3 Coastal New England Inns That Are Perfect for Summer

There’s no denying that Boston is #blessed with abundant beach locales up and down the coast. And three seaside properties perfect for weekend or weeklong getaways make staying local all the more tempting—on top of the positive effect on your carbon footprint. Cliff House Maine (cliffhousemaine.com), an iconic resort just a 1 ½-hour drive from the city, stretches along a rocky edge of Cape Neddick, overlooking the wily Atlantic. While Burlington-based firm TruexCullins reenvisioned the interiors a few years back, the hotel added a newly rehabbed private cottage to the mix last summer. Weare Cottage at Cliff House is the original residence of the Weare family, who owned the 70-acre oceanfront spread for four generations. It’s a dream for those who want to revel in the resort’s multiple offerings—a heavenly 9,000-squarefoot spa, swimming pools and 18 holes of golf— but with more privacy. Houston-based PDG Studios preserved the historic flavor of the threebedroom cottage, maintaining its original stone fireplace and incorporating homey elements that include reclaimed wood floors, nickel gap board walls and local artifacts.

If getting off the grid, albeit in a grand manner, is appealing, hide away at the Chebeague Island Inn (chebeagueislandinn.com). The charming clapboard inn facing Casco Bay is just a half-hour from Portland, but you must ferry over. (It’s a 15-minute ride from Yarmouth or a 90-minute scenic jaunt from Portland.) Guests can explore the 3-mile ong-by-1-mile-wide island on an inn-supplied L.L. Bean bicycle, hit balls at the golf and tennis clubs, or laze on a sandy beach. End-of-day cocktails accompany sunsets on the wraparound porch, and locally sourced fare is acclaimed at the in-house restaurant. Televisions and telephones are conspicuously absent from the cozy white guest rooms, so you will not be distracted to hurry back out for a boat ride, farm tour or yoga on the lawn.

Finally, ratchet up the glam factor at The Wauwinet (wauwinet.com), a fivestar retreat on Nantucket. While the island is generally a place to see and be seen, this shingled refuge is nestled on the northeastern end, abutting the CoskataCoatue Wildlife Refuge. Boston-based firm Gauthier-Stacy completed a luxurious redo this spring, outfitting rooms with plush upholstered furniture and beds dressed in custom Pratesi by Rivolta linens. Bathrooms were gutted and redesigned with walkin showers, marble tiles and Waterworks fixtures. The prearrival concierge will cater to splendid, summer whim, arranging culinary experiences, tours of ’Sconset, boat charters and more.