Staff
Claire took over the hotel in April 2024, realizing a lifelong dream.
For three summers in college, Claire worked at the concierge desk of the Chatham Bars Inn in Cape Cod and fell in love with the industry. She loved the hours sitting at her desk in its glamorous old lobby, helping guests experience the best of the area. She later interned at Rosewood and then, after business school, managed hotels from the corporate side for Starwood. After three years there, she decided she understood enough to strike out on her own, and is excited to now be in a position to run it end-to-end: build the business, craft the guest experience, and introduce you to town. Read her letter.
She lives on the property with her husband, Toph, who works remotely for a different job but does some social media for the hotel and is making this website right now.
Christian is the Hotel Manager. He followed us out here from the Boston area to escape the office desk job life and try something different, and judging from some of the stuff we’ve got him doing (climbing ladders to update security cameras or cleaning up bird poop), we bet we have achieved “different”. His mom is in Toph’s mom’s book group and has always worked at bookstores, which is how she met Christian’s dad. Christian is currently reading:
- The Year of the Locust, by Terry Hayes
- Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar
- Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy, by Isadore Sharp
You’re also likely to meet Christian’s German shepherd Max, who is not yet trained to use the point-of-sale systems but is otherwise a startlingly good listener. Max will be very grateful if you kick a ball down the hill for him to fetch, and then he will gently toss the ball at your feet and wait, and so on ad infinitum.
Abby (front desk and private events) grew up like a mile from here; she went to Lenox High and UMass Amherst, where she played soccer. We think maybe she likes Disney movies but we’re not sure. Her brother goes by “Toph” but weirdly she didn’t even tell our Toph for like two months.
Hagai (chef) and Adi (Baladi mastermind) moved here from Israel a couple years ago. Hagai’s been doing dinner in the Ostrich Room since the start of the summer, and now Adi is coming aboard for our new brunch restaurant, Baladi. Hagai once bought a didgeridoo in Australia and lugged it all over the world and has learned to play a little bit.
Sean (bar manager) really knows a lot about cocktails. His favorite is a Vesper martini. Also he and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter.
Giovanna (bartender) studied linguistics and teaches literacy to kids in North Adams; ask her about phonemes and stuff. Or Aquinas. Or her dogs. Or how much she loves the cows at High Lawn. Or the Death & Co. cocktail book.
Nic (bartender), also born and raised somewhere around here, is an interior designer by day. Ask him about boating around the lake, his parents’ professional ski careers, or navigating the Tanglewood ticket counter.
Peter (bartender) looks a lot like Luke Wilson. He was a camp counselor for 14 summers at Camp Timanous and has a Master’s in elementary education.
Magdalen (server) also works at the Springfield zoo where she takes care of emus, wallabees, and porcupines. “No ostriches, I’d die. Emus are already scary and ostriches are bigger. Emus have murder in their eyes.”
Luke (server) is all bundled up for the cold in his nice hat!