The Tamesis
My room was in the Pearl Street building, built in 1170 and once home to philanthropist and author Mary Isabella Forsyth (she wrote the first book on the town’s history, The Origin of New York, the First State House in Kingston). The library-style room is outfitted with dozens of books (I picked up a poetry book to read while dining out at French bistro Le Canard) and a real fireplace. The other two Kingsley locations, 270 Fair Street and 24 John Street, are a former Singer sewing machine repair shop and the 18th-century home of Kingston Village Chairman Henry J. Sleight, who met George Washington.
No matter which building your room is in, you’ll find Easter eggs from its past life, such as preserved tin ceilings, custom rugs, or the original limestone mantle of a formal Georgian design from the 1680s. This is also hinted at in each building’s custom-made hallway carpets: chessboard on Wall Street, lightning on Pearl Street, foliage on Fair Street and scallops that mimic the Georgian architecture of John Street. Some of them also feature communal spaces, such as a beautiful mid-century study or carriage house, perfect for the bridal party to hang out before the wedding.
Photo: Harrison Lubin
More contemporary touches—dark wood furniture, farmhouse sinks, Frette linens and bathrobes, heated bathroom floors and saturated oriental rugs—are a mix of vintage and custom pieces that we source or have made locally. Gorgeous hand-painted watercolors are found in surprising ways throughout the hotel, such as lampshades in the dining room and larger-than-life murals inspired by life in the Hudson Valley, painted by Happy Menocal.
Photo: Harrison Lubin
