America's best country inns and hotels

Escape from the daily grind at these 8 hideaways and enjoy the silence

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updated 4:35 p.m. ET Sept. 10, 2008

Has your BlackBerry become your personal dictator? Feel like you're running so far behind that you can actually see yourself up ahead? The demands of modern life aren't likely to let up, but that doesn't mean you can't give yourself the gift of a luxuriously quiet weekend. The goal is to get far enough off the track that the main road is actually a back road; cell reception is spotty to nonexistent (or at least you can plausibly tell your boss that); and your room's prime amenity is a working fireplace. Let us introduce you to some of our favorite country retreats. Each has its own feel and character, and each gets high marks for being exactly what it intends to be, from a Victorian by the sea to a haven in the mountains. Whatever your druthers, we guarantee work will not find you here. Enjoy the sound of silence.

1. The Desert Hacienda

What: Galisteo Inn
Where: Galisteo, New Mexico

The pitch: The high desert landscape around the village of Galisteo, a village 25 miles south of Santa Fe, is quintessential Wild West, or at least enough that "All the Pretty Horses" was shot here. But there's nothing rough-and-tumble about the pastoral Galisteo Inn. Resting among giant cottonwood trees, it's a 300-year-old Spanish hacienda reincarnated as an enchanting 12-room inn. You'll love the clean adobe walls and historical touches like hand-carved missionary doors and a 500-year-old Catholic confessional in the lobby (it serves as a pay phone). Southwestern decor often veers into kitsch territory, but here it's decidedly stylish, the earthy browns complemented by vibrant shades of burnt orange, turquoise, and maize yellow. Gorgeous and secluded as the inn is, you'll want to get out of doors, whether horseback riding beneath the vast blue skies, hiking Glorietta Pass, or simply having a margarita on the patio.

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The details: This is the Southwest, so you won't escape the hanging cow skulls and lassos, nor the Navajo rugs and hand-woven baskets. But what seems silly elsewhere fits in perfectly with the desert setting, and three rooms have wood-burning fireplaces to keep out the winter chill. Four also have patios.

The killer app: Meals at La Mancha Restaurant & Bar, which can be either taken on the outdoor patio overlooking the pool and garden, or next to the dining room fireplace. Chef Enrique Guerrero dishes borrow liberally from Mexican, Spanish, French, and American flavors: His mac-and-cheese with orzo pasta, black truffles, seasonal mushrooms, and goat cheese is transcendental. — Jenn Anmuth

Galisteo Inn
Tel: 866 404 8200
E-mail: reservations@galisteoinn.com
Doubles from $105 per night, including breakfast

2. The Kitschy Crash Pad

What: Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel
Where: Woodstock, New York

The pitch: Okay, the town of Woodstock was not the site of the original concert. Even so, the name instantly evokes the '60s, and plenty of stores this town two hours north of New York City are happy to play off the association. But if you'd like to recapture the spirit of an earlier time—when the prevalent odor in the air was of apple pie rather than burning draft cards, say—this collection of '50s-era cabins at the edge of the Esopus Creek is for you. Co-owned by the B-52's frontwoman Kate Pierson, the cabins were done over in kitsch-tastic colors by designer William Stewart, who outfitted the eight rooms with vintage couches and coffee tables, "Ozzie and Harriet" kitchens, and checkered tile floors. Insert your own Love Shack joke here—but each cabin does feel like a slightly out-there home of your own. No. 8, for instance, is a duplex with a circular metal staircase, a private deck overlooking the river, and a full kitchen. If the rooms are booked, you can also park yourself in one of the Airstream trailers stationed in the meadow—each has a charcoal grill, air-conditioning, and a tiki-torch decor of its own.

The details: Slightly creepy ceramic gnomes perched around bookcases (handpicked by Kate), and a videotape collection in each room that veers toward campy C-horror flicks and musicals such as "Grease".

The killer app: The classic Catskills countryside that inspired Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and the landscape paintings of the Hudson River School. Enjoy quality outdoor time at Lazy Meadow itself: It sits on nine wooded acres—the perfect spot to build your own campfire, sit by the riverside, or put your feet into the water. — Jason Harper

Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel
Tel: 845 688 7200
E-mail: info@lazymeadow.com
Doubles from $155; Cabin No. 8 costs $255

3. The Seaside Victorian

What: Virginia Hotel
Where: Cape May, New Jersey

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The pitch: Staying at a Victorian inn by the ocean sounds blissful, with lovingly decorated bedrooms and afternoon cookies, maybe even a friendly ghost drifting around the parlor. But the reality is often a letdown, with musty furnishings that look like they were bought at Miss Havisham's yard sale, and an owner who gives you the hairy eyeball when you trail sand onto her lace runner. The Virginia Hotel is in a different class altogether. It's Victorian, sure enough, housed in a 1879 landmark building with neat gingerbread trim, painted shutters, and a porch that's begging for postbeach cocktails. What sets it apart from its neighbors in Cape May's historic district is the second half of the name: Expect hotellike perks such as room service and nightly turndown, valet parking, and a staff who'll gladly schlep your luggage upstairs or tote your cooler down to the ocean a half block away (chairs and beach towels are provided, too). The 24 rooms are done up in breezy white and sea foam, with whimsical nautical prints and furnishings—ask for one of the two rooms with private patios facing onto Jackson Street. As for Cape May itself (New Jersey?), it's on the southern tip of the Garden State, its leafy historic district attracting a low-key, sophisticated crowd markedly different from its boisterous boardwalked cousins.