Mid November Trip-Mansions & planning?

We are planning to visit Newport around the weekend of Nov. 15 to see the mansions decorated for Christmas. Would the area and/or mansions be extremely crowded at that time? What other activities would be possible in Newport at that time %26amp; how many days would you suggest to spend there?

We%26#39;re thinking of starting the vacation in Boston for a few days, then going to Newport %26amp; fly back to MO from Providence. Is that the closest/easiest airport to fly from?

Thanks for any help you can give us!

HeathMO

Mid November Trip-Mansions %26amp; planning?

By November the weekend crowds are definitely gone. There are plenty other things to explore in the area, two days in Newport itself would do it, but you could spend more too.

TF Green is much smaller than Logan in Boston and many people do fly out of RI as alternative to Logan. Either way it%26#39;s only an hour by car from Providence to Boston.

Mid November Trip-Mansions %26amp; planning?

Thanks for the information! We decided to skip Boston and try to relax %26amp; sightsee at the coast around Newport, driving to other coastal sites in the area. We love to walk beaches (even in bad weather), so where could we go for picturesque coastal walking around Newport? We want to do the Cliff Walk, and would appreciate suggestions for other places that would work for November.

Thanks!

HeathMO

At the Newport/Middletown line is Sachuest Beach and Wildlife Refuge. You could check out Jamestown and some of the beautiful State Parks there, especially Beavertail. To the west, there is historic Wickford Village with some some great little shops. East of Newport are more rural communities like Little Compton with some wineries and farms. Enjoy your stay in RI!

Great suggestions! I can%26#39;t wait to go! This is a wonderful site %26amp; forum. Would you happen to know if the renovations at the Hyatt Regency Newport are complete? Don%26#39;t want to spend a week w/noise %26amp; construction mess.

Thanks, again!

HeathMO

Yes, the major renovations are complete, there are still some plans for some of the outside areas that they might take on next spring, but for now they are finished. The lobby and the common areas look great, there was a slightly bad review at thge beginning of the summer, mostly based on bad customer servifce....hopefully with the summer passing, they have rectified that situation.

We went to the Newport Mansions decorated for Christmas one year. See my photos here (They don%26#39;t let you take many photos inside only The Breakers main hall). We visited 2 mansions in one day but if you are there longer you could definitely visit all three mansions decorated for Christmas.

Photos:

http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid14086361

The Breakers gift shop is worth stopping at.

Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, RI is a house also decorated for Christmas. We visited this one year also. Bristol, RI could be fun to visit. There is a Colt State Park to visit also. A cute Irish pub called Aiden%26#39;s Pub in Bristol.

www.blithewold.org

Colt State Park:

visitingnewengland.com/colt-state-park-RI.ht…

The mansion pictures are beautiful. We definitely want to see them. Thanks to everyone for the other suggestions of beaches %26amp; places to visit. We are including them in our plans.

We%26#39;ve booked our flights %26amp; plan to stay at Residence Inn in Middletown. (We like newer hotels %26amp; that one had best reviews.) Here%26#39;s something we are debating: We%26#39;d thought about splurging to stay a few nights at one of the nice waterfront hotels in Newport. Would there really be any advantage to this in November? We have to use a rental car, so we will be out %26amp; about during the day. Would it be worth it for a water view just at night in possible bad weather? What do you think?

Thanks,

HeathMO

It would sort of depend on what you like to do. The Residence Inn in Middletown is located in a commercial area of town with strip malls and chain restaurants around.

If you%26#39;re the type that like to do a little sightseeing, head back to the room to relax for a bit, then head out again, then a room (whether waterview or not) downtown in Newport would suit you better.

If you%26#39;re generally out for the day when you leave your room and don%26#39;t plan on doing much but showering, freshwning up and sleeping. Than the downtown waterview probably wouldn%26#39;t be worth it.

What sort of rate did you get for the Residence Inn. By November, you should see lower rates for the downtown locations (especially on Hotwire)

FYI there is also a new hotel in Middletown (I can%26#39;t remember the name, but will post again when I see it or remember it), and a nice Comfort Inn right across from Atlantic Beach. I%26#39;m sure they have waterview rooms that would probably be a litte cheaper than right downtown. It%26#39;s just a short drive into town (less than from the Residence Inn)

The Residence Inn-Middleton is $129 per nt, and since we will only be sleeping/showering there for 2 days of our stay, we%26#39;ll probably keep that reservation. For the rest of our stay, we were considering a few days in Newport itself at either the Hyatt, Marriott, or Newport Harbor Hotel %26amp; Marina. We would have more time to just hang around %26amp; relax then. I have seen some fairly good off-season deals for these three, but a few recent reviews were discouraging. Where would the locals recommend their visiting friends/family stay %26amp; does one or more of those hotels have a consistently good reputation? The newness/cleanliness of the rooms is a high priority.

Thanks!

HeathMO

For November, I%26#39;d say either the Mariott or the Newport Harbor Hotel. Both are within walking distance of all of downtown...the Hyatt is out on Goat Island, and while recently renovated (at least the common areas) would be about a 15 - 20 minute walk into town, and in November could be a little chilly with the wind. They do have a shuttle that goes into town every hour I think though.

The Newport Harbor Hotel was renovated a few winters ago. I would, and have, reccomended any of those 3 hotels though. Reviews are tough to interpret here, as so many people have so many different expectaions on what constitutes a good hotel...and also how much they paid.

I have seen all sorts of rates for those 3 hotels at different times throughout the year...For example I had friends and family stay at the Hyatt (pre-renovations) from $100 - $150 a night in June through Hotwire, while the going rate on other sites was around $300. Everyone agreed it was great at $150, but did not think it was worth anything like $300....(hence why some reviews might be more negative than others)