Best Places to Stay in New England (7th ed)

New England is a remarkably compact region of the country, yet even within those six tightly knit states there's an incredible amount of diversity and variety of terrain, scenery, and atmosphere. Therefore, in planning a vacation getaway, location is usually the first priority, and accommodations are the next, since where you stay provides the flavor and tone that colors your trip, and it will be the hub from which you branch out and explore. In fact, depending on the sort of holiday you have in mind, where you lodge may assume prime importance, because a charming country bed-and-breakfast or village inn can become the destination itself. So for a weekend ramble, a romantic tryst, a family reunion, ski-lodge experience, a spa splurge, business excursion, island escape, bed-and-breakfast retreat, or resort indulgence, what you chiefly need is a guide to lodgings, and that's what Christina Tree and Kimberly Grant provide. They visited and tirelessly researched more than 1,000 accommodations across New England, and from that vast pool selected 350 places to stay that appeal to various tastes, preferences, and budgets. There's the Whalewalk Inn on Cape Cod, a tranquil and romantic retreat on 3.5 acres of an isolated 1830s estate. In Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, is Sunset Hill House--a country inn atop a 1,700-foot ridge in the White Mountains, with full country breakfasts, mountain-range views, fireplaces, a luxurious pool and golf/ski facilities, plus hiking, biking, or horse-drawn sleigh rides, depending on the season. Or there's Quisisana in Center Lovell, Maine, a resort for music lovers with one-, two-, and three-bedroom cottages on one of Maine's deepest lakes. Founded in 1917 as a place where musicians could play together for their own entertainment, the 47-acre compound features more than 70 conservatory students who cook and serve food by day, and perform chamber music, operas, and concert arias by night. Browsing through Best Places to Stay is a pleasure, surpassed only by the actual vacation it may launch. --Stephanie Gold