Where to stay in Cape Ann?

Hi,

I will be spending next Saturday evening and Sunday in the Cape Ann area. Can someone recommend a nice coastal town with a few nice bars/restaurants where I could spend the night? Also, if anybody has a specific hotel recommendation, that would be great. My budget is below $200 for a single room.

Thanks in advance!

Phil

Where to stay in Cape Ann?

Newburyport is not technically on Cape Ann but you could stay at the Essex Street Inn in a standard room for $125/night this weekend:

http://www.essexstreetinn.com/about.html

Newburyport has everything you want (I%26#39;ve been reading your posts. :-).

In Cape Ann itself, Manchester-by-the-sea is a really beautiful town. It has a wonderful beach (maybe the best in New England, I think) called Singing Beach, but it%26#39;s too cold right now to go swimming. I have no specific recommendations for places to stay there, and frankly I don%26#39;t even know if they have bars. I assume they have restaurants. :-)

Where to stay in Cape Ann?

Rockport is beautiful, but it is still relatively a ';dry town';. Alcoholic beverages can only be ordered when ordering a meal. I would recommend staying in neighborhood towns like Gloucester or Salem.

Two places that come to mind are:

-- Bass Rocks Ocean Inn in Gloucester, it has a nice breakfast room with an ocean view and a nice complimentary breakfast. When I stayed here with my husband a few years back, they served complimentary fresh cooked cookies and lemonade in the afternoon. We enjoyed playing Bocce on their front lawn, swimming in their pool, played pool in the pool room and my favorite amenity: the complimentary bicycles. Most of the rooms (if not all) have nice ocean views.

--The Hawthorne Inn in Salem is another option. I have dined here but I have not stayed here.

http://www.bassrocksoceaninn.com/

http://www.hawthornehotel.com/

Bass Rocks is on a very ';photogenic'; piece of coastline, along with the nearby Good Harbor beach. The town also has some photographic opportunitites with all the fishing boats , the architecture, the bridge, etc. There%26#39;s a little club/bar/cafe near the train station that has some interesting live music.

Newburyport has a lot of Colonial architecture for photos, the beautiful Plum Island....

The drive between them on rt 133 is also picturesque, passing by farms, the Ipswich River, Crane%26#39;s Beach and the Castle Hill estate---and the Clam Box, best fried clams around!

Salem has lots to see and do. I love it. But ... it%26#39;s not Cape Ann and if you are looking for %26#39;sprawling%26#39; coastline, you won%26#39;t find any there.

p_wallior -- is there any particular reason you chose Cape Ann?

I chose Cape Ann because I will be working in Billerica for the week so I wanted to make the most of Sunday without having too far to drive on Sunday night.

Why this question, would you have recommended another itinerary?

I%26#39;m open to suggestions, although I have now booked a room in Gloucester, at the Atlantis Oceanfront Inn. The Bass Rocks Ocean Inn wanted a minimum of 2 nights stay.

Cheers,

Phil

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