The Red Lion Inn dominates Main Street in Stockbridge, a large white clapboard structure with a long front porch lined with rocking chairs. Built in 1773 as a coaching inn, it has operated continuously ever since — something genuinely unusual in American hospitality. The lobby is a museum of accumulated country inn character: antique furniture, pattern-on-pattern fabrics, old prints, and a stuffed bear at the foot of the stairs.
Whether or not you stay, the inn is worth visiting for a meal or a drink. The main dining room serves traditional New England fare — chowder, roasted meats, baked goods made on the premises — and the Pink Kitty bar downstairs has more atmosphere than most places in the Berkshires. In summer, tables on the front porch are perfect for watching the village go about its business.