"Troutbeck didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to style itself a creative retreat — it’s been walking the walk for well over a century, having welcomed Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, and many others along the way. And while this estate, in Amenia, two hours from Manhattan, has seen some changes over the years — the Century Lodge dates back to 1760, while the current Manor House was re-built in 1919 — it’s perhaps most remarkable for its continuity."