“The picturesque Western Massachusetts town of Great Barrington, a few miles to the south of Lenox, is home to Granville House, a bed and breakfast owned and operated by a couple of veterans of the New York restaurant scene, and named for George Bailey’s house in Frank Capra’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ The five rooms retain plenty of historical charm, though they’ve been updated with some modernist furniture and an eclectic collection of artworks and antiques. Beyond breakfast, there’s a sitting room and a music room, as well as a billiards parlor; for lunch and dinner you’ll want to explore Great Barrington and the surrounding Berkshires towns.”
— Michelin Guide
If you’re lining up your favorite Christmas movies and “It’s a Wonderful Life” isn’t one of them, something’s wrong. Perhaps no other film could lure you into the magic of a dilapidated home (one some have called “the best fixer-upper of all time”) or the holiday season like that 1947 classic.
Our local Granville House (at 98 Division Street in the Van Deusenville hamlet of Great Barrington) offers moonlight strolls, a charming historic home, and a sweet love story, but you won’t find any cobwebs, dangling shutters, or broken windows here, thanks to owner/operators Terry and Terri (Tate) Coughlin.
The 1825 home was built by “Captain” Isaac Laird Van Deusen VII, who provided the first modern improvements to the region—including wool and cotton mills, a store and tavern, and work for many local townspeople (in the village named in his honor). John Henry Coffing, an influential leader in town business and government in the mid-1800s, owned it next, followed by the Harwood family, who ran the Coffing-Bostwick House Bed & Breakfast in the 1980s and 90s.
Today, Granville House (per its website) offers “an intimate, Michelin Key awarded, five-guestroom inn, designed to make you feel comfortably at home while you’re away.” All of the “eclectically well-appointed rooms” have their own private en suite bathrooms, along with amenities like Brooklinen luxury bedding, MALIN+GOETZ bath products, a small refrigerator, a Keurig coffee maker, and a Crosley record player (with an invitation to peruse Terry’s vast vinyl collection). In addition, each night’s stay includes a made-to-order breakfast served in their spacious yet intimate dining room. William Li of Town & Country magazine compared staying at Granville House to “visiting your coolest friend’s country home.”
This fall, Granville House was awarded a Michelin Key—one of 18 recipients in Massachusetts and about 300 nationwide. For context, the other Michelin Key hotels in the Berkshires are Canyon Ranch in Lenox and Tourists in North Adams, each of which has two keys.
When selecting top hotels, Michelin’s team considers five criteria: architecture and interior design, service quality and consistency, overall personality and character, value for the price, and contribution to the neighborhood or setting. Hitting all the marks is as unlikely as Donna Reed’s throwing a stone and hitting the Granville House window on her first try (a marksman was on hand in the event she couldn’t).
Sitting in Granville House on a snowy afternoon—the fire crackling, entry hall and shared spaces fully primped for the holiday season, Christmas music playing from the old Wurlitzer jukebox, tea and ginger cookies on the table—it isn’t hard to understand the magic behind the glowing reviews. “This time of year with the rooms all decorated is so wonderful,” Terri says. “I love getting ready for the season, and there’s so much going on all around us for guests to enjoy … from craft festivals to holiday strolls, our towns are so beautiful.”
How a New York couple landed in the Berkshires
“While there was no rock throwing at our Granville House, we truly feel like our wishes and dreams have come true!” the grateful innkeepers post on their website. Those wishes were shared on their first date (while both were working for Gramercy Tavern in the city) when Terry asked Terri about her dreams for the future. She answered, “I really want to run a B&B someday,” and he chimed in, “I do, too!”
In truth, he had never entertained that thought, but it worked out well, as they were married soon after. “We stayed at a B&B in Stockbridge on our honeymoon and dined at the Old Inn on the Green, which was so special,” Terri recalls. Although they put the idea of running an inn on the shelf for many years, the couple’s deep connection to the Berkshires led them back for regular anniversary visits—and eventually a full-time move here in 2019.
“We were staying at the Inn at Kenmore Hall [in Richmond] six years ago, reliving favorite memories, and something clicked,” Terry explains. “Within four weeks of that visit, we made an offer on this house (the only one we looked at), and we both gave notice at work the following week.”
