Chatham Inn Relais & Châteaux — Restaurant in Chatham

Understand before you read further that the superlatives in our review are an underestatment compared to the real experience. We chose the Inn for the celebration of Jeff's birthday and our anniversary, October 5 & 6.From the moment our feet touched ground, our experience was perfect. All of the prior fabulous reviews failed to do the place and people justice, and neither can we. The property is dotted with varied, expansive indoor and outdoor spaces --from comfy chairs to tables to fire pit to porch to lounge to bar to the lovely dining room. The breakfasts are FULL GOURMET (including the most wonderful breakfast potatoes and crab cakes ever) with choices for every palate, served with grace and personality. You simply can't sleep-in and miss a bite; and if you must leave early, the staff will ensure you are fed if they must have a to-go bag with warm fare and cups of coffee in hand as you race to your destination. Dinner by the fireplace with the identical food quality and service awaits you upon return. The staff will also help you identify other wonderful restaurants,but don't miss your own homebase offering. (Our favorite away-from Inn restaurants were the Naked Oyster (Hyannis), Cape Sea Grill (Harwich), Daniel Webster Inn's bar (Sandwich), and the Winslow Tavern (Wellfleet).).

All Chatham Inn areas were spotless and the rooms well stocked. If you need something, just ask, and the staff will do their utmost to deliver--from chocolate to extra logs for the fireplace. If you want expansive space, including a private balcony & fireplace, ask for Room 3 or one similar. The Inn is about a mile from the lighthouse, which we enjoyed in the fog, rain, and sun--all stunning views. Town is a reasonable walk from end to end, and there is more beyond. A special gem was the Orpheum Theater downtown. Shows run from noonish through night--and atypical showings as well as new releases are available.

From the Inn you can run from one end of the Cape to the other and never tire. We know as we did it for 7 days. While we hardly missed a burg, our favorites were Chatham, Brewster, Sandwich, Hyannis and the National Seashore at Provincetown.

From first arrival to final departure and every in-and-out between, we felt like we were returning home as we were greeted and cared for by all the staff, but especially the incredible Fabienne (who we first met with our initial call for reservations and last hugged at the end) and her sidekick Lindsay, Innkeeper Lynn, servers Suzannah, Joyce, and Luz, Dining Manager Jeffrey, and the on-the-spot bellman George. All others we encountered casually were equally welcoming. So, we will be back as soon as life permits. Thanks Chatham Inn for making our long awaited Cape Cod visit all we had hoped...

There are many positives about our experience staying at this property for 4 days, but also a few negatives. Ultimately, if this property is within your budget, certainly consider it. Cape Cod is, in this writer's opinion, a great summer vacation spot for all ages, but suffers from a shortage of anything that might be called a 'luxury' property. And those that do exist, while they charge luxury summer prices, do not necessarily provide a true luxury experience. So taking on the renovation of an older property into a luxury destination is itself something to commend it. Other positives: location, within easy walking distance from the center of Chatham; numerous amenities, such as abundant towels, luxury bathroom cosmetics and other appointments, upscale bedding, large flat- screen TV's, in-room gas fireplaces, expensive, extremely quiet individual high-end room air-conditioners, abundant chocolates, constant availability of coffee and water for patrons, umbrellas, robes, etc., and not to forget a complementary, complete hot breakfast served in the same room as a glorious, but expensive, evening restaurant (not reviewed here) on the premises, all the makings of a genuine luxury experience. But the icing on the cake is the attitude of the staff, always ready to help, where the operating mantra is 'sure, we can' rather than 'sorry, we can't.' Of particular note is the "Maitre de Maison' named Lyn, an obviously-English lady. who could not be more helpful or thoughtful, and who seems to work 24/7 at being both, when she is on the property. Without her, the luxury experience would be lacking, how much is hard to say. What about negatives: no elevator, despite some rooms located at the top of a steep stairway (others are on the main floor), the location of room bathrooms in some rooms that are uncomfortably close to, and open directly onto, sleeping areas; no swimming pool; and in our case, a fantastic shower mechanism that could not be adjusted to provide less than scalding water, and was thus hard to use. Yes, some annoyances, a few resulting purely from the limitations of the original structure, and others, capable of remediation, if management pays...

As the recent Covid 19 has touch so many of our lives of late we were quite thrilled when our Dear friends Alexa and Isaac called and said they had planned for a short staycation to celebrate our 43rd anniversary at THE Chatham Inn on Main Street in Chatham ,MA. Our stay was scheduled for the Labor Day weekend of Sunday ,Monday and checking out on Tuesday for our return home. Alexa outdid even herself in putting together a fabulous itinerary but let me get to the point. We checked in on Sunday and we were received by a very warm and courteous staff and escorted to beautiful clean rooms with updated baths to die for. After a few hours of taking in the town and a bit of lunch we retired back to the inn to freshen up and dress for dinner ( we did it up but dress is casual and neat) and that is when the staff went over the top. A four course dinner had been planned and was served by a Mario (a delight of smiles knowledge) the food was turned into a few more courses added by the house chef and staff and was a delight to the eye as it was to the taste.Do not miss the lobster appetizer fabulous .A few cocktails and it was off to dreamland on a king size bed with a mattress fit for same. Morning breakfast (included with room charge )was another treat to the tummy and the eyes with bloody Mary's or mimosas or other beverages. I could go on but rather let me say for a short or long stay on Cape Cod the Chatham Inn is A MUST. Short walks to shopping and beaches and even free transportation to beaches with towels chairs and umbrellas provided by the Inn. A diamond of an Inn.Certainly will return. Sorry have not yet developed the pictures of all the beautiful...