1. Life. StyLe. tRAVeL. coastalconnecticut.com | November 2015 | COASTAL CT | 8180 | COASTAL CT | November 2015 | coastalconnecticut.com
THE COASTAL TRAVELLER
Ocean House, Watch Hill, Rhode Island
BY OWEN MCDONALD
Life. StyLe. tRAVeL.
patiently assembling the project according to a grand vision of chic
coastal comfort.
Authenticity. Sense of place. An otherworldliness that is
profoundly welcoming. Surpassing quality in all things. In the
luxury resort world, these traits are associated with one brand
above others —Relais & Châteaux. It’s a cultivated fellowship of
properties that maintain local character and global service quality
at a level most hotels and resorts (even very good ones) can’t be
bothered with.
Though Forbes has awarded Ocean House 15 stars (one of
only 10 such hotels in the world), it’s the Relais & Châteaux
belonging that truly befits the place. Chief among R&C’s precepts
is a focus on what they call “the soul of the innkeeper.”
Here, that ennobling mission falls to Daniel Hostettler. An
accomplished hospitality executive, the erudite hotelier with
immense savoir-faire came to Ocean House with every intention
of rewriting the book. But not the Relais & Châteaux book.
“Relais & Châteaux has a level of expectation that everywhere
you go, whatever you do, will be quintessential,” Hostettler says.
“Hopefully, when you walk into Ocean House it feels quintessen-
tially New England. And everything on the menu is coming from
Rhode Island and Connecticut, within 150 miles of the property.”
G U E S T R O O M S , P R O P E R T Y, A N D G R O U N D S
With 49 guestrooms and 23 private residences, Ocean House
plays the trick of seeming like a much larger property, and does
it well. This may be truest in the signature suites, all uniquely
themed and thoughtfully furnished.
The two-bedroom Napatree Suite (named after a nearby
peninsula) is a curvilinear delight. It flows from the sprawling
beach-stone master bathroom, past the master bedroom and dar-
ling second bedroom, into a tranquil living room and kitchen that
all whisper littoral sophistication. From the hidden laundry room
to the scale model of a racing yacht on the mantle, the suite flu-
ently mixes élan with beachy utility.
As you walk through the foyer, an always-welcome sense of
space permeates. You’d expect it from this level of accommoda-
tion. But here, floor plan, color scheme, and omnipresent ocean
views combine into something more than a great lodging.
It’s magical.
There’s a feeling to this part of Rhode Island. About halfway
(by sea) between Greenwich, Connecticut, and Portland, Maine,
it’s both unspoiled and settled at once. Cape Cod and Nantucket
charm you; Misquamicut enthralls. For Ocean House guests, that
enchantment beams through big windows wherever you are.
The fireplace, comfy dining nook, sleek kitchen, and nautical
décor in the living room are, in some ways, an appetizer for the
spacious, inspiring veranda. With sweeping views of manicured
grounds and lapping surf, you’ll be tempted to stay put and get
some thinking done. Coffee out there—the hotel rising behind you
as the shoreline parabola beckons—creates one of those exquisite
moments. It is surely intentional.
Perfect though these rooms and suites may be, there’s always
room for improvement. Hostettler says he’s getting ready to reno-
vate the rooms for a spring 2017 debut, celebrating Ocean House’s
upcoming anniversary.
“We’re going to do two rooms in February of 2016 in the new
style, maintaining the contemporary coastal feel that we’re famous
C
oco Chanel famously said, “Some people think luxury
is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of
vulgarity.”
If that’s true (and why shouldn’t it be), then luxury
serves a higher purpose than mere indulgence: It’s an
art form. In that interpretation, one role of the upscale resort is to
curate and reify the art of living.
On that frontier sits Ocean House. Perched on a gentle hill
above the well-to-do enclave of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, elegance
warms the nervous system as you enter the property, like sipping
Glenmorangie scotch. It puts one gradually, undeniably, at ease.
Fitly cinematic, the building is reminiscent of an Elin Hilder-
brand novel. In an act of architectural audacity, the preexisting
19th-century structure was precisely measured and catalogued,
then demolished and duplicated down to the millwork, only far
larger and infinitely finer. Many artifacts—the lobby’s massive
stone fireplace, the wood elevator, newel posts, Palladian windows
—were removed, restored, and reinstalled. The ambition of it was
exceeded only by the result.
The architects missed nothing. They even arranged all the
rooms along single-loaded corridors so that each has a command-
ing view of the ocean, while the hallways always have daylight
(unusual for a hotel of any size).
What they achieved is the most picture-perfect seaside resort
in New England. That this happened at all was mostly thanks to
Ocean House patron and champion, Charles Royce, the respected
mutual fund manager whose love of the property is felt through-
out. He and his investors stood pat through the great recession,

2. Hostettler understands that luxury today is a moving target, and not
the staid matter it was even 20 years ago.
Life. StyLe. tRAVeL.82 | COASTAL CT | November 2015 | coastalconnecticut.com
for,” he says. “We’ll test drive those rooms for six months with
hotel guests who stay here all the time.”
Public areas in Ocean House are suitably grand, yet arranged
in a series of intimate nooks. High Tea in these spaces is a digni-
fied affair, though not at all stuffy. It was during High Tea that we
met restaurant manager Charles Staub, a man with so many bona
fides that it suffices to call him “expert.” He did a yeoman’s job
rolling up history and current events into a neat package as we
walked the grounds.