Terry, a partner and director of operations with Union Square Hospitality Group at the time, acknowledges that the higher up he moved in the company, the more removed he felt from what first drew him into the hospitality industry. “This feels so right because it’s coming back full circle to interacting with guests—which is what I love most,” he says.
A great contractor and fortuitous timing
“The house needed a ton of work—especially on the second floor—to become a proper B&B,” he admits, citing the need to rework spaces to allow each bedroom to have an adjoining bath. The challenge may have daunted any other couple, but they jumped in with the help of a great contractor, Shimon Rotches Construction. “While the other contractors we contacted focused on things we likely couldn’t do, Shimi gave us confidence with everything that we COULD do. Whenever we came upon an issue with the house, he immediately found the solution—and, in the end, came in below budget!” Terry raves.
They opened on July 1, 2020, right smack in the middle of the pandemic—which, ironically, turned out to be a great time to start a B&B in the Berkshires. Terry admits, “I was a nervous wreck at the beginning, but our first two years were robust” (a benefit of the COVID travel mindset, when few were flying and many took advantage of the chance to work remotely in a bucolic setting). “People needed to get out in the fresh air, and we were perfectly located two and a half hours from Boston and New York City,” Terri adds.
While this past year has been somewhat less busy, Terry points out that being a smaller inn (with five rooms rather than a hundred), they don’t feel it as intensely as the bigger places do. “It’s also nice to focus more on the local community and turn inward during those times,” Terri points out.
Enlightened hospitality and excellent reviews
As long-time veterans of mogul Danny Meyer’s restaurant franchises, the couple learned the secrets of “enlightened hospitality” from the inside out. “Gramercy is everyone’s favorite restaurant in the city because of how they feel when they’re in the space,” Terry explains—a concept he and Terri have drawn inspiration from in all their efforts with Granville House. Using his background and training in theater production and her innate sense of style, they approach innkeeping as “setting the stage for a great scene” in their guests’ lives.
As “offsprings” of Danny Meyer, they also got a little extra attention when it came time to promote their B&B, including press pieces and influential recommendations. “Doors opened very serendipitously—we knew we were supposed to be doing this,” Terri acknowledges. But most importantly, both agree, their success is based on word-of-mouth recommendations and online reviews. “We’re on the regular platforms, like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Trip Advisor,” Terri notes, “but it’s our guests that have helped bump our name to the top for this area. We can’t express our gratitude enough for all their reviews that help us stand out. We get so many bookings because of them.”
Here is just a small sampling, to give you an idea:
Our favorite Berkshires destination: We’ve stayed at Granville House twice now and can’t wait to return. The inn itself is stunning, with something to delight the eye everywhere you look. None of the fussiness of some b and b’s, but so much beauty: here you find a gorgeous mix of Danish modern mixed with antiques, lovely textiles everywhere, and interesting memorabilia throughout—most notably Terri and Terry’s amazing collection of autographs.
The innkeepers’ gentle welcome and their attention to comfort and detail make Granville House a restorative and truly memorable place to stay. Can’t say enough good things. Many thanks!
Granville House’s gracious innkeepers, Terri and Terry, have clearly put their hearts, creativity, and plenty of hard work into this lovely b&b. We felt very cared for and enjoyed meeting them and their family. Can’t wait to return!
“One couple that got married in the Berkshires spent their wedding night here. We’ll feel connected to them forever,” Terri says. Another couple that has visited several times (Rob and Holly) had been vacationing in Hawaii when rain set in. When the forecast showed no relief for days, Holly sighed, “I wish we were at Granville House eating their olive oil muffins.” The next thing they knew, they were on a flight back to Boston, followed by a drive to the Berkshires. The muffins were waiting.
“Design has always been something we both appreciate, and we wanted Granville House to be a reflection of ourselves,” Terry affirms. “One of the things we were very conscious of was creating a space that would appeal to a younger demographic and that they, in turn, would recommend to their parents. We want to be current, but we also want someone who appreciates traditional B&Bs to feel comfortable—all the touchpoints are here for younger and older guests.”
