Newport with children

We are visiting NYC at the start of April and considering driving up into New England and stopping off at Newport. I%26#39;d like to stay in a smart and atmospheric B%26amp;B or small hotel. However, everything that I%26#39;ve seen so far doesn%26#39;t take children! My kids, especially the 6 and 10 year olds would just love to stay in a place like Francis Malbone. Does anyone know of anything of this standard (even if it doesn%26#39;t have the same price tag!!) that could accommodate us? Also any other suggestions of other places to stay / things to do without traveling far too north / west. They are the sort of kids who would revel in anything that smacks of High Society / Great Gatsby etc so I guess we%26#39;ll be making friends with the Newport Preservation Society!

Newport with children

I grew up in Newport and have kids of my own and have to say, the Marriot is a great place for kids to stay. They have a swimming pool and the elevator has glass windows in it and you can ';see'; where you are going. Maybe it%26#39;s just my kids, but that was a highlight for them. (especially in the middle of winter when the beaches aren%26#39;t open.

Best of luck!

Newport with children

Just remembered something, my kids LOVED this. Before you come into Newport, stop at the Mystic Seaport. It is a wonderful day activity for the kids. They even have an aquarime there as well. But the old sailing village is so quant and lots of stuff for the kids to do. It is exit 90, I believe, off of Interstate 95. (In Connecticut) Newport is exit 3A (route 138) so it is pretty close to Newport, maybe 40-50 minutes.

Here is the link for you. Feel free to email me with any questions you might have. Living in PA now, I am traveling to New England often. Hope you have a great trip.

www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm…

Many thanks for your suggestions - I will follow through.

Had thought about Mystic Seaport but not sure if we will make it. We want to take the kids to Plymouth because we have a holiday home just outside the original Plymouth in the UK and it will be fun for them to stand on the Mayflower Steps this side of the Pond and then to see where it landed your side! We%26#39;ve heard good reports of the Plymouth Plantation. We also thought we%26#39;d see Louisa May Alcott%26#39;s home but it may be too far of a trek. And what about Sturbridge(?). Again this sounded fun. Newport and the houses that will be open out of season is a must. Talking of which, what should we expect weatherwise? We had (for us) the most fantastic sunny weather in Princeton and Washington DC at the same time last year. Not expecting to sunbathe - but then we are use to British weather - but some blue skies and no gloves and rainwear would be a real boon!

I have to plan an itinerary and work out what is feasible without spending too long in a car. I guess we%26#39;re looking at three, one or two night stopovers. Any suggestions as to routes - what looks straightforward on a map isn%26#39;t always the case in real life! And I don%26#39;t suppose you or anyone else knows how long it might take to drive from Princeton to the southern reaches of New England. It%26#39;s the getting around NYC that I am not sure about.

All advice and ideas much appreciated.

After many visits to Newport, I cannot recommend a better place to stay with kids than the Fairlfield Long Wharf Resort (NOT the Inn on Long Wharf!). Its units have kitchens and there are nightly movies, a play room and a small indoor swimming pool that has a slide that the kids love. It%26#39;s in a great location, too, altho Thames Street is a few minutes troll away.

The Marriott is, indeed, a nice hotel but no kitchen or amusement programs.

Princeton is about 60 minutes south of NYC. From NYC, just less than 4 hours to Providence (about the same to cut across, mid-state, to Newport.). Traffic can be bad leaving NYC during rush hour, especially on Friday evenings. (We all just try to avoid 4-7pm.) But, in general, coming from NJ, you take the ';NJ Turnpike'; north to the the George Washington Bridge (great views of the Hudson and city) and it swings you straight onto route 95 north, which is the easiest way to go. In Rhode Island, Rte 138 East will get you from Rt 95 to Newport.

Please check Plimoth.org for info. The ';residents'; are completely in character and it is a fabulous visit, rain or shine. It is about 1-1.5 hours from Providence, call it two hours from Newport. You can also check out whale watching from Plymouth MA (same town.) Check captjohn.com; their web site still shows 2006 schedule, which was Sat/Sun/holidays staring 4/8. This is always great for kids and adults. This would be a long day; consider spending one night, then heading for, perhaps, Salem, old seaport, where the witch trials took place.

Weather is very iffy this year. We are in light jackets now and don%26#39;t know what will come. April is usually a bit chilly and usually rains.

With all the B%26amp;Bs in Newport, I%26#39;m sure you can find something there. Have you checked this website? www.newportinns.com

And Sturbridge Village is great for seeing village life way back when (for us, that is). I%26#39;d guess that Sturbridge is about 1 and 1/2 hours north of Newport.

Rosecliff where gatsby was filmed is lovely. Breakers is impressive, but the most beautiful is Doris Dukes mansion Rough Point, in my opinion. Also fun perhaps would be the Tennis Hall of Fame or Redwood Library, a gem if you like historical, cultural things. Sturbridge would be alot like Plymouth Plantation I think, a good alternative would be the new Indian museum near Mystic, which I hear is good.

An alternative to 95 is to go through the Hadlyme area in Connecticut, take the 50 cent ferry over the CT River. New England country at its finest.

We spent Thanksgiving in Newport with our 2 toddlers (1 and 3). We stayed for 4 nights at the Hotel Viking. It%26#39;s a beautiful historic hotel, they are kid (and pet) friendly and best of all...have an indoor pool that the kids loved.

We got a great package through GoNewport which incl breakfast and way too many attraction tickets for us to use. We went down to the docks, to several mansions, on a trolley tour of the city. The pkg even incl tix for ice skating, the movies, the tennis hall of fame etc.

The rooms are a bit small, but very classic and comfortable. The staff (with the exception of the front desk) was impeccable. By the end of our stay, the restaurant manager was calling our kids by name and carrying them to their ';choice'; of tables.

The lounge is relaxed enough that we could have a cocktail while the children had hot cocoa, but elegant enough that we actually felt as if we were having a night out.

Finally, the best thing we did was hire a photographer to spend a morning with us taking family portraits. We got shots on the roof, throughout the hotel, by the mansions, on the beaches and in a beautiful park!

One last note: We live near Princeton and would also highly recommend that as side trip to NYC as a previous poster mentioned. It certainly is a closer and easier drive from the city.

Either way, you won%26#39;t be disappointed.

Shari

You may want to call the Wellington and the Newport On Shore..they have indoor pools and great locations..they boh have 2 bedroom units with kitchens here%26#39;s the phone # Wellington 1-800-228-2968...the Newport on Shore410-849-1500