Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Hancock

Went for a Tea and Talk. Interesting historical topic and a fun, delightful tea afterward. Love these!

I am editing this review from my previously negative feedback. Originally, I felt that the staff I spoke to at Ventfort did not handle an emergency situation my fiancé and I were in with any compassion or courtesy. Ventfort has subsequently followed up and offered an accommodation that has made up for the previous experience. We appreciate the good faith effort very much.

Its neat to see the restoration in progress. Lots of behind the scenes info given by the guide. The mansion is handicap accessible with a lift to the second floor.

I loved it. Like stepping back in time.

Great knowledgeable staff. Showed the ins and outs of life at Ventfort. History and cool stories were plenty. Good for young and old! Definitely will be recommending to others.

Hidden gem. Beautiful gilded age home in restauration

Interesting house! It was left to rot but has been partially restored. Theyve done a good job but still have a ways to go. The third floor and the basement havent been worked on yet. No grounds to walk either, but definetly still worth a visit if you enjoy the gilded age

Love Ventfort Hall! GREAT TOUR! Please remind the mask mandate like most other places please. Great job with the renovation.

Our tour guide was great, very knowledgeable and passionate. The building itself is in the process of being restored gradually which is interesting in itself. Great space for group events. We had a wonderful high tea with tiny sandwiches.

Stunning home. Loved visiting. Amazing architecture, fascinating history, friendly and knowledgeable staff that welcomed questions. Loved it.

The amount of work that has been done to restore this historical building is incredible. The woman who sold me my ticket was sweet and charming, and you could tell she cared about the property. I am looking forward to seeing how it grows as the work continues and visiting again in the future.

Lovely estate. Wonderful mix of history, women a clothing and architecture. Great example of gilded age home in the Berkshires

Excellent!! Well informed docents. Rich experience in history.

Great place to visitThey did a beautiful job restoring it.👍

Get rid of the ridiculous mask mandate. If you want to wear one good for you….. I don’t and I won’t spend any money where it’s required

Absolutely amazing. Very calm and peaceful. Incredible that it was saved from demo and restored to this level. Will visit again!

Very nice restoration still a work in progress. Lots of history.

Cool place, still needs a lot of restoration work

What a historic place! This mansion is a must see!! And if you are having a private event/party look no further! It’s so epic your guests will be talking about it for years to come! It’s drop dead gorgeous and it’s like talking a step back in time! Check this place out asap. You will not be disappointed.

Great staff. Wonderful to see the restoration in process. Brings the gilded age to life.

Nice little mansion tour without having to travel far from the area. Plan to spend between 60 to 120 minutes. Do listen to the audio commentary by scanning QR codes at the entrance to each room.When we went, February 2022, only about half the rooms were renovated and open to the public. The larger rooms were renovated, the smaller ones were pending. Only the main and second floors were open.As with attractions in the area - I thought tickets were overpriced, particularly when compared to the significantly larger and better restored mansions in Newport, RI.

We had a lovely time learning a lot about the history and interesting stories of the architecture and artifacts from Molly. Look forward to coming back in the summertime!

Within walking distance from downtown Lenox, MA this is a great find. The ornate carvings and detail work is beautiful. And the work theyve done to dress up the place for the holiday is fun to see. There is a lot of information about the family, and the staff was super friendly. We just missed getting to see a reading of a Christmas carol by a relative of charles Dickens followed by tea. We will be back to see what else has been restored. Im particularly interested in the grounds and gardens once they get to that stage of the project. Very cool house.

I have visited many historic homes, especially those from the Gilded Age. Ventfort Hall was a bit of a disappointment.The good: the Halloween decorations are amazing and Ive heard the ghost tours are great. The history of the house and the various owners/renovations are very interesting. Restoration efforts are also an interesting part of the history.That being said, renovation is in very early stages. Most rooms are not open (you can only see 2 rooms on the upper floors, which are not decorated or furnished at all). The admission process are really high for what you get at the house. There are no grounds to walk on. The exterior of the house, while beautiful, is unkempt.I would advise visitors to the area to skip Ventfort until they can afford additional renovations and updates. I would suggest other local historic homes instead.

This place belong to Ms Morgan (the sister of JP Morgan)House is beautiful but not fully renovated yet.You can experience the life style of the era but take in mind not lots is original and not fully restored yet.They offer audio guide but it’s not great and a but expensive for the experience.

Beautiful example of gilded era home

Two floors of this mansion built by the sister of JP Morgan and her husband have been restored for tours. We had a great tour. Hats off to docent, Paula, whose style was more conversational and not like a lecture. It also houses a collection of personal effects from G. Foster, owner of another Gilded Age Mansion called Belfontaine.

Built in 1893 for the sister of J.P.Morgan, it has a lot of charm, interesting decor and many very fine details. I especially loved all woodwork in the mansion. The dining table was beautifully served and the athmospere felt mysterious! Highly recommend to visit!

Interesting old home with plenty of history that the tour guides and staff are happy to share with you. Its undergoing renovations after years of neglect so every visit counts when it comes to raising funds. Worth a stop off if youre in the area.

