Hotel at a Glance: The Hotel Viking

The Hotel Viking has attracted a star-studded guest list since it opened in 1926. The Kennedys rubbed shoulders with the Vanderbilts here, and entertainer Will Rogers chose the hotel over a friend’s nearby mansion more than once. The hotel’s Old-World glamour remains intact to this day, thanks to a $6.8-million restoration in 2007.

• Welcome to Newport: You’ll be treated to complimentary coffee in the lobby upon arrival, and a gourmet welcome basket can also be prepared for a fee.
• The hotel restaurant, One Bellevue, is a 2014 OpenTable Diner’s Choice Award winner where you can get a meal of poached Newport lobster or braised Angus short ribs. If it’s warm, get a table on the garden patio.
• Soothe your skin with a volcanic clay body mask, Dead Sea salt scrub, or milk-and-honey body wrap at the onsite SpaTerre. Massage therapists also target deeper tissues with such techniques as hot-stone and Ayurvedic hot-oil massages.
• Sleep like royalty in a spacious guest room that recalls the glamour of a bygone age with ornately carved headboards and luxurious linens.
• Don’t lift your pinkie while sipping earl grey at One Bellevue’s afternoon tea service. You’ll learn this and other simple etiquette rules before enjoying scones, tea sandwiches, and truffles.
• Go for a swim in the pool or relax in the hot tub’s warm, bubbling waters. Pool and beach towels are provided.
• A complimentary local shuttle operates within a 2-mile radius of the hotel—use it to visit the National Museum of American Art or the shore.
• Got kids? Take them to the Ryan Family Amusements, a 10-minute walk from the hotel, or to ride the vintage carousel at Easton’s Beach.

Newport, Rhode Island: Harbor Town with World-Famous Mansions

Newport sits on Rhode Island’s Aquidneck Island, just 30 miles south of Providence and 70 miles south of Boston. With its picturesque cliffs running along the rocky coast, Newport understandably attracted America’s upper class at the turn of the 20th century. The prestigious Astor and Vanderbilt families joined other captains of industry in building their summer “cottages” here—sprawling estates that epitomized the Gilded Age’s glitz and glamour. You can sign up for mansion tours at the historic The Elms, Marble House, and The Breakers, a 70-room Italian Renaissance–style palazzo commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1893 and inspired by the palaces of Genoa and Turin.

Year-round, the Cliff Walk is one of the most popular activities in town. From sunrise to sunset you’ll find visitors strolling the 3.5-mile path, ensconced between the beautiful Newport shoreline and the spectacular mansions. If the conditions are ripe, you might see surfers catching waves on the ocean breakers.

The city slows its pace in winter; find time to shop on Thames and Spring Streets or visit the city’s many museums. The town is home to the National Museum of American Illustration, which features works by Saturday Evening Post artist Norman Rockwell, as well as the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.

The ocean is easily accessible from Newport’s western, eastern, and southern coastlines. It’s often referred to as “the Sailing Capital of the World,” and in the summertime, fishing boats fill its harbors and beachgoers flock to its shores. Easton’s Beach (or 1st Beach if you’re a local), the largest public beach, sits cater-cornered to the Cliff Walk’s stunning homes. Back on land, the city hosts a variety of festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Kite Festival, held in the ocean-facing Brenton Point State Park.

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