Imagine a stay at a sumptuous rural New England resort — the kind of the place where everything is of a top quality, but without shouting about it. Somewhere just plain classy.
Then imagine you don’t have to share it with anyone; it’s all yours, for you and yours.
That’s the experience the homeowner at 11 Raven Rock Road in Roxbury, Connecticut has, says Rick Distel, of Compass, who just listed this fabulous seven-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom property for $6.5 million. Distel shares the listing with Susan Vanech.
“When I walked into the home it felt like I’d found a smaller version of the Mayflower Inn,” Distel said, referencing the Mayflower Inn, Auberge Resorts Collection in nearby Washington, about 5 miles due north of Roxbury. The Mayflower Inn is a pretty piece of posh much-loved by visitors to the charming Connecticut countryside, with rooms from around $1,200 a night.
“It isn’t just the exterior architecture, which is beautiful,” said Distel of his listing — let’s call it neo-classic New England country house style. “But then I walked in and saw the double-height staircase and beautiful rooms. The bedchambers are very grand too.”
The home is located in Litchfield County, sleepy yet alive with arts and culture, and even fine dining — like that found at the 123-year-old Mayflower Inn’s pretty conservatory styled The Garden Room, which recently added Michelin-starred chef Jose Ramirez-Ruiz to head its kitchen. Heck, New York City’s pleasures are only about 90 minutes by car.
“Shhh, it’s a secret. We don’t like to tell people,” quipped Distel of the enviable location. “I call it a discreet Hamptons: it’s sophisticated and cultural, but also a place you can disappear.”
That’s certainly true of this property, which is one of only two homes on a private gated road. Also, the current owners doubled the property’s acreage since they bought it in 2004, when it was at around 10 acres. Now it’s around 20.
“Roxbury is a very quiet town and this location is untouched and surrounded by protective land trusts. There’s a lot of greenery all around. This is the best of both worlds,” Distel added. “There’s sophistication and culture, and the beautiful solitude of unspoiled natural landscape.”
It also has some high-society pedigree.
The property was custom-built in 1991 for Hilary and Joseph Califano, Jr., a power couple who presided over elite social scenes in both New York and Washington. The couple’s wedding in 1983 made newspaper headlines, as did Hilary’s passing in 2022.
Brooklyn-born Joseph, a prominent lawyer, served in the presidential cabinet of Jimmy Carter as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare — and was a principal domestic aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson. But Hilary holds her own in the celeb status department: she was the daughter of William S. Paley, the son of a Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant who built a fortune in cigar making, and who took over a small radio group, Columbia Broadcasting System, which with William as chairman became the mighty CBS network.
Hilary’s mother Dorothy was first married to William Randolph Hearst’s son John, and was famously, “Sketched by Matisse, photographed by Cecil Beaton and Horst, listed as one of the world’s best-dressed women and featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar,” according to her obituary in the New York Times. Another socialite and beauty, Babe Paley was Hilary’s stepmother; Bill and Babe became bi-coastal high-society insiders, palling on with Hollywood greats like Lucille Ball and Grace Kelly.
When the current owners purchased 11 Raven Rock in 2004 from the Califanos for $4.75 million, the transaction set a sales record for Roxbury. There were two $7 million-plus sales in Roxbury since then: one in 2010 and one in 2011.
Besides adding acreage, the 5,563-square-foot main house has been meticulously maintained and even expanded, adding a sun porch off one of the sitting rooms.
“They added that beautiful sunroom off the sitting room to give that idea of having a space that is inside, but feels like its outside, too,” said Distel. “Also, that area has such a majestic view; they really maximized that. The owners told me this is the room where they spend the most time.”
There is also a large eat-in kitchen and a formal dining room; four fireplaces dot the living areas. Because the spacious main-floor primary suite is located on the ground floor, the property easily switches from a place for large family gatherings or for entertaining guests to a cozy country retreat for two.
Throughout, a free-flowing, natural light-soaked layout is easy on the eye and easy to live in. “I call it comfortable luxury, casual elegance,” said Distel.
A separate two-bedroom, two-bathroom guest cottage expands the property’s appeal for hosting additional guests comfortably.
“There a nice separation for the guest component,” said Distel, “but it’s connected by a covered breezeway, so it doesn’t feel cut off either.”
There’s also a covered walkway leading to a three-car garage. Above the garage is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, perfect for a groundsman or a caretaker.
The property pairs natural woodland and meadow with more manicured grounds that include a tennis court and a custom-built gunite pool, which, said Distel, is a standout feature.
“The view from the pool is spectacular. The positioning is perfect; and it’s so private,” he said. “I’d say the pool here easily rivals the pool at the Mayflower.”
