First Look: Pendry Natirar
(Left) Pendry Natirar’s Tudor-style and modern building.
(Center) The dramatic Great Room.
(Right) Order sips and bites at Ladd’s Tavern.
A posh countryside estate makes its mark in New Jersey (yes, you read that right).
Truly new frontiers are getting rarer in luxury travel, but the October 2024 debut of the 66-room Pendry Natirar in New Jerseymight just merit the distinction. The Garden State’s most acclaimed hospitality projects mainly line the coast. A five-star retreat in Somerset County’s green-and-gold hills (roughly 45 miles west of the brand’s Manhattan property) would once have seemed unlikely, but that’s exactly what Pendry Natirar is.
The hilltop resort in one of the country’s oldest counties sprawls over 500 acres, anchored by a 1912 Tudor-style mansion. After its construction for a wealthy couple, the building operated for years as a convalescent facility and, after a brief stint under the ownership of Morocco’s King Hassan II, was sold to the county in the 2000s.
Every guest room at Pendry Natirar comes with views of the 500-acre park.
Designed by CosciaMoos Architecture with interiors by DesignAgency (the firm behind Pendry Washington DC – The Wharf), Natirar presents a medley of the historic (much of the original limestone foyer, stone fireplaces, ornate plaster ceilings, wood paneling, and oak flooring were preserved) and the contemporary, with minimalist furnishings that champion fine textures from marble and velvet to leather. The spacious guest rooms deliver a country house aesthetic via floral textiles, still life and pastoral paintings, and floor-to-ceiling bay windows that flood the space with light.
Gather for fireside lounging in the Great Room.
More-obvious grandeur can be found in the public spaces. The aptly named Great Room, for instance, commands attention with an original stone fireplace flanked by soaring wood walls – a space well suited to sipping a handcrafted Manhattan from the adjacent bar.
Somerset County’s vast farms, pretty gardens, golf courses, and world-renowned thoroughbred stables make it quiet alternative to the region’s better-known vacation destinations. Named after the Raritan River, which flows past the property (Natirar is “Raritan” spelled backward), the resort is surrounded by protected parklands, woods, and hiking trails. The ten-acre Farm at Natirar serves as the property’s beating heart, not just because it’s among the many local purveyors supporting the hotel culinary program, but also because of the guest experiences it supports. These range from farm visits and agricultural workshops to the spa products it whips up for the 12-treatment-room, 19,000-square-foot pampering hub, such as the jasmine-scented mud for the mud-bath room. There’s also a Himalayan salt room, a 38-foot-long heated pool with woodland views, and a warm-weather outdoor pool with similarly tree-lined vistas.
The hotel’s 12-acre garden grows produce for its farm-to-table dining options.
Nearby, Ninety Acres has been a culinary go-to for locals since it first opened in 2009. The convivial restaurant located a short walk downhill from the resort was subtly reimagined for Pendry’s opening, but chef Peter Rudolph’s exceptional New American fare (and the on-site, open-to-the-public cooking school) remains. Rudolph’s umami-bomb salad of delicately sliced beets sprinkled with crispy shiitake mushrooms, hazelnuts, and truffle vinaigrette is a craveable reflection of his farm-to-table ethos. Up in the main house, indoor-outdoor, all-day eatery Ladd’s Tavern serves up Jersey classics such as Taylor Ham breakfast sandwiches, along with generous pours of Jersey wines, whenever you need reminding that you are indeed in the Garden State.
For 2025, Jetset Journeys travelers receive a $45 daily breakfast credit and a $100 hotel credit.
