The new spa at the luxury country retreat, Inness, brings Manhattan-calibre wellness to the gentrifying rural hamlet of Accord, New York. Taavo Somer, one of the proprietors, became a cult figure of New York City hospitality decades ago, as kids prowling the dark and lonely streets east of SoHo found his breakout restaurant and bar glowing cosily like a mirage at the dead-end of tiny Freeman Alley. They called the place Freemans, naturally, and city people downtown loved its rustic interiors, with acres of old-fashioned painted panelling and an endless supply of vintage taxidermy specimens on display. Diners could wait hours for a table, though all were ultimately welcome – except, perhaps, the night Taylor Swift celebrated her birthday upstairs.
Inside the healing world of Inness, New York
Inness, which Somer opened in a new partnership three years ago, feels no less exclusive – though it’s actually just as inclusive by design. No gatekeeper guards the driveway, where the 220-acre property welcomes golfers to its reconfigured course just two hours upstate from Manhattan. Minimalist guest cabins and a new white-painted mock farmhouse – all furnished sparsely with Somer’s signature country antiques – today sit on and around the fairways. The remaining nine holes are converted for trendy Scottish links-style golf.
Along one ridge, on the former site of the golf pro shop, is a sparkling glasshouse for hotel reception and a boutique. Next door is the excellent clubhouse restaurant and outdoor dining balcony with postcard Catskill Mountain views. The barnlike new spa, a freestanding black building 60m long, is a short walk across the driveway, past a micro-orchard of mature heritage apple trees that Somer transplanted into the garden masterplan by Brooklyn-based landscape designer and editor Miranda Brooks. 'It forces guests into nature,' Somer notes.
A trained designer who once worked for a year in the experimental New York practice of Steven Holl Architects, Somer created the spa building’s modern exterior with stained pine and corrugated steel. Post Company (also behind Raf’s restaurant in New York City) collaborated with Somer on the project, building interiors such as the Bathhouse hammam with a plunge pool and tadelakt waterproof plaster. There’s a gym and fitness studio, massage treatment rooms with simulated skylights, and a reception area with fir shelving inspired by the sculptures of Donald Judd.
The outdoor pool will be closed all winter, but the indoor pool is ecologically warmed year-round with heat pulled from six geothermal wells drilled down 150m into the ridge, Somer says. 'People should come and hang out.'
Inness is located at 10 Banks St, Accord, NY 12404, United States, inness.co
