Visiting mansion-blessed Newport, Rhode Island, can feel like an existential case of Gilded Age FOMO. Until now. Occupying a circa-1909 redbrick Georgian built by American aristocrat Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, the namesake hotel by Auberge Resorts Collection will convince you that you are to the manor born.
How does one not feel like a member of The Four Hundred when luxuriating in The Vanderbilt’s public spaces, sumptuously reimagined by Dallas-based SWOON, The Studio and revealed in late 2021? The sorcery was intentional.
“We created spaces that felt like rooms you would find in a historic manor,” says founder Samantha Sano. In the Grand Entry, cinematic twin emerald runners travel up a double stairway to 33 luxurious rooms and suites.
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Surrounded by the deep teal walls of the Library, the knockout portrait wall competes for absorption with a lively collection of objets, vintage and antique chairs, and books individually purchased by Sano and her partner, Joslyn Taylor. “We hope that the guests will flip through them while enjoying a snack or cocktail,” she says.
And when tucking away in what Sano describes as the “chalky ocher” refuge of the Parlor, with its monochromatic walls, armchairs, and canopied sofa, one can search the room’s mural for a secret door hiding a coral-hued cabinet of honor bar delights.
Sano says her out-of-town team made numerous trips to Newport, toured its mansions, scoured histories, and queried locals to conjure an updated Gilded Age sensibility that honors the adventurous life of the builder (Vanderbilt never actually lived here and died a hero in the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915). A second muse, Sano says, was a later owner of the building: the similarly sporting heiress Doris Duke.
“The design was all about subtle nods, rather than trying to faithfully recreate any aspect of the past,” Sano says. “We wanted nothing to feel staged or contrived. It was all about authenticity, soulfulness, and comfort.” And, for its lucky inhabitants, a dream fully gilded.
The Vanderbilt, Auberge Resorts Collection features four dining and drinking spaces, an outdoor and indoor pool, a spa, terraces and gardens, and a menu of distractions worthy of a socialite: tea leaf and tarot card readings, oyster outings, and private tours with famed local furniture designers and antique boat restorers.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of VERANDA. Written by Tracey Minkin.
