FLORIDA, Mass. — The Blue Vista Motor Lodge is still bringing hospitality to the town of Florida — even 100 years, many owners, names, and renovations later.

 

"When we were working on renovation plans, we found a postcard online from 1923 from the Whitcomb Summit Motor Lodge so that's kind of exciting that for over 100 years, people have been coming here and I think you can see why," owner Stella Downie said.

 

It all started with a small shack on Whitcomb Summit offering souvenirs and drinks that opened up with the highway in 1914. With growing popularity along the scenic byway, small cottages were built for motorists to stay on the Mohawk Trail's highest point.  

Unfortunately, in 1938, the store and a restaurant burned and the cottages started to get run down. In the 1960s, the cottages were replaced with the current building, named Whitcomb Summit Lodge. 

 

There were attempts to rejuvenate the summit for tourism over the preceding decades that fell by the wayside — from campgrounds and timeshares to fine dining and condominiums.

 

Downie purchased the building in December 2021, renovated the lodge in 2022 with a soft opening that fall, and officially opened in early 2023.

 

"We really wanted to clean it up and make it a beautiful place again for people to come and visit and really highlight the views," she said.

 

When Downie took over the property, she said it needed fixes and moving around. She took down all of the bordering dilapidated buildings that had long been abandoned, including the shuttered restaurant, to enhance the grounds. 

 

Downie also had a goal to emphasize the view by moving the parking to the side of the building so that cars weren't what guests saw when looking outside their room. She also redid all of the 17 rooms.

 

Another amenity added were two hot tubs and a sauna, where you can enjoy a view of the mountains as well.

 

Downie says that she is always looking at feedback and says customers have been liking what's been done for guests enjoy their stay.

 

"People have been responding really well to what it is that we are doing," she said. "It's always a happy moment for me when guests kind of pare it back to what we were trying to provide."

 

The motel has been growing in patrons, with the number of guest stays this past winter surpassing last year. 

 

"This winter was great that more and more skiers that want to visit Berkshire East [in Charlemont] are finding us," she said.

 

She said it helps that people are starting to notice the availability of the motel, especially now that it is open year round when the previous owners were only open seasonally.

 

Downie has owned a couple businesses before buying the lodge in the Berkshires, including a toy store in Cambridge and trampoline parks in the Boston area. After selling her last business, she wanted to do something new.

 

"I was thinking about what I would like to do next and coming out of the pandemic, I really wanted to be closer to nature and maybe have the opportunity to spend more time out of the city," she said. "This opportunity presented itself and it just seemed like a really good fit for me because I do like a project and I like to be able to envision how something could be. 

 

"It was obvious that this could be a really special place if you just took care of some of the infrastructure problems that were there."

 

Downie has even more plans for the future, including rebuilding the restaurant that sat below the motel. 

 

"I would love to restore some of the other features that were on the property in the past, I would very much like to have an event space because I think it would be a beautiful place to host meetings or dinners or events," she said.

 

The lodge is located on 19 acres and has 17 rooms at 229 Mohawk Trail. Contact the lodge at 413-664-0007 or hello@bluevistamotorlodge.com.

 

Downie encourages people to book directly on the website rather than through a third party.