Hotels near Newport State (Rhode Island) - NPT, Middletown

Middletown is a gem. Surrounded by Newport and Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island. Beautiful beaches, great food, friendly people. Favorite places: Sachuest Beach, Sachuest Point Wildlife Refuge, Great eateries include Johnny's Seafood at the Wyndham Hotel, Atlantic Grille, Tickets, Chilli's and Chelsea's.

Newport is one of my favorite places on earth. You get a mix of history with the Gilded Age mansions and the tennis hall of fame, delicious cuisine including fresh seafood, more shopping than you know what to do with and beautiful weather in the summer. Lastly the Cliff walk is a must do!

All access to major stores and other services. Easy to drive locations. Driving to downtown Newport took about 10-15 mins depending on traffic but there are side streets to get around some of it. Heads up on speed limits and traffic lights! There are many of both.

We loved touring the mansions with the recorded descriptions via our phones. We also enjoyed Newport Classical Music Festival performances at this time in July. (Buy tickets months ahead!) Joe's on Memorial was a favorite dinner spot and The Elms Carriage House was a lovely lunch destination. We didn't like the free trolley too much. The staff were kind, but we couldn't tell where to wait for it throughout our first day and at least 3 different pick up times, we watched 2 trolleys drive right by us. We drove ourselves the rest of the week and did fine with parking.

The historical places are awesome especially the Breaker Mansion, nice fishing spots too but very limited accessibility for guests or visitors. Most of the beaches I tried to visit say, “For residents only, that requires a beach tag.” This kind of local policies will turn away tourists and will be a disaster for tourism. Fact, local residents pay taxes but Middletown could generate more income and will be great for local businesses if tourists guest will be treated properly and not turned away. Every year thousands of families and friends visited the area due to their family members serving or training in Newport Naval base.

It took me a while to get there by train but it’s completely worth it for the summer. There’s always a lot of outdoor things to see, whether it’s walking to harbor, going to the beach and cliff walk or touring some of the islands or simply taking a boat ride. There’s tons of events tennis, polo, dance festival, classical music festival and of course folk and jazz fest. Then there’s all the shops! There’s great stuff to find besides the normal touristy stuff but where Newport shines is their antique stores and small galleries. I always find something beautiful there and it makes the trip very special. Plus all the gallery owners and shop workers I’ve met have been great conversationalists and clue you in on other things going on. What puts Newport over the top of course is the great weather during the summer and a safe, fun atmosphere.