©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Maureen Werther
When the owners of Studio Tack, a Brooklyn-based design and development group, first encountered the old motor lodge on Gridley Street near Saratoga Race Course, it was not the type of structure people would want visitors to ponder when thinking of the Racing City.
Run down and in need of repair, the Brentwood Hotel at 15 Gridley St. presented an opportunity for the Studio Tack team to develop a boutique property that captures the history of Saratoga Springs.
Studio Tack has transformed properties as nearby as Scribner’s Catskill Lodge in Hunter, N.Y., and as far away as Barcelona, Spain. The company takes cues from the culture and heritage of the property’s surroundings and incorporates them into cosmopolitan and contemporary spaces.
“We were all captivated by the property’s location and relationship to the historic race course,” said Leigh Salem, one of the owners of Brentwood Hotel. “During track season, you wake up to horses walking down Gridley Street to the training grounds. There is something incredibly romantic to be surrounded by the stables and the long traditions of the sport. In the off season, we find the location equally charming. A place of respite away from Broadway where you can sit outside and enjoy some quiet.”
“We fell in love with the idea of creating a small, intimate, and carefully appointed property,” he added.
The owners worked with Nolan Engineering PLL in Burnt Hills for the design. The general contractor was Select Choice Contracting from Mechanicville. Landscaping was done by New Dimensions in Saratoga Springs. The beds were custom-designed and crafted by Dave Cummings of Bolton Landing.
Room rates range from $100 mid-week to the $300s during track season.
The Brentwood owners are excited about the upcoming track season. The property received positive attention from the New York Times Style Magazine and the owners are confident they will have no trouble filling vacancies during the summer season and beyond.
They are also promoting the hotel during the months the track is closed as a serene alternative to the busier downtown Saratoga scene, with all the amenities of a high-end hotel.
The Brentwood can be reached at 450-7861. Its website is brentwood-hotel.com.