Chatham Bars Inn

While The Hubby and I were in Cape Cod, we stayed at the Chatham Bars Inn. ("Bars" refers to the sand bars just off the inn's shoreline.)

It's a beautiful place, right on the water, with a grand main building and lots of outlying buildings, like these little cottages we stayed in. Notice the crushed-clamshell driveway:

The guest cottages have names like "Moonraker" and "Sea Mist" and "Ocean Spray":

Except for this one. Ha ha!:

 This is our cottage's front porch, with its own little garden and sitting area:

This was our view, past the croquet lawn to the bay and sand bars beyond:

Our cottage had a beautiful bedroom as well as this cozy living room:

The inn's grounds were spectacular and went on for days. A lot of the outlying buildings, like this one below, resembled fine private homes, but they were more cottages, meeting rooms, dining areas, etc.:

Locals told me this is a crabapple tree. They were in full bloom while we were there:

The main building has a huge veranda with big, comfy chairs for lounging. The telescope on the veranda has a wooden step for the inn's littlest guests to enjoy the view:

Here's The Hubby, checking out the horizon:

This grand room was one of my favorites. It's a symphony of quiet colors and yummy textures:

It has lots of cushy sofas, plump pillows, and area rugs underfoot to muffle the sounds. The bartender in one corner is on duty all afternoon long to dispense pots of tea, or a drop of something stronger:

These handsome, oversize lanterns with wavy glass march down the center of the room:

In one corner, a collection of child-sized furniture is ready for little guests. If I were a little girl, I would have loved to sit there!

All the colors in the inn are soft shades that echo the view--pale blues of the sea, soft creams and taupes of the sand, and silvers and grays for the mist:

Everywhere I looked, the inn provided places to sit, either to gather with friends and family, or just to quietly contemplate the beauty of Cape Cod:

The inn has its own private dock and a couple of boats. One day we took its jet-propelled, custom-built wooden boat, "The Bartender," out for a very fun, very wet ride through the mist and rain to watch the harbor seals and some lobster fisherman pulling up his traps:

If I had the chance, I'd go back to Chatham Bars Inn without hesitation.

It has won a spot in my heart!