Friday, February 8, 2013

It was no Grimm Fairytale

Well, well ,well, since my absence, I have been around and not in the way your thinking! After my two business trips, the Lad and I decided to take a mid-winter's excursion and splurge on a four day weekend of fun. Since I was already on Long Island we decided to go to Oheka Castle, and it couldn't have been more perfect as I was wiped out from all the working. I do believe after staying here, I could easily be Madeline living in the Plaza Hotel. Such decadence and service! And it was far from a Grimm fairytale, no sign of the Brother's Grimm either! Each guestroom has been uniquely decorated with many enjoying views of the 23-acre private estate. All the beautifully appointed guestrooms and suites at Oheka are fitted with ultra-comfortable king size mattresses and draped with Frette 100% Italian Egyptian cotton linen so you can sleep like royalty, which as you guessed , I slept like a queen, most of the time! You'll also find luxurious baths and exceptional service. During our stay, we indulged in a white glove fine dining experience to the room one night.....


....... and also pampered ourselves with an in-room, what they call a togetherness massage.


Almost a century ago, financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn built OHEKA CASTLE in the middle of a 443 acre plot on the highest point on Long Island in Cold Spring Harbor, for an estimated cost of $11 million dollars. At the time of its construction, the French-style chateau was, and still is today, the second-largest private residence ever built in America. During the Gilded Age of the 1920’s, my favorite period. Kahn used the 109,000 square foot, 127 room estate as a summer home.... where he hosted lavish parties and regularly entertained royalty, heads of state, and Hollywood stars.

After Otto Kahn died in 1934, the estate changed hands several times, serving as a retreat for New York sanitation workers of all things, and a government training school for Merchant Marine radio operators. In 1948, the Eastern Military Academy bought OHEKA, bulldozed the gardens, subdivided the rooms and painted over the walls. After the school went bankrupt 30 years later, Oheka stood abandoned, except by vandals who set numerous fires over 5 years.


In 1984, developer Gary Melius purchased Oheka and the remaining 23 acres which surrounded the estate and began the painstaking challenge of restoring the Castle to its original grandeur. Today, Oheka is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is admired as a premier venue to host society weddings and gala celebrations. Oheka is also an historic hotel with 32 luxury guestrooms and suites on the upper floors of the estate and has been the backdrop to many famous music, television, film and photo productions since the making of the classic film, "Citizen Kane", to the present day TV series, "Royal Pains". Mansion Tours of the estate and gardens offer guests the unique opportunity to learn about Oheka rich history and experience the grandeur of this magnificent estate. I already want to plan a trip back when it get warmer as the castle offers a Gold Coast Mansions Tour, which situated on the North Shore of Long Island are America's Gold Coast Mansions. These grand estates offer the experience to journey back to a world of opulence and elegance and unique architectural style which defined the extravagance of the Gilded Age to the Roaring Twenties, personified in the classic novel, The Great Gatsby.
 
 What do you say, are you in? Now back to this hibernation thing.


The stylishly handsome Citroen we saw while out for the day. Now you see why I want one??

34 comments:

  1. thanks for the tour! enjoyed that :-)

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  2. Maddie... It looks divine... What a great choice for a long weekend breakaway... And it has such a chequered history... I can just see the place full of flappers...

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    1. lol, palce full of flappers...that what we call the Mistress's goods!

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    2. Prinny, you have no idea how drafty those flappers are till your in a place like this.

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  3. The Great Gatsby immediately leapt into my mind too! It sounds like a WONDERFUL place for a nice decadent little getaway.

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  4. Welcome back and I can see now why you were gone for so long! How fabulously luxurious, Mistress! So glad you emjoyed it. Enjoy!!!

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  5. Soon as I finish tomorrow , William and I will be packing and be on my way to where you were!!!!:) OMG, talk about spoiling, you were so spoiled by the looks of it. I swear, I would think I had died and gone to heaven. I can't believe we are headed there, that is if we are able to leave with all this snow. What a beautiful place to call HOME away from home. And thanks for the preview!

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    1. Have a wonderful time Agnes! If you still smell Windsong, that was probably the room I was in!

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  6. WOW! What a cool get a way! "and also pampered ourselves with an in-room, what they call a togetherness massage?" Funny I didn't know this type place did happy endings!?! Cool history.

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    1. you should know anywhere I am is a happy ending.

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  7. Gorgeous room! And Im enjoying that bathroom. The whole place is stunning, a perfect place for a long weekend.

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  8. WHAT?!?!?!? YOU ARE STAYING IN ALL OF THIS LUXURY and didnt call me!??! oh, lucky you. i am a little jealous! wow! WOW. You and the Lad must have had a blast jumping on that bed!

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  9. what an amazing place! i will have to go there some time to see things up close. The architecture looks stunning. And Im fond of hotels. Love that the place has some intresting history.

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  10. oh boy, you are SO lucky! I would like to stay in place like this. please keep the photos coming, they're great! dōmo arigatō!

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  11. oooooh, beautiful! sounds like your trip went very well...love that you are taking us with you:) I can just imagine the Mistress's wardrobe here. Or was it lack of? Some times a stay in room visit is very enjoyable.

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    1. I have a feeling the Mistress gets her monies worth.

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  12. One can never go wrong with the Oheka Castle! And I do believe you what I do - Bathroom screen check first and then all else falls into place!

    Happy snacking and pillow fighting I'm betting you enjoyed?

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  13. Anonymous2/09/2013

    I love the place but 127 rooms? A small town could live in this home!

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    1. or at this point all my houseboys! It was quite stunning

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  14. I see you've been slumming again.

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    1. well the Infomanaic Manor was next on my list dear.

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  15. I cease to be amazed at the idea that someone would take a castle and turn it into some sort of school, or retreat for garbage men, or bulldoze it, or, good lordy lord, lord, piant it!
    What a gorgeous place.

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    1. Can you even believe that? Thank God it's in good hands now. You two would have loved it.

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  16. What a gorgeous hotel. Looks like heaven. They'd have to cart me out of there. And welcome back Mistress.

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  17. Amazing!!! Luxury hotels are the best and I love it when the maids turn your bed down and leave candy :)

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  18. Luxurious, beautiful, fabulously, glorious, fantastic..but enough about the Citroen! I want to go next time,ok?

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  19. Oh, what a queen! When you woke up in the mornings there, in a gorgeous room, I was busy sorting out my household refuse by 8:30am. It was a garbage collection day. This is so called " difference between Heaven and Hell"! Right?

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  20. Oh this looks dreamy!!!!!!! hope you enjoyed it!

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  21. I've never even been in a hotel room that nice, did the bed vibrate?

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    1. The Mistress doesn't require quarters, well, from what I hear.

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  22. Fabulous, gorgeous, cool, whatelse----I'm poor in vocabularies. I'm sure you had a delicious time!

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  23. Oh my goodness darling! Such a fantastic place to be! I was wondering what you were up too all that time, never saw this coming. Love the staircase!

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  24. Anonymous2/10/2013

    Such Incomparable Taste! When will you be marketing these tours???

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!