Expert hospitality is a watchword at the five-room 1750 Inn at Sandwich Center, operated by lovely innkeepers Jan and Charlie Preus. It’s right across from the Sandwich Glass Museum and Dexter Grist Mill in heart of Sandwich village. They serve delicious breakfasts (like macadamia nut French toast or quichettes served in individual ramekins) in the keeping room — complete with...

Brewster by the Sea Inn & Spa, a Greek Revival farmhouse inn (complete with a hydrangea-ringed pool) on Route 6A in Brewster, is a study in superlatives. Each of the eight spacious guest rooms — four in the original home and four in the more modern addition — are smartly decorated with soothing colors, floral accents, and English Country-inspired décor....

The Captain Freeman Inn, sitting proudly on Brewster’s oval-shaped green and next door to the iconic Brewster Store, has been resurrected and is better than ever. The real seaman Captain Freeman would be proud! Each of the 11 guest rooms are oh-so-tasteful and tranquil. Some are distinguished by luxurious baths; others by private sun porches. Even the most humble (the...

Choose the Captain’s Manor Inn if you want to be within a stone’s throw of Main Street shopping and Falmouth dining, but a world away. This Georgian plantation-style house — the only one of its kind on Cape Cod — is the epitome of perfection. It’s set back from the road in the heart of the historic district. Stellar innkeepers...

The Captain’s House Inn of Chatham — a traditional, elegant, Greek Revival beauty — sets the gold standard for similarly high-minded inns in New England. (Nothing really comes close on Cape Cod to this Chatham gem.) The inn has a charming historic quality, a cadre of UK hotel-school staffers, and exquisitely appointed rooms. Set on two acres of gorgeously tended...

Built in 1914 as a hunting lodge for a Boston stockbroker, the rarified Chatham Bars Inn (CBI) in Chatham is one of the grandest and most elegant places to stay in New England. There are 18 different room types spread out among 40 rooms in the main lodge and 176 more in the cottages dotting the resort’s 25 acres. Some...

I can’t say enough about Chatham Tides Waterfront Lodging, a favored Chatham place. Delightfully off the well-trodden path and about four miles from the center of town, this quiet beachfront complex of 24 efficiencies, suites, and townhouses is a real find. It stands out for its view — alone worth the price. In Ellen and Ed Handel’s family since 1966,...

Fort Hill Bed and Breakfast is a 19th-century Greek Revival farmhouse, perched on scenic Fort Hill in Eastham within the National Seashore (and across from the Edward Penniman House). And it’s a real charmer. Owners Jean and Gordon Avery rent the inn’s two lovely suites and one fabulous cottage to guests who wisely reserve well in advance. In the main...

Gil and Ellie Mucher have reeled ‘em in year after year with their nicely kept Hawthorne Motel. While the easy, breezy, no-frills style has appeal, what surely keeps folks coming year after year is the location — across from Chatham’s barrier beaches and North Beach. Nothing stands between this down-to-earth establishment and its private beach. Nada. Okay, there’s some grass...

Rick Kowarek and Nancy Hunter-Young have made Honeysuckle Hill, a 1810 farmhouse on Route 6A in Barnstable, as welcoming and homey as humanly possible. One night’s stay and you won’t want to leave. There are four country-comfortable rooms and an economical two-bedroom suite tucked under the eaves of this charmer, each with its own mix of antique and contemporary furnishings....

Ah… The Inn on the Sound boasts stunning broad views of Nantucket Sound from rooms so warm, welcoming and well-decorated that you want to move in. (Howard Grosser, the innkeeper, might have something to say about that though…) It doesn’t get better than this, folks. The entire turn-of-the-20th-century B&B is sophisticated and down-to-earth, fashionable without being fussy, upscale but not uppity...

Isaiah Hall Bed and Breakfast, Jerry and Judy Neal’s rambling 1857 farmhouse, is one of the most relaxed and hospitable places on Cape Cod. The inn’s guest rooms are furnished with country-style antiques and have a light, airy feel without being fussy. The rooms in the attached carriage house are newer, but with the same old-fashioned ambiance featuring iron beds,...

Isaiah Jones Homestead, a quintessentially Victorian B&B, is located smack in the middle of the (quiet and lovely) village of Sandwich. It’s filled with antiques and elegantly decorated with rich colors and fabrics. High ceilings emphasize its spaciousness. The adjacent 1875 carriage house has even more privacy, with two roomy suites on the second floor, each with a sitting area...

Kalmar Village feels just like a little village, with 45 roomy cottages arranged in neat rows and a pool and lots of common grassy lawn for pick-up games and socializing. One detail that really sets Kalmar Village apart from the other cottage colonies along 6A in North Truro are its 400 feet of private bay beach — perfect for lazy...

Proprietors of the Lamb and Lion Inn, Ali Pitcher and Tom Dott, know a little something about service and hospitality: they operated a Relais & Château restaurant in the Hudson Valley before coming here. Maybe this helps explain their excellent self-guided driving tours and all the other free perks. This transformed Barnstable inn consists of 10 guestrooms (including the Lamb’s...

Land’s End Inn is in a class by itself. I really can’t extol its virtues strongly or boldly enough. Not only does it command the most singular spot on all of Cape Cod (and perhaps New England), but it’s place in local history and its singularly eccentric style catapult it into rarefied air. Provincetown’s most eclectic place to stay, the circa-1904...

Want a big bang for your buck? Look no further than the Liberty Hill Inn. The former 1825 whaling tycoon’s home sits on a knoll just off Route 6A in Yarmouth Port and features five comfortable rooms in the elegant main house and four in the adjacent post-and-beam-style carriage house. The rooms in the main inn have lofty ceilings, floor-to-ceiling...

European innkeepers (Sandra, Pamela, and Bernd) have infused the Little Inn on Pleasant Bay, a historic 1798 house, with a Continental sensibility and an eye toward elegance. The rooms are done in soft sand-inspired tones, with whitewashed barn board and sea glass-colored accent pillows. Rooms are divided between the Main House, the Carriage House, and the Bay Rooms (once the...

Innkeeper Diane Johnson, her daughter Cindy, and son-in-law John have welcomed guests to the Nauset House Inn, a delightfully old-fashioned Orleans hostelry, since 1982. And they’re super-friendly and hospitable pros. The inn dates back to 1810. And the original fireplaces, sloping ceilings, and wooden floors add to its charm. You don’t find many houses like this anymore. Guest rooms in...

It would take several days to exhaust yourself of everything that Nickerson State Park in Brewster has to offer. The thick forest, seamed with walking and biking trails and sprinkled with glacial “kettle” ponds, awaits exploration. The 25-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail Bike Path cuts through the Brewster park. Miles of loop-de-loop bike trails meander throughout the park as well,...