Looking for a Little Luxury? Well, Here It Is

Don’t ask Maureen Jones why she and her husband, Cliff, decided to open the Rooster Tail Inn and Restaurant in the middle of nowhere — Warren, that is.

   With blazing blue eyes, she’ll tell you, “that’s where you’re wrong. Warren is in the center of everything in its part of Litchfield County.â€�

   And, of course, she’s right: Despite the quiet, rural character of what is essentially a hamlet, Warren is close enough to the galleries and shops of Kent, the waterfall and shopping of New Preston, and the storied charms of Litchfield and Washington to offer outings to inn guests and to draw customers to the restaurant.  And Warren has its own attractive antiques stores, too.

   The Joneses built houses for well-to-do customers for 30 years, and from that experience Maureen  knew where in New York City to find the furnishings and fixtures she wanted.  When an unused parsonage came on the market in Warren, the Jones snapped up the existing structure — one part from 1772, the other from 1895 — gutted it and rebuilt, adding a kitchen and guest rooms (there are now six), a sauna and spa with fully equipped exercise facilities, and an enlarged, modernized barn for themselves.  Wherever possible, original beams and posts remain, peeking out of new wallboard.

   Clearly, Maureen — the creative force behind the establishment that Cliff, a contractor, built — didn’t want a quaint country inn.  Her Rooster Tail is about comfortable,  luxurious rooms, spectacular tiled and marbled baths, high-end perfectly laundered linens covering custom king-size  mattresses.  Public areas — sitting room, woody bar and bright dining room with an entire wall of windows overlooking the hills — are welcoming, like pages from a higher-end West Elm catalog:  lots of browns, soft greens, rusts, the occasional Oriental rug, antiques and reproductions thrown in here and there.

   Each room or suite is unique in color scheme and style; each bathroom tiled and marbled differently.  But all have custom head- and foot- boards, Neorest toilets with heated seats, rain and hand-held shower heads.  Accessories are carefully chosen by either Maureen or friends.  (One room boasts two beautiful yellow silk pillows with embroidered roosters, gifts of Richard Lambertson, who owns the Privet shop across the road.)

   None of this comes cheaply.  Rates range from $275 per night for the first floor room to $450 for the largest suite with its own outside entrance.  Most are $325-375, but special packages are available — winter holidays, Valentine’s weekend, spring break.

   And, according to Maureen, the Joneses’ effort is paying off.  Since opening “very softlyâ€� last spring, they have built a steady inn business. A couple from Seattle with relatives in the county have stayed four times; a couple from England spent their honeymoon at the Inn. (The husband is paraplegic, and the Joneses arranged outings — with driver — that he could enjoy.)

   The restaurant is doing well, too. Maureen plans the menus (they change weekly) and cooks the first night of new selections to make sure her staff knows what she expects the rest of the week.  Menus feature “tavern platesâ€� at $14 and slightly more substantial  “dinner platesâ€� at $17.  Bar snacks are homemade, delicious and free.  And Sunday brunch has been a runaway success with frequent waits for tables.  

   Maureen is clearly proud of what she and Cliff have made, and if she drops customer names like a rock slide — a Kissinger here, a Joan Rivers there — she does so with apparent humility. This is a place bucking the downturn. The couple is working hard but enjoying every minute of it.

The Rooster Tail is at 11 Cornwall Road in Warren. 860-868-3100.

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