CastlE Hill Inn

The Property

From our friends at Castle Hill Inn —

“Situated on 40 glorious acres at the west end of Ocean Avenue, Castle Hill Inn offers guests a secluded retreat where luxury is paramount and relaxation is our hallmark.

“As Newport began to grow into a prominent seaport, the wealthy built great architectural tributes to the life of leisure: splendid, multiple-roomed mansions called “cottages.” Castle Hill was a gracious, shingle-style song of a house commissioned in 1874 by marine biologist and naturalist Alexander Agassiz of Harvard University. Today’s inn was his original summer home, where he kept his eye on the ocean and the sea life within it. He filled his house with the best of Chinese and Japanese art and furnishings, especially bronzes and porcelain, many of which are still present in the house.

“In the great hurricane of 1938, the waters of Castle Hill beach and cove became one, cutting the peninsula off from the mainland. Mrs. Maximillian Agassiz, daughter-in-law of Alexander, became so frightened that she refused to return.

“During World War II, the Mansion housed Naval officers while functioning as an impromptu base. After the war, the Inn became a summer hotel, hosting Hollywood royalty from time to time. Grace Kelly stayed here while filming High Society in the 1950s; the rocky cove she cherished visiting is now named after her. Renowned novelist Thornton Wilder was also a frequent visitor and describes the turret suite as a “magical room” in the autobiographical novel, Theophilus North.”