Curating an intimate and memorable experience
“While Great Barrington and the greater Berkshire region provide unlimited resources of exploration, we hope that you will take some time during your stay to enjoy the simple pleasures that we provide at Granville House, both inside and out,” the innkeepers stress on their site. To that end, they offer a variety of common areas to explore on your own or share with other guests—including curling up with a glass of wine by a fire in the sitting room, shooting a game of pool in the parlor, or perusing Terry’s vinyl collection in the music room. In warmer months, they invite guests to chat on the rocking chairs on the wraparound porch, take in the spectacular views of Monument Mountain, enjoy a riverside meal at the picnic table, or roast marshmallows under the stars in the backyard firepit.
“It’s a very intimate experience hosting people in your home, which is my favorite thing about what we do,” Terri smiles. “When you see people laughing, asleep on the couch, napping on the hammock all day—so comfortable it feels like they’re home—that’s unique. They come to explore, decompress, and just be in this house. It’s such a compliment.” They hope everyone who comes to Granville House enjoys it as a highly personal experience but are quick to add that some people expect it to be more transactional, less personal, and that is also fine.
Changing seasons, familiar chores
Are there challenges? “The ebb and flow of seasonality is one,” Terry admits, “but we try our best to lean in. We enjoy it when we’re busy in the summer and fall, and we enjoy our downtime, too.” One of the best gifts is that people are habitual, he points out—they like to go to the Berkshires every summer or every fall, and when they find a place they love, they embrace it. He relays that several James Taylor fans have a ritual of coming every July 4th weekend to attend the concert and stay in the same rooms. “It’s like summer camp,” he chuckles. “Lots of people end their stay having made new friends, and we do, too.”
“When you open up a B&B in the Berkshires, you expect to get the Tanglewood, theater, and fall foliage crowds, but there are all kinds of other business segments that don’t occur to you,” Terry continues. For example, families spilling over from nearby homes during the holidays, couples coming to meet their first grandchild (but not wanting to be underfoot), parents coming to share important weekends at Berkshire School, and second homeowners needing to check periodically on renovation projects. “There are also a lot of folks who have local connections—friends coming up for a wedding, gala, or special performance.”
And the workflow? Both acknowledge being organized and having complementary personalities and “superpowers,” making it easier to divide and conquer all daily innkeeping tasks. “We originally thought Terry would handle front of house and I would handle check-ins. A few months later, we switched,” Terri grins, adding, “We’ve come to embrace how we work together as a unit. He’s the texter, I’m the talker.”
Protecting family time and giving back to the community
Does the inn encroach on family time with their daughters? “We keep the shared space for the guests, and the owners’ quarters where we live is our boundary between work and home life,” Terry explains. “We serve breakfast from 8 to 10, clean up between 10 and 11, then clean out the rooms from 11 to 3 between check-out and check-in. But all that work is at home, and evenings are always free. We get to eat together as a family almost every night.”
“What I love most is how relaxed I feel in every setting,” Terri adds, “but you have to compartmentalize. That took a lot of getting used to. We’ve set it up so that all our guests’ major needs are met. Once you’ve gone through check-in, you won’t need us for anything else.” She also points out the importance of reading the room. “When I adjust the lights and heat, I love talking to guests if they are looking for connection, but I’m also careful to let people have their experience.”
Beyond running their B&B, Terry and Terri enjoy being part of the local community and supporting area nonprofits (like Community Access to the Arts) that provide opportunities for their daughter Grace, who was born with Down Syndrome. Sharing their philosophy online, the couple notes, “While raising a special needs child isn’t always easy, we have been fortunate to be the beneficiaries of an extremely supportive community surrounding us. We believe it is important to acknowledge that good fortune by giving back to that same community, reinvesting a portion of our proceeds in organizations that support the special needs community in the Berkshire region.”
In every way they dreamed of, Terry and Terri—like George and Mary—appear to have lassoed the moon.
And don’t miss the annual holiday free screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Mahaiwe, happening this season on Friday, December 20 (7 p.m.).
