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Peek inside the most wishlisted Airbnb in Massachusetts

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Peek inside the most wishlisted Airbnb in Massachusetts


New England Travel

The glass house perched on 7 private, wooded acres deep in the Berkshires.

This “Mid-Century Glass Octagon” in the Berkshires is the most wishlisted Airbnb in Massachusetts.
Courtesy of Airbnb Community

If you’ve ever scrolled Airbnb and found yourself saving a listing out of wanderlust, welcome to the wish list industrial complex.

Airbnb this week named the most wishlisted properties across all 50 states, and the Bay State’s winner might surprise you. Massachusetts’ top honoree isn’t a shingled cottage on the Cape or a waterfront Nantucket mansion. It’s a mid-century octagonal glass house perched on 7 private, wooded acres in Otis, deep in the Berkshires. And it has a quirkier origin story than you’d expect.

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The “Mid-Century Glass Octagon” is located in Otis, Massachusetts. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community
The main living space has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the woods. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community

The Mid-Century Glass Octagon was built in the 1970s as a kit house by the owners who had purchased the surrounding land as a private ski hill for their friend group, current owner Katherine Auleta said. It was originally off the grid, heated by a single wood stove, and lit by candelabras hanging from the rafters. By the time Auleta, a former New York fashion photographer, became the third owner, the home had been updated by its previous occupants but had drifted into what she described as “twee” territory — lots of colors, lots of little bird things everywhere.

Auleta stripped the interior back, leaned into the boldness of the octagonal structure, installed a mid-century fireplace gifted by a friend, and lined a shelf with photography books hauled up from her old New York City apartment. The result is a 4.95-star, 463-reviewed juggernaut — one of the most-loved homes on Airbnb, per its listing — that regularly books out at a pace that has guests telling her they’ve been trying to lock in dates for years.

“It’s a special home to me, and I love sharing it with other people,” said Auleta, who now lives on an island off Vancouver and manages the property remotely.

Getting to its lofty, wishlisted perch required some guest-driven compromises. Auleta resisted adding air conditioning (the home’s wraparound slatted windows were designed for natural airflow, she said) but eventually relented.

The octagonal space has an open floor plan. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community
The kitchen. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community

“That’s what people were asking for, so I did it,” she said. “Your guests are your best teachers, in a way.”

The hospitable philosophy extends to every touchpoint: linen bedding, organic bath products, and a hospitality instinct she traces back to a $3-a-night bamboo hut she once stayed in near Lombok, Indonesia, where French linens and a ceiling fan made a $3 stay feel like luxury.

The Airbnb sleeps four people, according to the listing. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community

Guests typically come from Boston, New York, and around the region — often for a romantic weekend, sometimes to get engaged — and they usually bring their groceries, light the fireplace, and stay put.

“The people that really get into the place are the people that are coming to unplug,” she said.

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The backyard. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community
The back deck has a fire pit. – Courtesy of Airbnb Community

Other New England honorees on Airbnb’s wish list roundup include a modern treehouse with hot tub and water views in Georgetown, Maine; a converted silo house on a Litchfield Hills estate in Connecticut; a tiny cabin retreat in Woodstock, New Hampshire; a tiny eco-cottage with lake views in Smithfield, Rhode Island; and a treehouse with sauna and stream access in Hardwick, Vermont. Consider these wishlisted homes proof that the folks looking for a Northeast getaway increasingly want something off the beaten path for true R&R. 






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Massachusetts

This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.

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This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.


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Looking for a beach where fellow beachgoers have good manners?

Travel website Exoticca conducted a survey and found the beach with the best beach etiquette in each state, including Massachusetts, so you can know the place where Bay Staters treat both the beach and each other with the most respect.

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“We surveyed 3,011 Americans to find out where beachgoers are seen as having the best etiquette, and the results say quite a lot about what people actually want from a beach vacation,” Exoticca said.

In Massachusetts, voters said to head to the North Shore.

Crane Beach — Ipswich, Massachusetts

The extremely popular Crane Beach in the North Shore town of Ipswich was voted the best for beach etiquette by Exoticca’s readers.

Exoticca said that the places that scored the highest in positive beach etiquette were places where people focused on the clarity of the water and the beautiful scenery rather than external distractions like seaside restaurants or shops on the boardwalk, where “everyone around seems to understand that nobody wants the place spoiled.”

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Crane Beach is known for its white sand and conservation. It’s one of the nesting places for piping plovers, according to The Trustees.

“To protect threatened shorebirds during your visit, we ask that you avoid the fenced nesting areas and the wrack, the line of washed-up organic debris where the birds feed and hide,” the Trustees said.

Despite having 350,000 people visit annually, according to the Trustees, Crane Beach still achieved the top spot of beach etiquette.

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How to visit Crane Beach

Barring going on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or on Veterans’ Day for families with veterans, visitors do have to buy tickets for vehicle entry and parking. Tickets are cheaper if visitors arrive via motorcycle, biking, or walking.

“Strict rules apply:  no drop-offs, re-entry for nonmembers, or outside food delivery; dogs and horses are not allowed April 1–September 30,” the ticket selection webpage said.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@usatodayco.com.



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Mass stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Cape Cod said to be largest in Massachusetts history

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Mass stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Cape Cod said to be largest in Massachusetts history


Rescuers were working to save around 30 bottlenose dolphins that got stranded off the coast of Cape Cod early Monday morning. It is the largest known stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Massachusetts, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The dolphins had become stranded between First Light and Ellis Landing in Brewster at about 5:30 a.m. when they came in with the tide. A woman noticed the animals and reported it. The IFAW quickly responded to the area, but five to six of the marine mammals died before help arrived. 

Dozens of bottlenose dolphins were stuck off of Cape Cod

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Leslie Bracebridge


The IFAW worked throughout the day on Monday to get the mammals away from the shoreline before the next low tide at 5:13 p.m. They said late Monday afternoon that they were still successfully being steered away. 

“Our team remains in the area to monitor and herd the animals away from shore,” an IFAW spokesperson said. “We know these events can sometimes repeat in the coming hours and days, but we remain hopeful.”

The organization said it had seen an uptick in bottlenose dolphins becoming stranded off Cape Cod in the last few years. 

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“Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species,” the spokesperson said.

They asked that anyone who encounters a stranded or distressed marine mammal not get close and never drag or push the animal back into the water. 

“Similar to a person involved in a car accident, dolphins can become injured and exhausted during a stranding event,” the IFAW said.

Instead, they recommend calling their IFAW stranding hotline at 508-743-9548.   

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Man dead after apparent drowning in Randolph pond

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Man dead after apparent drowning in Randolph pond


A man has died following an apparent drowning at a pond in Randolph, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

The Randolph police and fire departments received a 911 call at around 4 p.m. for a swimmer in distress in the water on Pond Street, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office..

Firefighters located the man a short time later, officials added, and he was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Kingston Fire Department had said just before 4 p.m. that their dive team was activated for a missing swimmer in Randolph, but that the activation was canceled after the swimmer was located.

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Further information is not being released at this time, including the man’s name.

Massachusetts State Police detectives and the Randolph Police Department are investigating.



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