Porches Named One of the World’s Top Hotels
101 Hotels Cited by British Publication

North Adams, Massachusetts (December 13, 2002) – Condé Nast’s “Tatler,” Britain’s most sophisticated society magazine, has included The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA in a new list of the world’s top hotels.
The Tatler Abercrombie & Kent 2003 Travel Guide accompanies the January issue of the monthly, and includes a total of 101 properties worldwide. Porches is one of seven U.S. hotels to be listed, along with The Carlyle, City Club Hotel, and The Four Seasons in New York, Hotel Impala and Little Palm island in Florida, and the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills.

The article describes Porches as “a row of worker's houses (that) has been turned into a hip hotel combining zinging bathrooms with jokey, proletarian touches - the safe is behind a painting-by-numbers canvas; room service is delivered in a lunch bucket. A spa and swimming pool are carved into the hillside, and the artwork of the moment is usually visible from one of the rooms.”

MASS MoCA is described as “an arts centre that eclipses Tate Modern”, and the writer suggests that readers “definitely reserve a table at Eleven, the museum's restaurant.” MASS MoCA is the country’s largest museum of contemporary art, and Eleven is a restaurant serving contemporary global cuisine.

This is the second Condé Nast publication to bestow accolades on Porches in the past several months. Last May, Condé Nast Traveller (also published in Britain) listed Porches on its 2002 Hot List of the 32 “coolest new hotels in the world.”

Commenting on news of the most recent award, Porches’ president Nancy Fitzpatrick credited the popular and critical success of MASS MoCA with helping to raise the inn’s international visibility. “Porches was inspired by MASS MoCA, and continues to benefit from its proximity and relationship to the museum,” said Fitzpatrick, who teamed with project architect Ann McCallum on the interior design of the hotel.

Tatler (www.tatler.co.uk) offers its readers a mix of fashion, beauty, travel, and celebrity features, presenting the social comment of the day with wit, style and irreverence. It has a monthly readership of 240,000. Abercrombie & Kent is internationally recognized as the first name in luxury adventure travel, with tour and safari operations that extend across the globe.

Porches, which opened in July 2001, consists of seven renovated Victorian-era buildings that originally provided housing for the area’s mill workers. Located across the street from MASS MoCA, Porches’ guest rooms and public spaces employ a clever synthesis of retro and contemporary design. The inn’s 50 rooms and suites are fully wired, offering high-speed DSL internet access, dual phone lines, and complimentary DVDs. The property includes a year-round outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and meeting rooms for retreats and special events.

For more information, or to make a reservation, visit www.porches.com, or call 413 664-0400.

CONTACTS:
Carol Bosco Baumann
The Porches Inn
Tel: (413) 298-1629
carol@porches.com