Diamonds are a guest's best friend

Falling Rock at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

FARMINGTON, Pa. -- What constitutes Five Diamond luxury?

As I raised the flute of champagne to my lips and contemplated the placid view from my hotel room veranda of the green carpet of golf fairway with the expansive Laurel Highlands beyond, it was a natural question to consider.

		Falling Rock Information: 1-800-422-2736 or www.falling-rock.com.

According to Webster, "luxury" is "A material object, service, etc. conducive to physical comfort or sumptuous living, not usually a necessity of life."

That makes sense as a general description, but it also makes precise measurement more elusive, because like beauty, luxury is in the eye of the beholder. Isn't it true that one person's sumptuous living is another's necessity?

Refilling the flute, I nibbled a canape from the beautiful platter on the table by my side. After some minutes lost in this line of logic, I decided to take a nap before dinner. I stretched out on an enveloping bed and closed my eyes. It was like floating on a cloud.

There should be no questions about either the vision or determination of Joe Hardy or his daughter, Maggie Hardy Magerko.

Since 1987, when Mr. Hardy purchased the former 400-acre Rockwell hunting reserve along Route 40 in the Laurel Highlands, 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, the founder of 84 Lumber has steadily expanded both the property and the facilities of the resort he founded.

Over two decades, he and Mrs. Magerko, who took over management of the lumber company in 1992 and Nemacolin in 2002, have created a remarkable 2,800-acre leisure Eden that now includes three upscale hotels, 14 restaurants, a destination spa, 36 holes of top golf and a host of other activities and amenities from skiing and dogsledding in the winter to horse riding, polo, archery, shooting, fishing and off-road driving in the warmer seasons. There is a full-time children's activity center and even a small petting zoo.

In August 2004, Falling Rock hotel opened at the 18th hole of the Mystic Rock golf course.

From its conception, the three-story, 42-guest room boutique hotel and golf club was intended to offer the highest levels of comfort, grace and service for its guests. The fact that Falling Rock was awarded the distinction of AAA Five Diamond designation last October, barely two years after it opened, is certainly a testament to its accomplishment.

Designed by architect David Merritt, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright, the building's open atrium lobby features stacked stone walls and geometric patterns with American Indian motifs. Other than the golf course, a lovely, infinity-edge swimming pool is Falling Rock's main activity amenity.

Falling Rock is one of 93 hotels -- out of 56,000 evaluated -- and only the fourth in Pennsylvania to receive AAA's Five Diamond rating for 2007. But what constitutes a Five Diamond designation? The only way to find out was to experience luxury for ourselves.

Although undeniably gracious with a casual, understated elegance, Falling Rock's primary service distinction resides with its corps of 40 butlers, one of whom is assigned to each guest room. Trained by the International Guild of Professional Butlers, who anticipate the needs of each guest from check-in to check-out, from greeting you at the front door to unpacking suitcases to drawing aromatherapy baths.

Our Falling Rock guest room was graciously appointed and stylishly decorated, with lots of marble and wood. It was comfortably sized, but by no means palatial, with a small balcony overlooking the Mystic Rock golf course. The variable mood lighting was pleasant, although it took some time to figure out how to turn everything off and on. Ditto for the high-tech shower, with its complicated keypad controls, but once I got it working, the multi-head array provided a luxurious experience.

My wife, Sari, found the large bathtub perfect for soaking, but she had no problem drawing the bath herself rather than phoning for the butler. She also appreciated the luxurious bed linens, two-ply robes and menu of 10 pillows to suit one's particular penchant.

The main event of our night's stay was a truly Five Diamond dinner that we enjoyed at Aqueous, Falling Rock's restaurant.

From the amuse-bouche (lobster bisque with a puff pastry hat) to the cheese (FireFly Farms Allegheny Chevre with buttermilk and black pepper crackers), it was a gustatory celebration of epic proportions prepared by six Nemacolin chefs.

Each of the six courses was paired with a different wine and impeccably served by attentive waitstaff. The third course, short rib ravioli with roasted cipollini onions and horseradish cream sauce, was, as they say, to die for, as was the fourth course, a trio of meats: sliced dry aged strip loin with creamed spinach, pecan-crusted lamb medallions with potato croquettes and braised Berkshire pork belly with braised red cabbage.

It was quite simply a luxury, a meal for the ages, an easy Five Diamonds, maybe even six, if such a designation existed.

On the other hand, the in-room television system seemed confusing, especially for On Demand movies.

Apart from having to pay $10.99 for a movie, I found bewildering that new releases could be viewed only at designated hours, rather than when you want to watch them.

This was more annoying since Falling Rock is situated a distance from the main Nemacolin complex, and other than golf, there is a shortage of evening activity. You have to leave the hotel to find something to do.

But this seems a minor quibble, especially because in the afterglow of that luxurious meal, coming up with a topper would have been difficult.

The next morning we awoke refreshed from a wonderful night's sleep but not quite ready to leap off luxury's lap. As we checked out, every staff member from butler to doorman greeted us by name and wished us well. It felt as if we were honored guests.

In fact, it wasn't until I stepped into my warmed and waiting car that another significant Falling Rock amenity occurred to me.

In this era of air travel hassles, being able to enjoy a Five-Diamond experience without having to get on a plane to do it may be the sweetest luxury of all.