New 3 BR rustic-yet-elegantly modern 2400 sq ft country castle set on on 3.5 secluded acres in Manor Lane, a private compound off Hurlburt Road in Great Barrington, MA, this property offers the perfect balance of peaceful seclusion and year-round convenience. We call it the GreatBarringtonCastle House, but it's much more farmhouse/luxury villa. Take the time to read the full description below -- you won't be disappointed. The space Centrally located in the heart of the Berkshires in Smithsonian Magazine's "Best Small Town in America" 2015, Great Barrington. An idyllic basecamp to take advantage of spectacular hiking, biking, skiing, and views, with one of the longest, richly colored fall foliage seasons in the country, from September deep into October. When the winter snows fall, take out your snowshoes and experience the drifting silence of the woods. In summer, enjoy long days in nature and leisurely evenings. Fabulous local shops and restaurants rival any in the big cities. Great, quiet escape from NY City or Boston (or anywhere else). A great gathering spot for a family or group of friends. This private country home is spacious, extraordinarily comfortable, bright, cheery, uplifting, modern but not art deco, and not cookie-cutter. You’ll find that our house, the property, and the location are even better than in the pictures. The location is literally the best in Great Barrington, and the house and the property are among the best in town of any size. That's because we built our house specifically so we would never have a disappointing vacation rental ever again -- and you won’t either! The house is located on a beautiful, quiet country road, and still close to town. You don't have to choose between rural country life privacy and convenience when staying at this home -- it offers the best of both! Just down the road from Simon’s Rock, and 2 miles to famous Guido's or the center of downtown Great Barrington. The Appalachian trail or a swim at Lake Mansfield with a beach and lifeguard are just 5 minutes away, and it's 15 miles to the music and cultural events of Tanglewood to the north. ....Also makes an ideal ski haus, given that it's 5 miles to Butternut and Catamount ski areas, with an easy in, easy out property that's plowed with every snowfall, a ski rack in the garage to hold your skis, a spacious mudroom with plenty of hooks for your ski gear, the great room with rustic gas heating fireplace that lights up with the flip of a switch as soon as you come home from the mountain, and the chef's kitchen for ravenous appetites. All in all, a perfect four-season getaway! No expense was spared in rebuilding this home. Charming, bright, spacious modern farmhouse interior, with beautiful large windows throughout. A real gourmet chef’s kitchen with cathedral ceiling, pro range, SubZero fridge, and farmhouse sink, that's fully stocked with everything you could need, including a cabinetfull of spices, papergoods, three coffeemakers, and all the dinnerware, flatware, cookware and kitchenware you’ll need to entertain. And the water in the house is quadruple filtered, so the water coming out of the kitchen faucet is the best you've ever tasted! Seat up to 10 around the large, expandable rustic dining table. Beautiful, comfortable cathedral-ceilinged living room with huge premium sectional sofa, enough seating for a crowd. On rainy days or cold winter getaways, cozy up in front of the rustic fireplace. The grand master bedroom on the main floor has 11’ ceilings and a beautiful, large master bathroom. Another guest bedroom is on the main floor, and a third bedroom is up in the high tower, a favorite of adults and especially kids. All three bedrooms have outstanding, comfortable mattresses. (Another reason we built this house was because we couldn’t find a rental with comfortable mattresses!) Each bedroom has a beautiful private bathroom, with fully tiled shower with heavy glass shower door and Hotel-quality bath and bed linens. There's a well-appointed den with comfortable sofa, large desk, and computer monitor and laser printer to hook up to your laptop. Three large flat-screen TV’s are tastefully installed in the living room, master bedroom, and den, with excellent cable TV, internet, and cellular service, and high speed triband wifi throughout the house, along with direct ethernet jack plug-in to the network if you need it. Gas heat throughout the house ensures that you’ll stay toasty warm during the colder months. During the summer months, the main and second floors remain cool with the stone and wood floors and central air. The bedroom in the high tower has its own split unit for heating and cooling. There’s a new full size LG Washtower washer & dryer in a nice laundry/utility room. Plenty of books to keep you occupied, and dozens of cookbooks with recipes to try. Out back, there's a large patio with comfortable table and chairs, and Weber gas grill for summer meals. As Manor Lane is a rural, forested area, we have the house professionally treated with pet- and child-safe products every month by Orkin for ants, bugs, mosquitos, bees, and other critters, so you'll be comfortable and bug free dining outside at night on the patio. There's a single car garage for your use, with direct entry via mudroom into the house. The house has a keypad front door lock and wifi Liftmaster garage door, so you won't need any keys! Our house was especially designed for weekly, monthly and longer term rentals, but we do accommodate 3-day weekend booking requests. We offer a 5% discount for weekly stays or more, and a 10% discount for monthly stays. Note that for stays less than 31 days, VRBO collects Massachusetts excise tax of 5.7% and Great Barrington tax of another 6%, for a total tax of 11.7%. The bright side is, stay 31 days and there's no tax, you save 11.7%! No smoking, and please inquire about children AND PETS before booking a stay. Sorry, we allow only one very well behaved pet, and we can't allow cats. Other things to note Quick story behind our house: We previously rented homes for vacations, and it was always dicey, finding the right house that was bright, cheery, uplifting, modern but not art deco, not cookie-cutter, and not filled with crushingly depressing décor and hand-me-down appliances, furniture, and bedding. And was also on a nice street in a good location. If you’ve looked thru the Airbnb and other rental listings, you know what I mean. The last time we rented a house for $400/night (a high price for a small house in a hole-in-the-wall town in Rhode Island), it turned out to be on a large street, one house down from a main thoroughfare, small, walls painted a neutral grey, very clean, but filled with nauseating industrial furniture, all of which somehow did not come through in the pictures and description of the house. And it didn't even have cable TV. When we built this house, we did so specifically so that that would never happen to us again, nor would our guests ever have any measure of a disappointing experience at our house. You’ll find that our house, the property, and the location are even better than in the pictures. We promise that and we guarantee it!