Castle Hill Inn

My husband and I have been to Castle Hill Inn many times for overnights, dinners, lunches on the lawn, spa treatments, and brunches both in the winter and the summer. What's not to love? The Relais & Chateau quality and service have been delivered every time at every level. This New Year's we chose Castle Hill Inn to celebrate a major passage for my husband. We knew we were in for a treat. What we DIDN'T know is that we were in for Covid as well. We had to cancel a prime time reservation at the last minute with meals, spa, friends coming over, included. Sad. Kelly and Sinn in Reservations, however, went out of their way to take care of us and make sure we have credit for a future reservation which I can't wait to redeem. They didn't need to do this so, a Must Visit Place! Thank you, Castle Hill Inn! You can relax here. They're taking care of you.

From the moment you arrive on the property, you feel pampered! We thoroughly enjoyed our 3-day stay, opting for a cottage, located on the Inn’s private beach, rather than a room in the Inn. The cottages and Inn are meticulously maintained and spotless, kudos to housekeeping and the ground crews. Our cottage had a deck with outdoor seating, the room was well appointed, the towels plush, and quality amenities. A highlight was the chocolate chip cookies delivered with evening turndown service. Our cottage could have benefited from larger storage space/ closet, otherwise we couldn’t have been more pleased. The views on the promontory, are breath-taking and the ENVY of Newport! Attracting guests, residents, and tourists. There are Adirondack chairs scattered on their vast lawn to view the ocean, boats, and beautiful sunsets. You can also enjoy drinks and/or food oceanside! There are also chairs reserved for Inn guests; in case the others are taken. While the entire staff is professional, friendly and accommodating, Jane from the reception desk and MacKenzie from the dining room stand out. A special thank you to both! We cannot rave enough about the meals, the food was so good, we cancelled our other reservations in Newport and ate all our meals at the Lawn Terrace, one of the Inn’s restaurants. The restaurant is open to the public for lunch, dinner, and drinks. Another perk of being a guest is you are always accommodated with a premier table whether in or outside. Another treat that's available exclusively for overnight guests are gourmet breakfasts and afternoon tea. Breakfast is served on the patio or inside the restaurant, your choice, and tea is served in a small cozy room in the main house. There are a variety of teas to explore, English tea sandwiches, scones, and delectable pastries. So much was offered, we delayed our dinner reservations!

Beach Cottage: beautiful views. But…for almost $2000 a night it was smaller than a motel 8 room and had only one chair to sit on! Also, pictures on their website are not misleading—they are false. Shows a room with multiple chairs and a coffee table. We were told many times we could have breakfast delivered to our room—-there was no place to sit! It would be a stand up breakfast. Positive: Dinner at Aurelia was excellent and worth the high price. Summary: I travel the world regularly and for the image and price this establishment maintains, it is the only such establishment that didn’t care or bother to survey for customer feedback. Tells me they just don’t care and are full of themselves. I guess that’s good for them so long as people are willing to be overcharged and under serviced.

Very disappointing stay. First, I didn’t want to go because my home is in Western North Carolina where there is so much surreal devastation. My home received damage and my heart and mind was not into going on this vacation. The resort would not allow us to cancel or reschedule. They had no empathy whatsoever! The dinner in Aurelia was nothing to write home about. Another disappointment. Every morning we had our breakfast delivered to our and every morning it was messed up. Examples, thirty minutes late, no utensils, forget cream and sugar for coffee, forgot a smoothie, lost the order completely, delivered only one order, Wanted to know if we wanted breakfast set up on the porch where the chairs and table were wet, etc. The wall next to the shower was rotten. The inside window seals inside the screens were disgustingly nasty. To call the front desk at times the phone would just ring and ring. Overall experience was not worth what we paid for. Will not stay at this property again!

Beautiful venue. Old Newport terrace and lawn looking out over the bay into the sunset. Gracious staff, great service. But the swordfish and sea bass were overcooked, and nothing we ate made us feel like anyone really cared in the kitchen. Go for the scene and the sunset. Cruise Ocean drive home. Spectacular setting