Know Before You Go: Ocean House (Watch Hill, Rhode Island)
This painstakingly renovated historic property offers hidden secrets and delights at every turn. Kids will love the beach, scavenger hunt, and cinema, while parents will enjoy culinary classes, lounging in rocking chairs on the terrace, or sipping bubbles fireside in cooler months. While summertime is best for visiting the beach, the sleepier off-season still offers much for families to enjoy here without the crowds.
OVERALL RATING
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Exceptional
Overview
At-a-Glance
Date of stay: November 2021
Length of stay: 2 nights / 3 days
Trip type: Family trip
Property type: Historic luxury beach resort
Tailor-made for: Beach-going families and couples
Highlights
The beach and setting - lots to explore around the property (with a very famous neighbor just a few houses up the beach)
Indoor pool, cinema and family scavenger hunt
Watching the sunset from the terrace of the Ocean View Terrace Suite
Generous complimentary in-room welcome amenities — wide selection of snacks, DIY cocktail ingredients, bottle of wine, non-alcoholic drinks, kids welcome gifts
History and low-key elegance of the property
Good to Know
Seemed to predominantly be adults staying at the property
Veuve Clicquot branded Gondola Village and Celebration du Soleil are available in winter months
Mercedes-Benz partnership provides 4 house cars for complimentary guest use
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Location & Setting
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Set in the picturesque seaside village of Watch Hill, the approach to Ocean House feels like driving through a small slice of New England Americana. Dotted with boutiques, seafood restaurants, and beach houses, the approach to Ocean House takes you through some of the country’s finest real estate — including the vacation home of a very famous neighbor.
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Property & Grounds
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Part of the OHM Collection of properties in coastal Rhode Island, Ocean House, a member of Relais & Chateaux, has been a seaside destination for over 100 years. Set on 13 beachfront acres, the property was completely rebuilt in 2004, replicating the original structure and maintaining the original fireplace. It has 49 rooms and 18 suites, a prime stretch of white sand beach, indoor and outdoor pool, spa, fitness center, cinema, wine and culinary school, tournament-level croquet lawn, putting green, shuffle board court, and indoor sport courts and billiards room. They have a partnership with Mercedes-Benz offering 4 cars for complimentary guest use, and a partnership with Veuve Clicquot offering two different outdoor champagne bar concepts - the “Secret Garden” on the terrace in summer and the “Gondola Village” in winter.
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Room
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We stayed in an Ocean View Terrace Suite booked directly with the hotel. The suite had a dining area, sitting room with fireplace, TV, and sofa bed, bathroom with shower and tub, separate bedroom with King bed and TV, en-suite bathroom with shower and double sink vanity, and an expansive terrace with ocean views and outdoor living area. The in-room welcome amenities were among the most generous we’ve received: multiple canisters of sweet and savory snacks, bottle of red wine, bottles of whiskey, vodka and gin with mixers (and ice and fruit garnishes on request), selection of non-alcoholic bottled and canned drinks, a cheese plate, two glasses of champagne, puzzles and toys for the kids tailored to their age and gender — all complimentary.
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Service
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We experienced the service here as warm, generous, thoughtful, responsive, and professional. For example, a pillow in the room was monogrammed with our last initial (pictured). The property also offered a text-based service request program which was really helpful. We also loved the little details like the in-room complimentary DIY cocktail program. Additional service features of this gratuity-free property include 24-hour floor valets, complimentary valet parking, complimentary Mercedes-Benz house cars and local transfers, complimentary afternoon refreshments and welcome champagne. However, the staff seemed to keep their distance somewhat which may have been due to COVID concerns, but this surprised us given the relatively low occupancy during the time of our visit.
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Dining
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The resort has two main restaurants open year-round, Coast (fine dining, pictured above) and The Bistro (upscale casual dining), with multiple additional dining concepts open throughout the summer months, and Gondola Village in the winter months. The dining offered authentic New England fare — including hot and cold lobster rolls — with a solid wine list and very helpful sommelier (we ordered a bottle of Condrieu that was out and the sommelier offered a great replacement based on our wine interests at a similar value as what we originally selected). Of note, they had a premium quality coffee and tea cart in the morning — as a big tea fan, the wide selection of high-quality Ikaati tea was a great perk. Given the unique nature of the property and location, this seemed like the kind of place that would be perfect for a Michelin two or three star dining concept, but the dining here was pretty on par with most similar-class hotels.
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Family Services & Amenities
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This property offered a wealth of family services and amenities, including the beach, pools, cinema, babysitting services, cute boat-themed children’s menus, kids bathrobes and slippers, a fun “Mortimer Mouse” scavenger hunt (with Ocean House kids t-shirts as prizes), lots of children’s items in the boutique, in-room welcome amenity of puzzles and toys for the kids tailored to their age and gender. There is also a Sand Castles supervised children’s program in summer months.
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Activities
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There are endless things to do here, though the widest selection of activities is offered during the summer high season. Yachting, beach activities (with cabanas available in summer), croquet, squash, biking, water sports, golf, tennis, fishing, cinema, billiards, a wine and culinary center, and seasonal programming. A full list of resort activities can be found here.
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Wellness
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Although this property is not explicitly wellness focused, there is plenty on offer here for those looking for a wellness-oriented vacation. The Forbes Five-Star Spa, beach, indoor and outdoor pools, fitness center, and squash courts offer lots of ways to have a great time and stay active.
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Wow Factor
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There is a reason why this historic seaside property has been a destination of choice for over 100 years. Between the charming setting, the property and all it offers, the gracious service, the generous room size and in-suite amenities, the Mercedes-Benz house car program, and everything families can do here, this place delivers a long list of wows.
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Value
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The value here is best in the off-season, though we found this to be one of the most generous properties of its class based on the complimentary property and room amenities. In high season, expect a stay here to come with a premium price tag.
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Overall
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Overall, this property far surpassed our already high expectations. This is one of the best properties we’ve stayed at in the US and we would welcome the opportunity for a return visit someday.
Rating Legend*
💛💛💛💛💛 Exceptional
💛💛💛💛 Notable
💛💛💛 Standard
💛💛 Substandard
💛 Unsatisfactory
*All ratings are relative to similar-class properties
