Luxurious Western MA Estate with Pool, Chef's Kitchen, Views

Berkshire County in western Massachusetts is no stranger to some pretty spectacular real estate. From historical homes to modern mountain retreats, The Berkshires has a property for every taste.

With proximity to New York City and Boston and a market that boasts far more square footage and significantly less expensive homes, there are always hot properties in The Berkshires.

Take this unique almost 10,000-square-foot home nestled in the hills of Alford, a tiny Berkshire County town. Listed by Stone House Properties, LLC this Cotswold-inspired home is a work of art that combines classic English style with modern amenities, in a magical setting. For just under $10 million (9.75 million to be exact) the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom single-family residence can be yours to live the Berkshire dream.

The property's guest house is a stone-clad English cottage flooded with natural light that greets you at the entrance. The secondary dwelling has a kitchen with a wood-burning fireplace, a room with an additional fireplace, and two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, there is plenty of room for guests to stay in comfort.

Further up the driveway is the main house an exquisite and thoughtfully designed handcrafted Tudor home with far-reaching views of the Berkshire Hills.

Past stone walls and English gardens, a fireplace welcomes folks at the front door as you head into a large professional chef kitchen and breakfast nook, which is truly the heart of the home. A stone terrace runs the length of the home creating seamless indoor/outdoor living.

The primary suite has vaulted ceilings, a sitting area with a fireplace, a dressing room, and spa-inspired bathroom with a soaking tub. Three additional en-suite bedrooms, as well as a viewing deck looking to the west, complete the second floor of the main house. The fifth bedroom, over the garage, is an in-law suite complete with a sitting area, dining area, and a kitchenette.

The lower level contains a family room which is the perfect space for additional entertaining with family and friends. The cozy yet spacious room has high ceilings, a bar, a pool table and a music nook.

Outliving is on full display at the property's Gunite infinity pool and pool house with spa and outdoor wood-burning fireplace. Across the property sits a quintessential red barn, right next door a few feet away from a raised bed garden, perfect for the casual or avid gardener. The estate's almost 72 acres back up to protected lands with trail systems available for hiking and wandering right outside the back door.

LOOK: Here are the best lake towns to live in

Many of the included towns jump out at the casual observer as popular summer-rental spots--the Ozarks' Branson, Missouri, or Arizona's Lake Havasu--it might surprise you to dive deeper into some quality-of-life offerings beyond the beach and vacation homes. You'll likely pick up some knowledge from a wide range of Americana: one of the last remaining 1950s-style drive-ins in the Midwest; a Florida town that started as a Civil War veteran retirement area; an island boasting some of the country's top public schools and wealth-earners right in the middle of a lake between Seattle and Bellevue; and even a California town containing much more than Johnny Cash's prison blues.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.