Hotel at a Glance: The Inns on Bellevue

A mere three blocks from the center of town, The Inns on Bellevue sit a short distance from some of Newport’s most popular attractions. They lie not five minutes by car from the Cliff Walk, which traverses the cliffs along Newport’s scenic shoreline and goes into a strip of the city’s renowned mansions. The inns also reside on the same street as these elegant mansions that feature guided public tours with insightful narration based on historical artifacts.

• A jetted tub lies in the Victorian-style queen room for relaxing soaks.
• Historical buildings: The Inn on Bellevue was built in 1891, the house first played host to William Fludders, a well-known silversmith and the Bellevue House was the first hotel in Newport, opened in 1828.
• Onsite massages performed in-room or in dedicated treatment rooms relieve stress.
• Nearby dining: Picnic, a café with fresh pastries and artisanal breads, is adjacent to the inn’s lobby.
• Historic Newport tours: via a trolley with 90 minutes of narration along the 10-mile Ocean Drive and tree-lined Bellevue Avenue

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 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.