Castle Hill Inn

The view was not as spectacular as the balcony from our hotel. I’m glad we can cross it off the list as it wasn’t worth the money- worst clam chowder I ever had Only the cornbread made an impression

Myself and and 5 others went on this past Sunday at around 5:30/6 pm. When we arrived there were no seats available for 6 on the lawn. Which of course I understand. I walked into the bar area I saw 3 open seats. I grabbed the party of 6 which consisted of 4 ladies and 2 males me being one of the men. 3 of 4 ladies sat in the the three chairs at the bar . I looked to my right and saw a chair empty. I asked around no one was using it. There was ample room next to us for the 4th chair. So innocently moved it to the bar so the 4 th lady can sit. Well then the young male bartender rudely told me I cannot move seats. Which makes no sense to me. I asked why and he would not respond. He then left a full bar and ran out from the bar and told the lady in party to get up and aggressively grabbed the chair and placed back which I was about to do. He came out so fast I thought he was gonna attack me! So after a solid 15 min of not being greeted by the bartenders (which is un except able) a female bartender came up to us and asked for IDs. We’re are all well over 21 actually close to 50. So it was not necessary. She was just being difficult. We all respectfully handed over identification. One of the females in my group Id had just expired. She offered another form and the bartender would not except it and refused to serve her. That makes zero sense to me so when asked her why she said the id is expired and cannot take another form. How does that make sense and how is that a policy? She was also very rude! Both bartenders were very young and no hospitality experience. I own a restaurant at home and if that was my staff they would not be employee’s there. A party of 6 adults left without purchasing a single thing. That’s a huge tab and a tip for them that did did not care about. We left at that point! Never in my life have I observed that. Two bartenders that were rude and did not care about the business. The place is so nice I cannot believe these two work there. Huge embarrassment. I can’t express how horrible my experience was. It was truly embarrassing on Castle hill’s end. I was so upset I’ve been to Newport over 15 times and finally got a chance to bring a group and show them castle hill for the sunset and drinks. What a huge embarrassment and bad experience we all had.

This historic location provided an incredible stay for Rhode Island getaway. From arrival and check in, we knew we were in for something very special. While waiting for our room to be ready prior to our late afternoon lunch reservation, we walked the trails on property and sat by the Castle Hill Lighthouse. We then returned to enjoy the Adirondack chairs on the grand lawn. The property has multiple types of rooms and we were amazed at the beauty of the Harbor House rooms, quiet and isolated from the main inn, although only steps away. Our house was directly overlooking what is called Grace Kelly Beach; my husband climbed down the steep and rocky path to small beach where the movie star likely to frequent in the summers to avoid the paparazzi. Our meal at the Lawn Terrace was incredible and again, service was amazing. We spent time out on our porch until the sun went down, and slept like a babies on the comfortable bed. The room had all the modern amenities. In the morning we enjoyed the breakfast in the Main Inn and marveled at the wonderful staff. I highly recommend staying at the Castle Hill Inn, and you can’t go wrong in a Harbor House room.

We had planned to have lunch on Friday at the Terrace but regrettably did not make any reservations. Upon arrival, we were informed that no tables were available, so we opted to have drinks on the lawn instead. Despite observing numerous empty tables over the course of two hours, we were consistently told that all tables were reserved. We were then directed to the bar inside, which we were informed operated on a first-come, first-served basis. As we approached some recently vacated seats at the bar, the bartender informed us that those seats were taken. Upon returning to the hostess, we were once again told that bar seating was not reservable, leading to confusion about the establishment's seating policies. I would respectfully suggest that there appears to be a need for clearer communication and consistency regarding your seating policies among your staff. The experience we encountered was disappointing and fell short of the professional standards one would expect from your establishment. As a result of this experience, we are hesitant to return or recommend your venue to others.

This was our second visit to Castle Hill Inn. We rarely ever visit the same place twice, but the first time we visited was during covid and many of the amenities were not available at that time. We wanted to revisit to get the true Castle Hill Inn experience. It did not disappoint. Before arrival we received all activity and amenity options. The concierge was so helpful in assisting making tour and dining reservations. We loved dining on the lawn and having pre dinner cocktails at both bars. The breakfast was lovely every morning. The view from the restaurant cannot be beat. We stayed in a beach cottage and were disappointed we booked one without chaise lounge chairs. My mistake as I didn't realize there were different levels of beach cottages. Last time we stayed in the premium beach cottage and I highly recommend that one over the others. We stayed in a regular beach cottage and it didn't have loungers. These cottages are set back from the other two decks around you. I always felt like we were looking at our neighbors. We loved that we were a short drive into town but then could come back to the quiet and beauty of Castle Hill Inn. We enjoyed the beach several afternoons. We took the boat ride into town one afternoon and the captain was wonderful sharing his knowledge and history of Newport. We found the staff friendly and very helpful. This property is very special. While two visits was enough for us - I highly recommend a visit here once in your lifetime!! You won't regret it! Thank you so much to all the hard working employees that made this another wonderful visit!!