My wife, baby and I are planning a few days at this property in early August. They are an Amex FHR hotel. We've reserved what I think to be their top room.

Anyone been there? Thoughts on the property or Newport?

You'll love Newport. We spent a long afternoon there in June. It's much bigger than I expected. It's not some cute little 3 block town.


We're planning on doing a B&B sometime in October.

Vanderbilt Hall is the nicest hotel in downtown Newport IMHO. In the four years I went to school in Newport, I had a lot of people come visit and stay in various hotels. Aside from the Inn at Castle Hill (which is out on Ocean Drive), Vanderbilt Hall is the best. I stayed in a duplex type suite a few years ago during the summer season. The room was not as big as I expected, but I believe they classifed that room as a junior suite and that there are larger one bedroom suites. I did not use Amex FHR for that stay.

The best part about the hotel is the location. It means you can walk nearly everywhere in Newport and don't need to deal with the parking hassles. It was always great to just be able to hand my keys to the valet and have him take care of the car. Parking and driving in Newport (as in most summer resorts) is a big hassle in the summer.

I love Newport and much prefer it over the Hamptons. The crowd is mostly from Boston and more laid back than the traditional New York summer haunt scene.

If you're looking for restaurant suggestions in Newport, I would suggest Christie's (fun local lobster and seafood restaurant), the Black Pearl (more formal, but with a less formal bar annex) and Clark Cooke's Candy House (like Christie's, but a bit more upscale). If the weather is great (and I hope it is), head out to the Inn at Castle Hill for lunch. The view is beautiful from the restaurant and they love having kids around. Lots of kids playing on the grass and people with their babies everytime I have been out there for lunch.

If you're interested in tourist spots, I would recommend the Tennis Hall of Fame (and lunch in the Casino), the Breakers and Hammersmith Farm.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Had my trip earlier this month. Net, it went pretty well.

Vanderbilt Hall Hotel (Amex FHR) was located on a Mary Street, a side street just off one of the main streets in town (that main street is Thames - pronounced the way you said it before you went to London).

Hotel was an old brick building, but in fairly good condition.

We stayed in the Cornelius Suite - which was reasonably nice (think it is their highest room). Suite had a bedroom, a bathroom and a living room (with a round dining table in the middle of the room). The dining table was functional, but oddly placed. The room was right off of the lobby living room - which in a lively hotel would be a problem (due to noise), but in a quiet hotel, not a problem, and actually a convenience.

Service was good, but it wasn't reliable. For instance, sometimes the valet parking person was there, sometimes the front door was totally unattended. Front desk had people some times, others it didn't.

Room service was very quick, but the phone for receiving orders was clearly in the midst of the cooking area, and it was difficult to place an order. There was a mix up each day (4 of 4) with our breakfast order.

The Amex program was only OK at this hotel. We were in the top room, so there was no discussion of an upgrade. The free breakfast was only good in the main dining room (no room service), and was only available for a buffet. Late check out was honored without question. We skipped on the extra amenity, a picnic lunch, simply because you had to order the night in advance, and we kept forgetting.

Swiss Re was holding an event for two of the nights we were there - and the main dining room and billiards room were closed both nights for their private parties. This was a little disappointing - especially during August high-season.

The hotel's administrative offices open directly into the lobby living room. I did a little business in the lobby living room - with my daily call(s) into the office. Due to their setup, I learned a little more about their upcoming functions and issues than I'd like. I think the management team learned a little more about financial securitization than they'd like.

When we made our booking, we advised the hotel that we'd be bringing a 1-year-old with us. Everyone was fine with this (during the reservation stage, and while we were at the property). There was, however, some language in the in-room guide saying children weren't permitted at the property. Who knows.

There was an indoor pool and hot-tub, as well as a sauna. These were reasonably nice, and clearly underused.

Hotel was walking distance to most everything.

