Castle Hill versus Chanler at Cliff Rock

I did a search and the last posts comparing these two were submitted in 2006, so I thought I should ask again.

Husband and I are hoping to do a short stay (2-3 nights) in November/December. Castle Hill is around $300/night for the beach cottages in November. We could get a ocean villa at Chanler in early December for $400 ($600 for November).

The main difference I see between these 2 hotels (beyond the price) appears to be the food. The restaurant at Chanler has gotten much better reviews. Are there other differences?

Is Chanler significantly better, i.e. worth the additional money and having to go a little later in the year? Or would Castle Hill be nice enough? I%26#39;d prefer to go in November when the weather will be less of an issue (presumably), but can%26#39;t afford the price at Chanler at that time.

Having said all that, are there other places in town I should be looking at that might be almost as nice and significantly cheaper, say in the $200-$250 range. This would allow some extra cash to try the nicer restaurants in town, which would be a fair tradeoff for us.

Thanks for the information!!

Castle Hill versus Chanler at Cliff Rock

Catle Hill is a little more remote than the Chanler. The views are slightly better IMO at Castle Hill (both are nice though), although in November/December there won;t be as much activity on the Bay, but still nice scenery.

There are certainly other less expensive options in town than those 2 properties. Everything from your standard hotels (Mariott, Hyatt, Hotel Viking, Newport Hotel and Marina, etc) to B%26amp;B%26#39;s and Inns.

The restaurant and bar at the Chanler is more lively than Castle Hill in the winter.

The weather will probably be cold, but not bitterly so. Usually too early to snow in November, especially along the coast, but it has happened before....even December is usually too early too.

Castle Hill versus Chanler at Cliff Rock

Thanks for the information.

In terms of staying in town, any hotel/inn recommendations (not a B%26amp;B fan) that would be similar in terms of price/quality to Castle Hill?

Nothing really in the league of Castle Hill or The Chanler...those are the nicest in town.

A newer smaller hotel is Vanderbilt Hall www.vanderbilthall.com evrything else is along the 3-4 star level (Mariott and Hyatt etc.) Hotel Viking has some nice rooms but you have to get specific as some of their rooms can be small. www.hotelviking.com.

My husband and I have stayed in both. Castle Hill far exceeds Chanler. We stayed in the best possible accommodations in both Chanler and Castle Hill and there is no comparison. I would always choose Castle Hill over Chanler. The service is superior and if you like privacy you can not beat the beach houses and cottages at Castle Hill. I have seen most of the rooms at the Chanler. We had reservations the first weekend they opened, Chanler had to cancel because they were not ready for guests and as a result we stayed in the Martha’s Vineyard Suite gratis. They took us for a tour of all the rooms when we arrived since there were no guests and they did not reach us to change our reservations before we got there! We were stranded in Newport. Anyway, we went back a couple of months later, had a nice stay. The decor is very, very nice but Castle Hill offers you a far better over all experience. We love the beach houses for their size, privacy and location (on a private beach). They are very well appointed as well. I hope you have a great trip and I would definitely reserve a room at Castle Hill!

Oh that is great to hear! We ended up booking a beach cottage at Castle Hill. It sounds like we made the right decision.

Thanks!

I am the innkeeper of the Chanler at Cliff Walk%26#39;s property-La farge perry House. Please go to the Chanler over Castle Hill. The grandeur of hotel and quality of the restaurant will make you so glad you did!

Midge Knerr

Innkeeper

La Farge Perry House

Not to get into the debate of the hotel choice but do if you go that time of year visit the mansions decorated for Christmas. We went Dec 2006 and it was quite nice to see beautiful decorations.

Here%26#39;s a few photos I took (most places inside the photos aren%26#39;t allowed but they were allowed in the Breakers main hall):

http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid14086361

Oh wow, those pictures were beautiful! I will definitely add that to our places to see.

For us anyway, the debate is over. We opted for Castle Hill for 2 main reason. One, the rooms were more affordable in November (and we didn%26#39;t want to go any later in the year) and two, my husband was sold on the 27 page wine list. It seems like both properties are very nice and I%26#39;m sure we%26#39;d have been happy with either. We just couldn%26#39;t afford the rates at Chanler in November for the beach houses.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

As the other Poster said, there is really no comparison. Castle Hill is the better hotel by far, location, scenary, ambience, dining, service etc.

The Chanler has improved in the past year from what was a sorry situation, but still has a way to go in service and dining, and will never have Castle Hill%26#39;s location.

Midge Knerr is a nice lady, but she is an employee of the Chanler%26#39;s owners and really shouldn%26#39;t be promoting her employer%26#39;s property on this type of Forum (though I give her credit for being open about it).

Hope you have a wonderful visit to Newport

I might add that that I agree completely regarding the location. Castle Hill%26#39;s location is absolutely and unequivocally superior to that of Chanler. In fact when we stayed at Chanler we found it could get quite noisy since it is next to the public beach. In addition, we stayed in the Martha%26#39;s Vineyard Suite (the most expensive accommodation on the property) which adjoins 2 other suites and our neighbors were extremely noisy and disruptive. They kept the doors onto the deck open all evening with loud music playing and people coming in and out continuously. Management didn%26#39;t do much about it although I don%26#39;t know how they could have stopped them. We have never, ever experienced this at Castle Hill. In our experience (and we have been there many, many times) the clientele has always been courteous.