We stayed there for 2 nights the 1st weekend in August. Almost all Newport hotels have a 3 night minimum for "event" weekends, and this was the Newport Jazz Festival (which we were not attending).. So we were happy to see that they had only a 2 night minimum, which is what we wanted. It's outside of Newport center which was terrific for us since it can be unbelievably noisy, rowdy & downright unpleasant in Newport late on a Saturday night in the summer.
The hotel was originally the carriage house for the now hotel across the street & another property built by the same person in the 1870s down the road. There are about 23 rooms, & it does not have the Choice Hotels feel - certainly more upscale. A full breakfast is included, & it's similar to what you find at say a Hampton Inn, cold cereal, yogurt, some fresh fruit, muffins, bagels, English muffins, etc. Not fancy 'gourmet,' but certainly adequate, and they had things that my dairy-allergic daughter could eat. It's served in the lounge area, or you can go on the front or back porch too.
The room was nice & a good size with a sofa bed my daughter used. Like most sofa beds, it wasn't very comfortable & the 2nd night she put the mattress on the floor, but it was better than paying for 2 rooms at mid-summer prices (we paid about $280/night - I searched a ton of places to find someplace that could accommodate 3 adults, but also had only a 2 night minimum). The hair dryer was a bit tricky to get to work, but we did get it in the end. We had a king sized bed, & as other have noted, both a microwave and a minifridge, complete with 2 free waters, and there were 2 very nice robes we could use.
They do charge $1.50/night for the safe, but if you don't use it, you can ask for the charge to be removed. I asked about this, & they said that most hotels with in-room safes just charge you the insurance of $1.50/day & don't give you an option while Choice Hotels gives you the option of not paying if you don't use the safe.
The staff was casual, but pleasant and friendly and helpful. The only really surprising thing was that the last morning, before we checked out (& well before check-out time), the room door opened, & then closed immediately. My husband was sitting out on the porch, so my daughter & I assumed it was him, but a check through the peephole indicated it was the maid. She had not knocked and/or called out to us - standard in other hotels I've been in, so we were quite surprised. A little later, someone knocked & I said we'd be leaving soon, but she said 'they told me you'd already checked out." As we were leaving, I asked the lady at the front if my husband had checked out & she said not officially, but everything was all set, & since they'd seen him taking our things out they assumed we were leaving. Again, this surprised me, as it's certainly more casual than hotels I've been in. She happily gave em a receipt & we also then turned our key cards in.
None of this was a dealbreaker for us, & given their "reasonable" price compared to most Newport places on a summer weekend, & that they could meet our needs for the # of people & 2 nights only, we'll be back. We've stayed several times at the former Villalon across the street (now Villa 120), for which the Carriage House was the "carriage house" long ago. However, the Villalon's new owner has jacked the prices waaay up, & had the 3 night minimum, so that wasn't an option. The Carriage House Inn met our needs, was nice, & clean & I'm sure we'll be back.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
