The Bedford Post: A Country Inn and a Gentleman

Actor-cum-activist, Richard Gere, has turned his talents to greener pastures and become the proprietor of an elegant country Inn with history and pedigree.

Richard Gere and his wife Carey Lowell had been living in the Bedford area of NY for some time before they noticed a dilapidated 18th- century house and barn languishing behind locked gates in desperate need of some love and attention. It didn’t take long before the couple found themselves, along with business partner/builder Russell Hernandez, working day and night to turn the property into a stunning boutique hotel, restaurant, bistro, and yoga studio, just 45-minutes drive from Manhattan. Set upon 14-acres, the eco-friendly Bedford Post Inn was originally a tavern, inn and post office dating back to the Revolutionary War. Today, the bright and cheery house stands tall and proud beside elegant flagstone pathways and rows of box hedges and hydrangeas with finely manicured green lawns and gardens. Guest rooms, designed by Lowell and Tiffany Vassilakis in traditional Shaker-chic style, are exactly what you’d wish for if you had your own weekender to escape to–cozy and comfortable with working fireplaces, some with terraces overlooking the surrounding woods, and large bathrooms with freestanding soaking tubs. “I was trying to make it all very private and serene—a little cocoon up in the country, where you feel like you’ve left the city and are staying in a cozy home…where you can wrap yourself in this kind of nest,” says Lowell.

For those who can drag themselves out of the Frette sheets, there is a complimentary yoga class every morning. Breakfast is a sweet affair with freshly baked muffins from the Barn. Days can happily be spent just reading and relaxing in the Arcadian grounds, although there is plenty to do beyond the front gate in the Hudson Valley: antiquing, horseback riding, hiking, or even cross-country skiing at nearby Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. Don’t miss the complimentary wine and cheese happy hour from 4-5pm over weekends. You never know whom you’ll bump into. Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren are regulars, amongst other well-heeled locals who flee the city on weekends. You could just come here to eat. Chef Brian Lewis oversees the Barn and the Farmhouse Restaurant serving up home-style American cuisine with fresh, locally grown, seasonal organic produce of the highest quality. A fan of slow food cooking, Lewis turns out mouth-watering dishes such as soft farm egg ravioli with spinach, sheep’s milk ricotta, and rosemary crumbs. Say no more!

Being a bit of a visionary, Gere has big plans for this little Inn. “Richard really sees it as a sort of community gathering place, where people can come together and share ideas, change the world,” Lowell says. Stay tuned for a star-studded line-up of lecture programs, meditation workshops, concerts, and various other cultural activities that the couple is planning for the property. Could this be the new Mecca of social change?

Bedford Post Inn, 954 Old Post Rd. (Rte. 121), Bedford, New York; email: inn@bedfordpostinn.com or call 914 205 3773 for reservations. For Farmhouse Restaurant call 914 234 7800. Doubles from $436 p/night.