Ocean House is Hot Property

CENTERBROOK, Conn. – Condé Nast Traveler’s 15th annual “Hot List” issue, which bills itself as “the ultimate insider’s guide to this year’s hottest hotels, spas, and restaurants,” features the Ocean House in Watch Hill, R.I. among the top resort destinations worldwide.

The magazine’s May issue reports that it created the list after reviewing nearly one thousand candidates, rigorously evaluating each based on a standard set of criteria. The Ocean House is among 18 hot properties in the United States.

“The result is a definitive guide to the world’s most exciting new establishments that are destined to become instant classics,” the magazine writes, adding: “The Ocean House is that rare hotel hybrid that oozes Victorian-era elegance yet banishes any stuffiness thanks to up-to-the-minute mod cons [modern conveniences] … Set on a bluff fronting a soft-sand beach in the heart of this tony resort town, the hotel is a poster child for New England gentility.”

Designed by a Centerbrook team led by partner Jefferson B. Riley, FAIA, the resurrected Ocean House embodies the faithful replication of an historic, Victorian, beachfront hotel combined with contemporary strivings all its own. The “historic kernel” of the design revisits the early 20th century, when the hotel was at its architectural apex, while newly conceived additions and built-in amenities create a modern, luxury resort within that romantic vessel.

The Ocean House received another accolade recently, from Esquire magazine, as one of 10 Great American Restaurant Destinations.” The magazine described the hotel, in part, as “wholly transitioned into the 21st century, with a state-of-the-art spa … and a superb and beautiful dining room.” The hotel also was featured on Frommer’s website as one of 12 hotels with “Stunning Shore Views.”

Opened in 2010, the new Ocean House offers fine dining in its replicated main dining room, new decks with broad ocean views, a bar with casual dining, an indoor lap pool that “flows” to an outdoor water feature, banquet halls, a private club room, a corporate board room, a spa and fitness center, 49 hotel rooms, 23 residences, underground parking, and an international croquet court.

Centerbrook has won a number of awards for its design of the Ocean House, including a prestigious Interiors Award from Contract magazine.