OceanCliff Hotel

After taking a tour of the mansions on Newport's Bellevue Avenue, where you can gawk at the lavish lifestyles of turn-of-the-century industrialists, retreat to your own Gilded Age "cottage" by the sea. The OceanCliff, a red granite estate built by a steel baron in the 1890s, features sweeping views of Narragansett Bay and rooms decorated in timeless Newport themes of blue, white, and khaki.

Insider Tip: While summer weekends are dominated by weddings, the hotel is open to guests year-round during the week. Specials and promotions abound Monday through Thursday—among them a package that includes a cruise on the resort's own 100-year-old schooner, Aurora, that will bring you to Goat Island for a lobster boil.