We used a babysitting service called Pyjama Drama to look after our son each night, after he went to sleep - so we could go out to dinner. They were very nice - the owner came three nights. Very professional, and very much prepared to deal with an active child. (Ours sleeps wonderfully!) We would definitely use them again if in the area.

AT&T GSM service worked throughout the Newport area.


Dining in Newport turned out better than we expected. Two meals of note were at the Black Pearl and the Spiced Pear. The earlier, a nautical near-fine-dining experience right on the water. Very reasonable wine list. Good fish. The later was high-end, at an apparently new hotel called the Chanler (see below). Spiced Pear had a very ornate service process, fairly unique menu, and was situatated on a cliff overlooking the ocean. We enjoyed both restaurants very much.

One other restaurant, Astrik (sp?), was also good, but not to the same level as the first two. Astrik is in an old gas station garage (I've seen this conversion done a few times). The food was fairly good. As he fumbled with the wine, our waiter said this was his first week on the job. I opened the bottle for him. He was nice, and trying hard at a minimum.

We ate at a place called the Garden several times for lunch - it was pub food, indoors but with an open wall to the street, friendly service and stroller-friendly. This place seemed like it would be pretty happening at night.

A few other family themed restaurants seemed very unfriendly towards strollers.


I would also draw your attention to the Chanler Hotel. Link To Hotel's Web Site This was where the Spiced Pear was. This property seemed two or more notches ahead of Vanderbilt Hall. Direct ocean views, more refined public spaces. I would consider staying at this property for future visits to Newport. Its only drawback is that it is not walking distance to the shops in town. It is, however, at the start of the cliff walk, and walking distance to many of the mansions that are open to the public.


Newport turned out to be a good driving vacation for our family of three. It seems like it would also be good for older folks, interested in history and nautica, as well as for young, college age folks looking to have a good time.

That Chanler place looks nice. I've only stayed at the Inn at Castle Hill or with friends. The best time to go is in the late fall, when the track suit crowd is gone.

Lots of thorough reviews in this thread, thanks! Anyone stayed here more recently though?

I stayed here for one weekend this past November. We were in a Junior Deluxe suite on the second floor. The room itself was decent size and the ceilings were exceptionally high, making it feel even more spacious. There was only a skeleton staff working at the time and the hotel seemed rather empty, which I imagine is fairly typical for the offseason. I am sure summer is very different.

The location is excellent for exploring downtown Newport, as it less than one block off Thames St. I will be down in Newport again in the next few months and since convenience to downtown will be important, I will consider staying here again. But I'm also considering giving Mill Street Inn a try.

Castle Hill Inn & Resort (a Relais & Chateaux Property) is definitely a couple steps ahead of Vanderbilt Hall in terms of luxury. Their restaurant is also very good. I'm looking forward to a stay their this summer!

I wanted to provide an update as I have made two additional trips to Newport since my post above. We stayed at the Mill Street Inn in a Townhouse Suite for the first of these trips and were rather disappointed. I know it is the offseason, but the hotel did not seem like it was even trying. I have stayed at several SLHs before and this hotel was not in the same league.

So for our next trip,we decided to try Vanderbilt Hall again. We discovered that the hotel was actually sold in late November to Peter de Savary who owns some properties in England and Grenada. He does appear to be making some improvements to the hotel, the major one that was was apparant to us while we were there was the addition of an outdoor swimming pool which is currently being constructed. He has also brought in some interesting art work and rebranded the restaurant. As far as differences in the food, my only point of comparison is breakfast, which seemed to be more or less the same as it was when we were there last November, which wasn't bad.

They have also brought in some nice soft touches to the hotel, like a nice surpise at turndown that my fiancee really enjoyed. I'm not sure what other changes are in store, but I would suspect that not much will happen to the rooms, as these were already in great shape. We were in a Bi-Level Suite this time, which would work really well if you want a lot of seperation between the bedroom and living area and might be something that we consider in the future if we know we are going to have people over while we are there. But for just the two of us, I think we both preferred the junior deluxe suite and its extremely high ceilings and great deal of light.