The four - star hotel was designed by
Russian architectural firm, Sundukovy Sisters, and evokes the building's exceptional heritage and influential splendour of neighbouring Palace of Versailles, although with a contemporary feel and luxurious touch for modern day travellers.
Named for its founder, William Rutherford Mead (an 1867 graduate of Amherst College and a partner in the storied
architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White), the Mead holds the art collection of Amherst College, celebrated for its American and European paintings, Mexican ceramics, Tibetan scroll paintings, English paneled room, ancient Assyrian carvings,
Russian avant - garde art, West African sculpture and Japanese prints.