Edwardian Elegance on Martha’s Vineyard - The Charlotte Inn
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“Listen to the quality of the silence,” Robin says, speaking softly as we sit facing each other in deep, over-stuffed leather chairs.
In this moment we are being warmed by the glow of an October fire and a glass of San Emilio sherry. “It’s because of the building” she concludes, “It’s just so substantial.” Indeed, the main edifice of the Charlotte Inn was built in 1864 and it’s here in the Green Room we have settled into an oasis of tranquility on Martha’s Vineyard, the isle eight miles off the coast of Cape Cod. Nestled on a linden-tree shaded street, a block off Main in Edgartown, Innkeepers Gery and Paula Conover have created a place dedicated to reviving Edwardian-era elegance: stunning rooms that are each sumptuously decorated, fine art and antiques in every nook and cranny, meticulously tended gardens, and an internationally acclaimed restaurant. (See the accompanying feature, L’etoile: Gourmet Treasure on Martha’s Vineyard Island.)
The Charlotte Inn, open year-around since the Conovers bought it in 1970, is actually comprised of five buildings. In addition to the main building, there is the Carriage House, whose rooms feature private terraces, working fireplaces, double French doors, and timeworn brick courtyards. The Coach House, a refurbished, vintage garage includes one of the inn’s most popular rooms with a beautiful Palladian window through which guests can glimpse Edgartown’s storied harbor. A narrow path leads to the 300-year-old Garden House where rooms offer superb views of charming gardens and in the next door Summer House, notable for its wide verandas, the Conovers have created yet another refuge from the bustle of modern life.
The tranquility we observe does not happen by chance, but rather by a conscious effort to make the inn a place where guests’ desire for privacy and quietude comes first. In fact, the inn does not accept groups of any sort, nor children under 14, and as such, is not a place for everyone. The typical guest is a well-to-do, discriminating traveler who expects to be accommodated in a place that is an exemplar of elegance, refinement, and romance.
Originally built for Samuel Osborne, the grand home was a fitting symbol of the wealthy merchant’s station. Since the 1920s it has been a haven for generations of discerning travelers during all four of the island’s distinctive seasons. The inn’s interiors reflect an enduring interest in elegance and refinement and behind the buildings’ splendid facades is an extensive collection of 19th century art procured in America and Great Britain. (For more original art and prints visit Tim Conover next door at the Edgartown Art Gallery, also the island’s exclusive rep of famed American Impressionist Ray Ellis.) All of the inn’s antique fixtures are still in use — standing clocks, converted gas lamps, umbrella and hat stands, and all manner of other elegant accoutrements.
The inn is the only Martha’s Vineyard member of Relais & Chateaux, the fifty-year old association of some 400 plus privately-owned hotels and gourmet restaurants in 40 countries throughout the world. Some are countryside locations, others are former estates, castles, abbeys, or private residences, and according to their marketing mantra, all deliver the standard 5C’s of character, courtesy, calm, charm, and cuisine. Leading travel, leisure, and gourmet magazines have repeatedly named The Charlotte Inn one the best in America.
Entering through the front door into a foyer resplendent in fine antiques and paintings, you get a thrilling sense of having traveled back in time. Straight ahead you approach the grand mahogany desk to sign an old-fashioned ledger and be greeted by Manager Carol Read, a charming, 40-something woman whose reading glasses, perched perilously upon her nose, convey her thoughtful nature. “How was the ferry ride?” she asks in a warm and welcoming tone, and then, “Let’s get you settled in and we can talk about where you’d like to have dinner.” After a short orientation of the main house, including the brief respite in the aforementioned Green Room, we are led, literally, along the garden path to our weekend retreat.
We establish ourselves in the Carriage House suite, one of two at the inn, and I can tell immediately it suits
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Jim Hollister , Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
About the Author
Jim Hollister, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave Your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.