Edwardian Elegance on Martha’s Vineyard - The Charlotte InnRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/hotels/relais/charlotte/charlotte.html
“Listen to
quality of silence,” Robin says, speaking softly as we sit facing each other in deep, over-stuffed leather chairs.
In this moment we are being warmed by glow of an October fire and a glass of San Emilio sherry. “It’s because of building” she concludes, “It’s just so substantial.” Indeed, main edifice of Charlotte Inn was built in 1864 and it’s here in Green Room we have settled into an oasis of tranquility on Martha’s Vineyard, isle eight miles off coast of Cape Cod. Nestled on a linden-tree shaded street, a block off Main in Edgartown, Innkeepers Gery and Paula Conover have created a place dedicated to reviving Edwardian-era elegance: stunning rooms that are each sumptuously decorated, fine art and antiques in every nook and cranny, meticulously tended gardens, and an internationally acclaimed restaurant. (See accompanying feature, L’etoile: Gourmet Treasure on Martha’s Vineyard Island.)
The Charlotte Inn, open year-around since Conovers bought it in 1970, is actually comprised of five buildings. In addition to main building, there is Carriage House, whose rooms feature private terraces, working fireplaces, double French doors, and timeworn brick courtyards. The Coach House, a refurbished, vintage garage includes one of inn’s most popular rooms with a beautiful Palladian window through which guests can glimpse Edgartown’s storied harbor. A narrow path leads to 300-year-old Garden House where rooms offer superb views of charming gardens and in next door Summer House, notable for its wide verandas, Conovers have created yet another refuge from bustle of modern life.
The tranquility we observe does not happen by chance, but rather by a conscious effort to make inn a place where guests’ desire for privacy and quietude comes first. In fact, inn does not accept groups of any sort, nor children under 14, and as such, is not a place for everyone. The typical guest is a well-to-do, discriminating traveler who expects to be accommodated in a place that is an exemplar of elegance, refinement, and romance.
Originally built for Samuel Osborne, grand home was a fitting symbol of wealthy merchant’s station. Since 1920s it has been a haven for generations of discerning travelers during all four of island’s distinctive seasons. The inn’s interiors reflect an enduring interest in elegance and refinement and behind buildings’ splendid facades is an extensive collection of 19th century art procured in America and Great Britain. (For more original art and prints visit Tim Conover next door at Edgartown Art Gallery, also island’s exclusive rep of famed American Impressionist Ray Ellis.) All of inn’s antique fixtures are still in use — standing clocks, converted gas lamps, umbrella and hat stands, and all manner of other elegant accoutrements.
