Wheatleigh, the Italian villa of Countess Georgie Bruce Cook de Heredia and Count Carlos de Heredia was built for Georgie Cook as a wedding present in 1893 by her father, railroad magnate Henry Harvey Cook. The 33-room main building had eight master and guest rooms, 10 baths and servants' quarters. Current owners Linfield and Susan Simon, who purchased the property in 1982, turned it into a 5-star hotel. It's most recent accolades include AAA's Five Diamond Award, a 5-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide and honors from The Leading Hotels of the World.
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Wheatleigh, Lenox, taken in July 1930
Wheatleigh, the Italian villa of Count Carlos de Heredia and Countess Georgie Bruce Cook de Heredia, in Lenox.
Wheatleigh was named for the ancestral estate of the Cook family in Wheatley, England.
Wheatleigh, July 2, 1991
Wheatleigh, Mrs. Carlos M. de Heredia's Villa of Italian architecture at Lenox
Wheatleigh, January 1969
Wheatleigh was the homestead of Countess de Heredia. The Italianate villa, seen here in 1959, was built by her father, H.H. Cook, as a wedding present in 1893. She took possession of the house, legally, upon his death in 1905. Upon her death in 1946, at the age of 81, the countess left the estate to her two surviving nieces.
Built with buff-colored Roman brick by Peabody and Stearns, the house was designed to resemble a two-story, 16th-century Florentine palazzo. The 33-room main building had eight master and guest rooms, 10 baths and servants' quarters.
Sunday evening outdoor prayer meeting, sunset service on the Heredia estate in Lenox, Wheatleigh. Services held regularly in the 1920s, early 1930s.
A portion of the garden at Wheatleigh, where in other years Sunday evening sunset services were held. Boulder at the left is the alter.
Aerial view of Wheatleigh
Aerial view of Wheatleigh.
Wheatleigh, December 1961.
A large water tower on the property was nicknamed the 'Poodle Tower' as the Countess buried her beloved poodles — 21 in all — around it.
More information
Bathed in the glow of mauve, amethyst, and rose-colored lights, the exterior appearance of Wheatleigh, the Italian villa of Count Carlos de Heredia and Countess Georgie Bruce Cook de Heredia, garnered as much attention in the New York Times and Washington Post social columns as the night's "domino ball" did.
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Wheatleigh’s hotel and Portico restaurant have both been awarded five-star ratings from Forbes for 2022, giving the luxury lodging establishment in Lenox the five-star status for 8 years.