Seaside B&B/hotel within commuter rail distance from Boston?

January 15, 2014 6:58 AM

While my partner visits me in Boston we'd like to stay for a few nights in a B&B or hotel outside the city. We don't drive, so the town needs to be easily accessible by train. Ideally, we'd like to be very close to the beach and have a fireplace in the room. A quaint town square with a nice coffee shop would also be great.

I've been to Manchester and Singing Beach was really nice. In my imagination I'm more or less plunking a view like that in the window of the B&B-with-fireplace-room.

posted by Beardman to Travel & Transportation around Massachusetts (8 answers total)

What time of year? It makes a huge difference, obviously.
posted by catalytics at 7:12 AM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

Maybe The Inn at Castle Hill in Ipswich? Looks like only one room has a (non-working) fireplace, but it's right on the beach.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:13 AM on January 15, 2014

Go a stop or two further up from Manchester and try Rockport. That place out-quaints Stars Hollow and there's a huge strip of hotels and b&bs along the waterfront, along with art galleries and restaurants.
posted by Diablevert at 7:26 AM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm trying to think of someplace where the beach, the town square, and the train station are all close together and coming up a bit short. Newburyport has nice B&Bs and a nice town square but the beach is at Plum Island, a good distance from the train and town (and more vacation-rental-y than B&B-ish).

Rockport has the town and train and beach closer together but the in-town beaches are kind of blah.

Gloucester has nice beaches but not sure about the B&B situation.

Ipswich is a nice option but Castle Hill is kind of far from the train station.

You might want to poke around the Cape Ann and Newburyport Chamber of Commerce websites to get ideas.

You might even want to consider Wells or Ogunquit in Maine. Gorgeous long beach and reasonably accessible by train (Amtrak from North Station), though you'd probably want to find a place that can give you a ride from the station because the buses don't run much in winter.
posted by mskyle at 7:30 AM on January 15, 2014

Seconding Rockport - the beach right next to town is fine for sitting around and reading. If you do go there, check out the Teddy Bear Inn - we stayed a while ago and it is super cute, I think there was a fireplace in our room but there defn was in the common living area.
posted by darsh at 9:46 AM on January 15, 2014

Morning Glory B&B in Salem is a charming place near the harbor and the commuter rail stop.
posted by Signed Sealed Delivered at 9:49 AM on January 15, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions so far. To answer one question: this will be in mid-February.
posted by Beardman at 11:08 AM on January 15, 2014

I third Rockport. I stayed at the Eagle House motel and loved it, and though it's not near the beach the same family owns a beach side inn. Downtown Rock port is very walkable, multiple restaurants and galleries and a performing arts/theatre hall.
posted by lillygog at 9:53 AM on January 18, 2014