NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -
Back in the days when the American plutocracy could afford a separate estate -- or two -- for each season, the quiet Berkshires village of Lenox enjoyed a certain notoriety.
The lions of the Gilded Age called the homes they built here cottages, but they were being modest, if not delusional. These were castles. The extremely rich are long gone, but a handful of the old places have been converted into luxury hotels for the merely well-off. Two of them cut their rates by up to a third in the winter.
In 1892, John Sloane announced his arrival to the equestrian class by building a Tudor-style cottage on 380 acres named Wyndhurst. He asked Frederick Law Olmstead to design the grounds.
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 A sophisticated and relaxing vacation awaits you in Lenox. You can pamper yourself at one of the spas or go cross-country skiing.
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Today it's the seat of the Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Course, the spa being a $9 million facility that opened in 2002. A night in the mansion starts at $385 in winter, but all resort guests can lounge amid marble, oak and leather in the Great Hall Lobby (doubles from $165; 800-272-6935; www.cranwell.com).
The spa's the thing at Canyon Ranch, which occupies Bellefontaine, built in 1897 to resemble the Petite Trianon at Versailles. Lodgings are in a newer building; the mansion is dedicated to public rooms and wellness services. Guests are obliged to stay at least three nights (from $1,520, including meals and some treatments; 800-742-9000; www.canyonranch.com).
Winter world
You can ski downhill at Jiminy Peak, Ski Butternut and Catamount, or cross-country at Cranwell. Or check out several world-class museums.
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MASS MoCA gets the buzz with oversize installations of contemporary art in a reclaimed 19th-century North Adams mill, but Williamstown boasts two sleeping beauties: the Clark Art Institute, with astounding French Impressionist paintings, and the Williams College Museum of Art, rich in American and South Asian art.
The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, the artist's hometown, holds the world's largest collection of his work.
Robber-baron redux
Elm Court, built by William Sloane and Emily Vanderbilt Sloane, has just reopened as a B&B -- operated by the Sloanes' great-great-grandson and his wife. Robert and Sonya Berle spent three years restoring 32,000 square feet of the mansion; they have another 38,000 to go. The four rooms range from $650 to $1,250, but it may be the closest you'll come to being a guest of the Vanderbilts (413-637-1556).
Packages: Cranwell offers both ski and spa packages at modest discounts off the winter rates.
Inns: A few other Lenox cottages have been resurrected more modestly. The Kemble Inn Bed and Breakfast offers lodging from $110 to $230 in Frelinghuysen, one of the oldest cottages, built by Chester A. Arthur's Secretary of State in 1881 (800-353-4113; www.kembleinn.com).
Harley Procter's (of Procter & Gamble) Orleton is now the Gateways Inn (413-637-2532; gatewaysinn.com); its 11 rooms range from $100 to $330 in the winter. A night in an antiques-filled room of the Manor House at Seven Hills Country Inn and Restaurant, formerly Shipton Court, costs $100 to $250 (800-869-6518; sevenhillsinn.com).
For more: Contact the Berkshires Visitors Bureau (800-237-5747; www.berkshires.org).
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