan Library — the latter, especially, for fans of the bestseller "The Personal Librarian," by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The historical novel is about Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman in the Gilded Age who passes as a white woman and becomes J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian. She becomes a powerful figure in the art world while hiding her true identity.
Idle with Ivy Leaguers: The Study at Yale
1157 Chapel St., New Haven, Connecticut
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: About two hours away
Ask for a room facing the spires of Yale University's neo-Gothic buildings at The Study at Yale in New Haven. Credit: The Study At Yale
A pair of brass spectacles sits at the entrance to The Study at Yale Hotel. Inside, a floor-to-ceiling double-sided bookshelf hold a catalog of art and architecture books. Ask for a room facing the spires of Yale University's neo-Gothic buildings: the perfect perch from which to contemplate the considerable number of books consumed on campus.
COST: Rooms start at $250 per night; 203-503-3900, thestudyatyale.com
Take a tour of the Yale University campus. Credit: AP/Jessica Hill
READERS WEEKEND RETREAT: New Haven is home to an extravaganza of museums, great restaurants and pizza. Don't leave before downing a pie from the original Frank Pepe Pizzeria (157 Wooster St., 203-865-5762, pepespizzeria.com) or Sally's Apizza (237 Wooster St., 203- 624-5271, sallysapizza.com), or Modern Apizza (874 State St., 203-776-5306, modernapizza.com) — everyone has their favorite), which has been dishing out New Haven's famous foodstuff for over 100 years. Take a tour of Yale University (149 Elm St., 203-432-4771, yale.edu; free, advance registration required) — or at least check out the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, with its rare books untouched by direct sunlight, due to thin stone "windows." The Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and Yale Center for British Art are all worth a visit.
Relax in a room full of character(s): Bookhouse Hotel
130 S. Union St., Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: About three hours away
Stay at the tiny Bookhouse Hotel in Kennett Square, Penn. Credit: The Bookhouse Hotel
Staying overnight in this four-room hotel is like escaping to a tiny library. The smallest hotel on this list, the Bookhouse is a model of creative vision. If your fantasy is being surrounded by your favorite (or soon to be favorite) tomes, with luxury appointments and rooms seemingly ripped from the pages of a romance novel, you’re in luck. Rooms are decorated with wit and "literally" fun. Rates start at $200 per night.
The newly opened seven-room Bookhouse at Faunbrook in West Chester (699 W. Rosedale Ave.), celebrates literary characters. Daisy's Room is a sweet take on "The Great Gatsby"; Jane's Room is inspired by Jane Austen; the whimsical Alice's Suite is straight out of Wonderland.
COST: Rooms start at $200; 610-257-7008, thebookhousehotel.com
READERS WEEKEND RETREAT: Kennett Square is called the Mushroom Capital of the World for a reason. Over 500 million pounds of mushrooms, representing 55% of the nation’s total, according to the USDA, come from Chester County, Pennsylvania. Visitors to the area can discover the mysteries of the mushroom by stopping into The Mushroom Cap (114 W. State St., Kennett Square, 610-444-8484, themushroomcap.com), which serves as both a shop and free museum. Brandywine Museum of Art (1 Hoffmans Mill Rd., 610-388-2700, brandywine.org; $20, $8 ages 6-18) features the work and studios of three generations of Wyeths: N.C., Andrew and Jamie. The world-class Longwood Gardens (1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, 610-388-1000, longwoodgardens.org; $32, $17 ages 5-15) are a short drive away. On 1,100 acres, Longwood is considered "one of the world’s great gardens," with intricate fountain systems, 19th century architectural gems and a massive central conservatory with acres of plantings under glass.
Spend time with literary greats: MGM Springfield Hotel
1 MGM Way, Springfield, Massachusetts
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: About three hours away
The MGM Springfield Hotel recognizes giants in the literary world who once lived in the area: Noah Webster of dictionary fame, poet Emily Dickinson, Dr. Seuss and more. The hotel lobby is designed like a library. You read that correctly. A casino hotel with a lobby bar lined with shelves filled with real books. Walls of elevator banks are painted like book spines. Excerpts from Dickinson's poetry are woven into the hallway carpets. Sculptural wall lighting incorporates Dr. Seuss spectacles. And, to top it off, the guest rooms can be compared favorably to the coolest New York City boutique hotels.
COST: Rooms start at $155 night; 413-273-5000, mgmspringfield.mgmresorts.com
READERS WEEKEND RETREAT: Even if you don't gamble, there are plenty of things to do at the hotel, including seeing a first-run flick at the in-house Regal movie theater and attending a show at the on-site comedy club. Springfield is home to the interactive Basketball Hall of Fame (1000 Hall of Fame Ave., 877-446-6752, hoophall.com; $34, $20 ages 5-12) — where you can shoot hoops on a regulation court. And, among all "The Places You'll Go" in town, check out the The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum (21 Edwards St., 413-263-6800, springfieldmuseums.org; $25, $13 ages 3-17). Kids can interact with light-up pixel pegs and magnetic balls in Who-ville; read Dr. Seuss books in Cat’s Corner and meet life-size figures from their favorite stories.
Stay in the Elin Hilderbrand Suite: 76 Main Ink Press Hotel
76 Main St., Nantucket, Massachusetts
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM MELVILLE: About seven hours away (trip includes a ferry ride)
FLIGHT FROM MACARTHUR AIRPORT: Cape Air flight (about 4 hours with one stop) to Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK)
The Elin Hilderbrand Suite at 76 Main Ink Press Hotel in Nantucket. Credit: 76 Main Ink Press Hotel
At the newly renovated hotel, stay in the Elin Hilderbrand Suite, an homage to the author of a slew of novels, including "The Perfect Couple," made into a hit Netflix series. This playfully decorated inn features 20 themed rooms, each depicting recognizable cultural icons and celebrities from various media, with an emphasis on publishing. This is a Nantucket lodging to obsess over, especially for those genuinely into the news (in print and on screens), celebrity culture, bestselling books and magazines. Guests will spot antique typewriters, old photographic equipment, tear sheets, paper magazines and hardcover books around the hotel.
COST: Rooms start at $250 per night; 508-228-2533, 76main.com
READERS WEEKEND RETREAT: Nantucket was once the "whaling capital of the world" — so it behooves visitors to check out the captivating Nantucket Whaling Museum (13 Broad St., Nantucket; $20, $5 ages 6-17), which, through multimedia presentations, immerses visitors in the life of whalers in the 19th century.
