The Wauwinet Resort -Nantucket Island’s Elegant HideawayRead 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/wauwinet/wauwinet.html
It is Friday at noon and Robin and I are sailing across Nantucket Sound on
Grey Lady, Hy-Line Cruises third generation, water-jet catamaran, a high-speed ferry that will take us from Hyannis to Nantucket in just one hour. (Opening photo: The Wauwinet draws its name from land on which it was built, which in turn was named for a 17th century Native American sachem who controlled eastern part of Nantucket Island. With 35 exquisite rooms it serves guests from May through October.)
Like most passengers aboard, we begin to feel tug of urban life loosen its grip as we anticipate slower pace of island life just ahead. At near full-capacity Grey Lady is delivering its daily catch of island regulars and first-time weekenders to isle some thirty miles off coast of Cape Cod. We stare at water and watch ripple of waves emerge from catamaran's hull. We bathe in hypnotic effect of sea, sun and spirals of wind that touch down on surface. Happily, by time we arrive at historic wharves of Nantucket, we are already relaxed.
We disembark and pick up our luggage from rolling carts crew has hustled from ship's hold. A few steps from gangway we see a friendly face hoisting a hand-carved, hand-painted sign overhead that reads, "The Wauwinet." We work our way through mid-day crush of visitors that spills from shops of town center and within minutes are aboard inn's jitney, making nine mile drive toward Great Point and quiet side of island.
"Welcome back," our driver Clarence intones in a deep Caribbean timbre that makes us feel like we've been wrapped in a soft blanket. "We'll have you there in a bit," he adds. "The weather is wonderful and you've come at just right time."
The Wauwinet is located on a strip of land between Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Bay, tucked in next to a bird sanctuary. It is itself a sanctuary from often frantic pace of island's center and is last commercial property on road to Great Point Lighthouse and nature preserve that surrounds it. Approaching mid-19th century inn, one might not guess that in two years prior to its reopening in 1988, it was virtually rebuilt from foundation up in a $3-million renovation by new owners Stephen and Jill Karp, who purchased The Wauwinet House — as it had previously been known — in 1986. To conform to strict code of Nantucket's Historic District Commission, exterior of building retains look of original with unpainted cedar shingles that have weathered to a soft gray.
"We've been expecting you," Innkeeper Bettina Landt greets us in a most likable tone. The bellman and reception crew scurry to attend our arrival as she adds rhetorically, "You had a good cruise?"
Our eyes soak in stunning décor, antiques and oil paintings that surround cozy reception room, and from our first steps inside The Wauwinet, we sense that this is an uncommon place. It feels more like we have just arrived for a summer stay with old friends, and they are genuinely happy to see us. The Wauwinet is only Relais & Chatêaux property on Nantucket, 50-year old international hotel and restaurant association whose signature "Five C's" stand for Character, Calm, Charm, Courtesy, and Cuisine. I add one more C, for "clearly", this is not just another inn on island.
Our bay-view room, like each of 35 guest rooms, is individually decorated. The Karps worked closely with New York interior design firm Kuckly Associates to transform historic inn to meet needs of a contemporary clientele accustomed to best in accommodation. Each of high-ceilinged rooms was equipped with paddle fans and guest-controlled heating and air-conditioning. Cozy nooks were fitted in to provide comfortable spots for reading or taking in seascape visible from windows. Antique pine armoires and chests, upholstered headboards, chairs and decorative objects such as baskets, hat boxes and wood-carvings are all distinctly individual as are bedspread and drapery fabrics and wallpaper borders around ceilings. Fresh flowers stand on bedside tables while sheets and pillowcases are eyelet-trimmed. Bathrooms are embellished with brass fixtures, their floors tiled in white and their walls paneled with bead-and-board wainscoting. Above paneling, hand-sponging or glazing by local artisans in pastel glazes suggests style of 1920s seaside cottages.
We unpack in a jiffy, fill a tote with summer novels, soft hats and sunscreen and head out to further investigate inn's nooks and crannies. We discover that even hallways are decorated with same attention to detail as rooms. Ceiling panels on top floor are painted with blue sky and clouds. Marbleized paper decorates lower wall panels. Three-dimensional carvings over each guest room incorporate dolphin and seashells of The Wauwinet logo. A large wooden bowl of fresh fruit, continually replenished, stands on a side table at head of stairs.
