Everyone and their mother these past few months have been talking about hit HBO series, The Gilded Age. And while the plotline is entertaining, us design lovers can’t stop talking about the set: the opulence, ornateness, and overall regality that tells the story of America’s most elite during the late 1800s.
The Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, is a time capsule of just that. The summer home was constructed in 1865 for a wealthy New York family. Over the years, it lived as a museum, an all-girls school, then to what it’s now, an elegant boutique hotel.
The only hotel amongst the city’s famous Cliff Walk, where historic mansions stand atop craggy precipices overlooking the Atlantic, The Chanler boasts 20 unique rooms that imbue a Gilded Age aesthetic at every corridor — each flaunts an individualistic décor themed differently than the one next to it.
Accommodations are abuzz with tributes to Newport: nautical color schemes, thoughtfully restored furnishings, dainty chandeliers, antique oil paintings, resplendent canopy beds, and exquisitely patterned wallpaper occupy different spaces. To top it off: Most rooms feature jacuzzies inside, as well as sensational views of the sparkling sea.
Superlative cuisine is at the forefront of New England-style house restaurant, Cara. Its décor sports moody brown and maroon-like tones; this is especially true at the bar’s entrance, where bookshelves vertically flank a storied oil painting on both sides, complemented in the front by a dangling chandelier and copper-cum-red furniture. Wintertime here saw the setup of yurts for intimate dining experiences; come summer, the hotel plans to reinvent them as exclusive dinner spaces that encompass an Amalfi Coast-style aesthetic.
Fan of the Gilded Age or not, you’ll feel like royalty when staying at The Chanler at Cliff Walk.
Like this article? Well, we’re flattered — thank you. On that note, we think you should explore New England further and check out our article on the absolutely stunning Newbury Boston.
