Although I lived in the Boston area for several years back in the 1980s, one of the few places in the region I didn’t visit was Newport. When I finally did get there during a recent chapter meeting of the Society of American Travel Writers, I had a chance to see why the richest people in America flocked to Newport during the Gilded Age—and are still flocking. (Oracle CEO Larry Ellison recently purchased the Astors’ Beechwood Mansion, much to the chagrin of local wedding and event planners who had long used the palatial site.)
Fortunately, there’s no need to be a billionaire to enjoy Newport, especially if you are there for a meeting. From our opening night lobster dinner on Goat Island to our farewell night banquet in the 24-karat Gold Room at Marble House, Newport demonstrated that it knows how to entertain groups in grand style.
After crossing over the short bridge from central Newport to tiny Goat Island, I checked into the Hyatt Regency Newport, which was fresh from a recent makeover that gave the hotel a redesigned lobby and inviting new entrance. Along with most of our group, I was happily ensconced in the Captain’s Quarters, a secluded wing of guest rooms adjacent to the main meetings area. With patios and balconies framing views of Narragansett Bay and its continual parade of sailing vessels, the rooms have almost a beach cottage feel.
With dark clouds overhead and the threat of a tornado, our opening night sail on the schooner
Aurora was cancelled. So instead we headed straight for Regatta Place, a gold and cream-colored tented venue alongside Goat Island Marina to dig into heaping bowls of steamed clams, lobster and garlic potatoes. By the time the main course was served, sunshine had broken through the clouds, underscoring the old New England adage I’d heard countless times: If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes.
The next couple of days were divided among educational sessions and touring the glories of Newport, including the fabulous event-ready mansions maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County. After a couple of intensive sessions, it was great to break for one of the Society’s mansion tours, this one a behind-the-scenes look at The Elms, modeled after a French chateau when it was built for the Berwind family in 1901.
After getting a look at the servants’ spare but surprisingly spacious attic quarters, vast kitchen operations, butler’s pantry, cavernous coal room and massive storage trunks for the family silver (just about the only item never left behind when the Berwinds’ six-to-eight-week summer sojourn was over), it was awesomely apparent what it took to maintain the owners’ sumptuous lifestyle.
Another sightseeing option gave us the chance to explore the new Loeb Visitors Center, located downtown at Touro Synagogue, which dates from 1763 and is the oldest surviving synagogue in the nation. The center, which has exhibits on the history of the synagogue and the contributions of early American Jews to American politics and culture, includes a copy of George Washington’s 1790
Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport. On our last night, we stepped right into the Gilded Age with a farewell dinner at Marble House, built for Ava Vanderbilt with 500,000 cubic feet of gleaming white marble. The evening, which combined a tour of the downstairs rooms with dinner in the dazzling Gold Room, was a splendid example of the many mansion events that are possible through the Preservation Society of Newport County. Before dinner, we sipped cocktails on the terrace overlooking the vast lawn rolling down to cliffs above the sea and walked out to the estate’s exquisite Chinese Tea House where small groups can book an event.
On the final morning, I took a tour of Rough Point, one of several mansions maintained by the Newport Restoration Society, which had been the home of tobacco heiress Doris Duke. Despite its priceless European and Asian antiques, it maintains the quirky spirit of its animal-loving owner, including a few nicks and cracks here and there inflicted by her pet dogs and trio of camels. The beloved camels live on as a series of camel-shaped topiaries on the front lawn. Rough Point includes an exhibit detailing Duke’s passion for historic preservation, including pictures of the 80 colonial-era homes that survive in downtown Newport because of her efforts.