For over 75 years, The Spa at Norwich Inn, located in eastern Connecticut, approximately halfway between New York and Boston, has been a destination for discerning guests seeking luxury, comfort and tranquility in the Connecticut woods. The Norwich Inn was built in 1929 and opened in 1930, financed by local stock subscriptions. It was managed by the Treadway Organization, whose other New England properties included the Lord Jeffrey Inn in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Middlebury Inn in Middlebury, Vermont, and Ye Dorsett Inn of Dorsett, Vermont. The classic, red brick, Georgian Colonial revival structure, with its handsome front portico, door and fanlight, included 75 guestrooms. The inn, and its adjacent golf course, soon became a haven for the rich and famous, drawing such personalities as George Bernard Shaw, Charles Laughton, Frank Sinatra and the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). The inn changed hands several times in the years before and after World War II, and the property started a gradual decline. The golf course was sold to the City of Norwich in the mid-1970s to help pay the inn’s tax bill. Then the Inn itself fell on hard times and was then operated by the City of Norwich. The fortunes of the property hit bottom when the city operated it as a boardinghouse and also converted part of the basement into a “holding tank” for any overflow of prisoners in the custody of the Norwich Police Department. Finally, there was good news. In 1983, the Edward J. Safdie Group of New York recognized the diamond in the rough and purchased the property. The group’s goal was to create a world-class spa, modeled after the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa that Safdie owned in California. Mr. Safdie commissioned a complete renovation of the inn, including all guestrooms and public spaces, and built a freestanding Spa building, which opened in 1986. He also developed 160 condominium villas on the 42-acre property. Safdie created a style for The Norwich Inn and Spa that was the epitome of glamour and beauty. The property soon attracted a new generation of celebrities, including Barbara Streisand, Joan Rivers, Michael Douglas, and a bevy of supermodels such as Cheryl Tiegs, Elle Macpherson and Rachel Hunter. In October 1994, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation became the owner of the Norwich Inn and Spa. The tribe completed a $15 million renovation in 2000 which doubled the size of the Spa, making it at the time the largest spa on the East Coast, and included the redecoration of the property’s 100 guest rooms, including rooms in the inn and in the adjacent villas. Today, The Spa at Norwich Inn – the name was changed in 2000 -- is an intimate retreat and home to an elegant, world-class spa offering a blend of fitness programs, nutritional instruction and beauty and body treatments designed to restore and rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit. Guests may choose from a range of program packages or select from an a la carte menu of services and amenities. At the beginning of the 21st Century, The Spa welcomes yet another set of celebrities – from Hilary Swank to Chris Rock to Barbara Walters,who come to be pampered, soothed, relaxed and renewed in the privacy and peace of the Connecticut woods. For over 75 years, The Spa at Norwich Inn, located in eastern Connecticut, approximately halfway between New York and Boston, has been a destination for discerning guests seeking luxury, comfort and tranquility in the Connecticut woods. The Norwich Inn was built in 1929 and opened in 1930, financed by local stock subscriptions. It was managed by the Treadway Organization, whose other New England properties included the Lord Jeffrey Inn in Amherst, Massachusetts, the Middlebury Inn in Middlebury, Vermont, and Ye Dorsett Inn of Dorsett, Vermont. The classic, red brick, Georgian Colonial revival structure, with its handsome front portico, door and fanlight, included 75 guestrooms. The inn, and its adjacent golf course, soon became a haven for the rich and famous, drawing such personalities as George Bernard Shaw, Charles Laughton, Frank Sinatra and the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). The inn changed hands several times in the years before and after World War II, and the property started a gradual decline. The golf course was sold to the City of Norwich in the mid-1970s to help pay the inn’s tax bill. Then the Inn itself fell on hard times and was then operated by the City of Norwich. The fortunes of the property hit bottom when the city operated it as a boardinghouse and also converted part of the basement into a “holding tank” for any overflow of prisoners in the custody of the Norwich Police Department. Finally, there was good news. In 1983, the Edward J. Safdie Group of New York recognized the diamond in the rough and purchased the property. The group’s goal was to create a world-class spa, modeled after the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa that Safdie owned in California. Mr. Safdie commissioned a complete renovation of the inn, including all guestrooms and public spaces, and built a freestanding Spa building, which opened in 1986. He also developed 160 condominium villas on the 42-acre property. Safdie created a style for The Norwich Inn and Spa that was the epitome of glamour and beauty. The property soon attracted a new generation of celebrities, including Barbara Streisand, Joan Rivers, Michael Douglas, and a bevy of supermodels such as Cheryl Tiegs, Elle Macpherson and Rachel Hunter. In October 1994, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation became the owner of the Norwich Inn and Spa. The tribe completed a $15 million renovation in 2000 which doubled the size of the Spa, making it at the time the largest spa on the East Coast, and included the redecoration of the property’s 100 guest rooms, including rooms in the inn and in the adjacent villas. Today, The Spa at Norwich Inn – the name was changed in 2000 -- is an intimate retreat and home to an elegant, world-class spa offering a blend of fitness programs, nutritional instruction and beauty and body treatments designed to restore and rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit. Guests may choose from a range of program packages or select from an a la carte menu of services and amenities. At the beginning of the 21st Century, The Spa welcomes yet another set of celebrities – from Hilary Swank to Chris Rock to Barbara Walters,who come to be pampered, soothed, relaxed and renewed in the privacy and peace of the Connecticut woods. 10/08