Weekapaug Inn — Hotel in Westerly

As a family of six, kids ages 3-12, the name of our travel game is convenience. When we get to where we're going, we prefer to stay on-resort. Kids are starting to age out of vacations where the only draw is the beach (e.g., renting a house in the Hamptons). In the NYC area, the Venn diagram of lux resort, family friendly, sub 4 hour drive feels pretty empty.||Enter Weekapaug Inn, a historic resort/hotel built pre-1900, oozes old school charm and is, IMO, perfectly updated. It's situated at one end of a 2.5mi long pond (lake?), and is a short walk 5 minute walk to a long sandy beach. 2.5 hours from NY metro area and about the same from Boston. It’s a relatively small resort with 30 or so keys. There's a nice variety of rooms, standard inn-type rooms, some connecting, a few one-bedroom suites, and 4-2BR 1800sf named suites w/full kitchen, washer/dryer, and den.||Room|We booked one of the 2BR signature suites. Impeccably clean, well updated and outfitted/furnished. Some board games available in the room. No TV in the main living space, but one in each of the bedrooms, which we liked. Ran into 2 somewhat major issues with the suite – water temperature in the showers was tepid, borderline cold the first night. Spoke with reception who relayed the issue to engineering, who then took it a bit too far and made it uncomfortably hot. The temperature balance handle didn’t work – I suspect the cartridges need to be replaced. Second, HVAC wasn’t adjustable via the thermostat. There was a bit of a rattle in one of the registers, and efforts to turn it off via the thermostat by turning the temp up when on cool, or setting the fan to “off,” didn’t work. We ended up being shown which breakers in the unit we needed to flip to turn off the unit. It was clear that management took our complaints here very seriously – it was never just “let go.” We felt adequately compensated for the issues on checkout.||Service/Amenities||Truly excellent. Really solid everywhere at the resort. Never overbearing, everyone was very pleasant to interact with. Brief nods or “Hi, how’s your day” from all staff as you come across them at the resort. We all felt so welcome. The beach is a probably about a quarter mile walk from the entrance to the resort – an easy walk unless you have a 3-yr old who insists on carrying their own beach toys. Resort offered to take us to and from in a large golf cart; we never had to wait more than 5 minutes.||Importantly, and this was a criticism I had of Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos – the answer from staff for a question was never a blunt “no.” Reception was really good with following up with us, recalled specific things we had requested making sure that the actionable items had been completed. Some examples – we requested “in room” dining from the on-site restaurant, and this was accommodated. It doesn’t seem like a big ask, but at a few places we’ve been to (especially those with on-site fine dining/limited seating), there’s a firewall between the restaurant kitchen and the in-room dining kitchen - which I understand, and am glad the extra effort was made for us.||A few notes here – the fitness center and pool are on the ground floor of a building adjacent to the main Inn that houses a few of the suites. As a result, the fitness center is not 24HR and closes at 7pm for the guests upstairs – which I understand, but I feel like 7pm is a bit early. Pool has kids hours from 10-5, adults lap swim from 7-10am; 5-8pm. It’s a 25 yard pool, but not that wide. Good enough for an hour or two of splashing around.||Activities||One of the biggest strengths – the grounds and the pond. Grounds are wonderfully kept. Lots of lawn games for the kids, and just open space for them to run around. Shuffleboard, cornhole, bucket golf, etc. The Inn builds a fire for nightly s’mores around the firepit, and it’s nice to sit back with a glass of wine while the kids work out the last of their energy running around playing. ||On the pond – it’s such an asset to the Inn. It’s large enough that you can’t see the other end a few miles away, and calm enough for kids to paddle around or wade in, no waves or current to fight. The Inn loans out standard resort watercraft – kayaks, small sailboats, etc. They have some local HS/college kids running nature-type programs as counselors – going digging for crabs with nets was a lot more fun than I would have anticipated. My kids had a fantastic time - one word of warning, be careful where you step - there can be sharp shells! I'd suggest some kind of water moc.||At the beach – Weekapaug Inn is situated in the middle of a residential area. I suspect that if it didn’t exist today, residents in the area would never allow it to be built. It’s a symbiotic relationship now; guests at the Inn are granted access to the residential association’s beach, and basic service of setting up chairs/pitching umbrellas is taken care of. The Inn has a small seasonal beach restaurant on site that makes excellent pizza, there are really nice facilities (changing rooms with shower, restrooms) as well.||Food|The Inn is part of the Relais & Chateau association, so I had really high expectations going into it based on my experience after having stayed and eaten at Castle Hill Inn about an hour away in Newport. It fell a bit short, if I’m being honest – but that’s not to say there weren’t some good menu items here and there. Breakfasts were overall very good, but I don’t think that’s as hard to execute. Maybe I didn’t try the right dishes? I'm not a chef by any means so can't quite put my finger on what's missing, but halibut was a bit dry. ||Ocean House||There’s an association with Ocean House (OH) in nearby Watch Hill, but it’s looser than I would have hoped. A facility or amenity that is present at both facilities are restricted to guests at that specific property. While we paid for a cabana at the OH for a day, we were told that the beach would otherwise be a paid amenity by guests of the Inn with a day pass. We did not have access to the pool at OH (it’s indoors anyway, and part of the spa). We also did not have access to the gym at Ocean House which is 24HR, unlike that at the Inn. ||We much, much preferred the low key, laid back ambiance at Weekapaug. Food could use some improvement, but overall, Weekapaug Inn checked so many of our boxes; we will certainly be going back...