Strolling past flora evocative of classic seaside cottage gardens
—including drifts of Oakleaf and Nikko Blue hydrangeas alongside
old-fashioned shrub roses and boxwood—Staub proved quite the
guide. He was good enough to exhibit the plentiful beach with its
dining and lounging options, including the beach-clubby Dune
Cottage restaurant right on the sand. It’s a fine spot, restful beneath
sail awnings as Block Island and Montauk Point trace the horizon.
Just then a boisterous wedding party was escorted past, pre-
ceded by a Dixieland band, as hotel staff ushered revelers to a beach-
side wedding service with white leather upholstered seats. A drone
videographer hovered nearby. They were en route from a reception
in the handsome Seaside Ballroom and Seaside Terrace, and seemed
to be having the time of their lives. It would be hard not to.
Loveliest of all is The Verandah, a giant porch bordered by
neatly trimmed lawns with the ocean dramatically framed. Taking in
that vista, sprayed with color from blue flowering beautyberry, crepe
myrtle, and Hidcote lavender planted within view, is as delightful as
terrace seating gets. Attentive servers and diverse companions chat-
ter away with bonhomie all around, deepening the appeal.
D I N I N G
Michelin stars may be the ultimate prize for great restaurants,
but once you’ve earned five Forbes stars, Michelin becomes more
aspirational than compulsory.
Seasons, the fine dining room, is Ocean House’s culinary
heart, informing every choice made by the artisans here. It’s led
by executive chef John Kolesar. A native of Madison, Connecticut,
Kolesar has to deliver food-wise on “La Route du Bonheur,” or
“the route of happiness,” a philosophical keystone of the Relais &
Châteaux network. They were farm-to-table long before anyone
called it that, and Kolesar’s kitchen is equal to the task. It’s a big
one, as gastronomical choices abound at Ocean House. To make
it happen, Kolesar employs a core team of foragers and mongers
who comb the countryside for succulent items that infuse his pro-
lific, changeable menus.
The Bistro is a casual alternative, right off the Seasons dining
room, adjacent to The Verandah. Cozy banquets ring the room of
tables that are set a discreet distance. The service style is polite and
efficient—friendly but not too friendly—as one would expect with
Forbes criteria being observed.
But it’s hardly as dull as that. The room and adjoining bar have
the rhythm of all great restaurants: cheerful and full of happy sur-
prises. The menu isn’t adventurous, a virtue of which is that you’ll
find familiar favorites. The 8 oz. filet is simple and perfect, accom-
panied by savory roasted cauliflower steak and crispy Brussels
sprouts. Crispy salmon with spaghetti squash, confit baby fennel,
green quinoa, and roasted bell pepper purée is fresh and pleasing.
The server was happy to arrange desert—homemade ice cream
and cookies—sent up to the room.
At certain times of year (and depending on one’s reservation)
the Club Room is also open to hotel guests. With the oak-paneled
glow and rarified ambience of a country manor, it’s a lordly dining
experience. Their lobster and Jonah Crab risotto with house made
Andouille sausage is a salty sensation. Short rib tostadas on masa
tortilla with pulled short rib Jalapeño Pico De Gallo is an orgy of
smoky flavors. The house cut shoestring truffle French fries seem
to go with everything.
Crème Brulee with house made orange marshmallow, dark
chocolate, and cranberry truffle and white chocolate and citrus
truffle was almost overdoing it, but not quite.
T H E M O V I N G TA R G E T O F L U X U R Y
Ocean House is a locus of arcadian pleasures. It’s 12,000-
square-foot OH! Spa is responsible for 5 of the 15 Forbes stars, and
the only place in the immediate region where you’ll find a rejuve-
native tonic on the order of, say, the Lavender Relief Massage.
Tension flees before its warmth and deeply serene nature.
A magnificent spa is de rigueur in a setting such as this. But
it’s the unexpected delectations that make Ocean House less pre-
dictable. Like being offered keys to a Mercedes E Class convertible
to tool around the idyllic seaside town of Watch Hill, with no clock
running on your return. Or finding yourself on one of the prop-
erty’s classic motor and sailing yachts for the day, considerately
arranged by hotel staff.
Hostettler understands that luxury today is a moving target,
and not the staid matter it was even 20 years ago. “It used to be the
luxury travelers were 60 years old, retired, and traveling as a cou-
ple,” he says. “Now they’re 40 something, making a lot of money,
but working really hard. Luxury to them is about family and
togetherness, with the excellence to make it special. That isn’t just
about requisite amenities. It’s experiential. It’s expressed in antici-
patory gestures, suggested by the moment.”
Do highly rated resorts exist only as elite sanctuaries, devoted
to pampering the affluent? It often appears that way. But appear-
ances can be deceiving. While exclusive places are laden with lav-
ish encounters, they are much more than that.
They’re works of art, with a touch of magic. As such, nowhere
is more divinely composed than the seaside gardens, superb gue-
strooms, and dreamy dining tables of Ocean House.
Owen McDonald is the Editor in Chief of Coastal Connecticut magazine,
and is an award-winning journalist and marketer.
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