Recently, the hotel has also added the Firehouse to its domain. Just next door to the hotel, the multi-story brick tower, built in 1891, used to house the Litchfield Fire Company (not to mention a gentleman’s club), and will now serve as an events space.

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While the hotel preserves the building’s history (just off the bar is a framed photo of Dr. Belden and his family, as a thoughtful touch), it is not, by any means, living in the past. The interiors are lively and unique, from the cozy library featuring a welcoming round table by Ian Ingersoll and conversation-starting pottery with distorted faces, to the emerald green bar that looks straight out of Oz. And the rooms are no exception. After arriving at the hotel via their BMW valet service, we were whisked up the winding mahogany staircase to a multi-room suite, complete with a luxe, four-poster king bed, one and a half baths (the ensuite with heated floors), and a cozy living area that imbued a sense of New England fantasy in every detail, including the bowl of local stone fruit that awaited us. (Undoubtedly the best plum of my life.)