Hi Dan! Hi Richard!||||In reading previous reviews, it seems you have a track record of not following though with guests, so perhaps this will get your attention.||||Dan, per our conversation on Wednesday you said you would call me on Thursday prior to my departure on Friday to resolve some ongoing issues. While I am sure you are VERY busy, I would hope that resolving disputes and burden of proofs would be a paramount concern of yours. ||||Richard! Hiiiii....||You said I would have your word Dan would call me when he got in on Friday but apparently that message wasn't conveyed to Dan? Maybe giving Dan 3 days to call someone back isn't enough time? ||||This is Dan's world apparently and we're just guests he gives zero cares about. Richard, who is also a manager, apparently is authorized to to make any concessions to guests. ||||This "5-star" Resort prides itself on pass-alongs. (Their term, not mine)||||- We can't provide you with 2 room keys upon check-in. "Let me send a pass-along in our system so we can get you 2 keys"|||| I checked in on Monday and didn't receive a second key until about 10pm on Wednesday after I had to follow up AGAIN with Team Dan. They still couldn't get it right. I was given a key that didn't work...walked to my cottage only to walk BACK to reception to say they key they gave me didn't work. The front desk agent brought another key, only to shut the door my partner had just opened for us and locked us out of the cottage. Did she have a master key? Nope. A frantic young Asian housekeeper came running to the door to let us in. ||||||||- I distinctly and specifically asked via email prior to my booking, if dogs were allowed on the beach in June. Not knowing when I was specifically going to go, I was told YES, dogs are allowed on the beach in June before 8am or after 6pm. |||| We checked in Monday evening and walked our dog to the beach only to be told by the security officer, "No dogs allowed on the beach". I immediately brought this up to the front desk as this was the ONLY reason why I decided on this property: I could bring my dog to the beach. Once again, I was sent to "pass-along" purgatory where no one, of their own volition, ever followed up with me.||||I called Team Dan on Wednesday after a less than enthralling "5-star" experience. I was told, Destination Services, and the person who emailed me back was misinformed and I was given bad information. The Fire Department makes the rules and there is nothing they can do about it - BUT - Destination Services and the third-party agency they use was informed not to tell guests dogs were permitted on the beach in June. GREAT, Team Dan - but I did my due diligence and asked a specific question that was the CORE reason of why I was staying at the property: I was under the direction dogs were allowed on the beach before 8am and after 6pm||||Listen, I'm a crazy animal lover. I booked this vacation so my dog could join in as many things as possible so imagine hearing this AFTER they had already swiped my credit card for $10,806.45||||That's not going to sit well. With anyone.||||Team Dan still hasn't called me back, but a nominal $450.00 credit was given to me upon check out. That amount is a joke for THEIR mistake. Dan is a joke. He doesn't even have a backbone to call me back to even justify the random $450.00 credit.||||||||- I can talk about the crappy service at the pool. How there are two men "working" but don't actually have the fortitude to ask guests if they'd they'd like to see a menu let alone offer them a cocktail. After 45 minutes of watching them stare back at me, I went up and asked for a menu then put an order with them. This is NOT 5-star service||||To the TripAdvisor community, please heed my advice and "pass along" looking at this resort for...

We were here this week celebrating a Birthday, and it was a lovely time in this historic, charming resort on a quiet bay. We were all greeted with a warm welcome and glasses of Champaigne. That was a nice gesture and made the birthday guest feel special. Such a friendly and attentive staff! The resort is well decorated and full of New England charm. Fresh flowers in the entrance foyer and a beautiful fireplace in parlor add to the lovely rustic feel. Rocking chairs by fireplace add warmth and are so relaxing. Adirondak chairs are plentiful on the back lawn to enjoy. The rooms are cozy with King Beds, Claw foot bathtubs and New England ambiance. Outside are chairs to relax in with bar service, a fire pit and gorgeous views of the ocean bay. The two restaurants are both outstanding. The "Restaurant" is excellent for fine dining, and we enjoy dinners here. Our group loved the delicious breakfast of French Toast, Blueberry pancakes and egg offerings. A sweet server from Jamaica made everyone feel so welcomed. Wonderful service!! Sweet hostesses!! Lunch at THE DECK is amazing here with gorgeous water views and the best Lobster Rolls and fries in the area. The highlight is dessert of Fresh Blueberry Bread Pudding. Ask for Henri, our favorite server for lunch and dinner. Attentive, kind and helpful. The Chef at both these wonderful restaurants is 5 stars and all three meals here are excellent. The pool is huge and beautiful with water views, and the private ocean beach is large and lovely. They even have a boat they take guests out on for a 45-minute complimentary tour of the bay. For a quiet, low-key fun vacation or celebration, this resort is the perfect choice. Couples or families love this special place to make memories. We come here often and recommend this unique and peaceful historic resort highly along with the restaurants located indoors or out. Richard the manager was so helpful and nice, along with A.J. at the front desk who assisted with room reservations. They were both wonderful, helping with this Birthday...