Very historically interesting but needs a lot of work, money and upkeep. Volunteers were lovely but half of the mansion wasn’t open and the grounds were rundown. Ashame

Absolutely stunning!!!! So glad to have gone & taken in all the ambiance that is this “castle”. The staff were so sweet, accommodating & very knowledgeable. I can’t recommend this place enough & please, please, PLEASE donate whatever you can for the restoration 🙏

This is such a cool place. It was nearly in ruins not long ago, but its been amazingly restored. The admission price is a little high, we were happy to pay and help support the work on this beautiful building.

Venfort Hall Mansion may be off the beaten path, but well worth the drive. Similar to the Breakers in Newport, RI, The gilded age mansion boasts beautifully carved solid wood paneling, stunning stained glass and a red brick exterior indicative of the Jacobean era in England. The staff were very friendly and nearly al of the first two stories are accessible for self guided tours. There is a public restroom in addition to paraplegic parking and an elevator from the first to the third floor. This is a must see for those that have watched The Cider House Rules.

Historic. Nostalgic. Vintage. Best three words that combine perfectly for places like this! So glad and grateful that the friends and society of Ventfort have saved and preserved this treasure. May they continue to fight off developers!

Absolutely stunning. You can imagine what it would be like to live in that era while walking through. I cant wait to visit again, hopefully when the other renovations are completed. Please donate so we can all see that happen

If you like “Monopoly” game growing up, the guy was copied from J.P. Morgan. This is 1 of their family summer house. Massachusetts was significant in that Monopoly game.Fun Fact: The Cider House Rules (1999was filmed here. 🎞

Recently attended a talk on the Ice Famine of 1919 presented by Dennis Picard. Informative talk that included the history and tools of ice harvesting. In 1919 no ice formed on area lakes, ponds, and rivers directly impacting urban areas economies.The talk was followed by an excellent Victorian Tea complete with little sandwiches, breads and cakes. Thanks to everyone for a fun and informative afternoon.

The Mansion is absolutely beautiful. The rooms are well decorated and its fun to read the history panels on the walls. Id never been in a mansion before and Im glad I went. Everything is so fancy. And its volunteer run so the work that goes into it is that much more impressive. The place is obviously shown a lot of love.The only issue I had was that the food at the event wasnt great and was in small portions. But I guess that speaks to catering.Overall a delightful experience.

The building needs a little love, but it is very old (built in 1891), so that is kindof to be expected. We had our wedding on the veranda and it was absolutely beautiful. Thanks very much to those who made our special day so perfect!

We took a vacation detour to see this historic house museum and were not disappointed. Our tour guide was friendly and enthusiastic. She had a solid knowledge base of interesting facts about the house, family and local district. It was pleasing to see a house being renovated and not locked out of room not completely staged. The renovation process was extremely interesting in this house.

Used a Museum Pass from Bethlehem Public Library. Nice trip from Albany area. Lovely town.Everyone at the museum was knowledgeable and very friendly. The museum is a work in progress. They were going to be doing a Ghost tour this evening sounded facinating.Really glad we visited this museum enjoyed it!

Very interesting place. So glad we stopped. Great tour!

My bus came here, with a total of 48 of us, and we had the most wonderful experience! We had an amazing tour followed by a private lunch on the porch, dining room, and hallway. The tour was interesting, well informed, and beautiful as well as the mansion, or cottage. The lunch was some of the best food we have had so far on our trip. It was beautifully presented with flowers on the plate with sandwiches, cookies, strawberries, and a slice of chocolate cake. I cant say how amazing this place is, you just need to go yourself!

My wife and I love touring these old guilded age mansions. Thus one had fallen into severe disrepair and is still being restored. Nice tour with a very knowledgeable guide.

Always love visiting this historic building, seeing the evolution of the renovation is a treat!

As everyone else has noted, the home is in early stages of restoration. I hope to return in 5 or 10 years to see it again. Our guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. In fact all of the staff and volunteers we encountered were great. BTW Our group arrived shortly after an episode of "Real Housewives" had just finished filming. Interesting!

A must see. In the process of being restored. What beautiful craftsmanship! The tour guides were fantastic. You can tell they truly love what they are doing. It is very interesting to see and hear how the truly 1% ers lived back in the day.

Nice place to visit! Love the grounds. The second floor was in remodeling so I could see it. There is a strong presence near the piano. Like someone is there but nothing that the eye can see. I am pretty sure that everyone that loves mansions and architecture will love this place. I fall in love with the mansion.

Incredible recovery story... While there is still much work to do, you can get a good sense of what it must have been like in its heyday. Beautiful woodworking!

In fairness, I believe that this small mansion from the gilded age is still undergoing renovation. nonetheless, it is a dark, rather gloomy structure with some historic interest which the docent does a good job explaining. But it is sparsely furnished, with just a few rooms. And, the main downstairs rooms were filled with tables and chairs for an private evening event. This really killed any ambiance and made it difficult to view the few displays. Even without the public event setup, this was not worth the $18pp fee. But, the grounds are lovely and can be visited for free. The Edith Wharton house, The Mount, is worth every penny of the same entrance fee.