blue, The Inn on the Beach

For a special weekend away, this is well worth the fairly steep price! Quiet, luxurious beach side rooms, extremely comfortable beds, and a killer view. In the nice weather, there is often is a beach wedding going on — fun to grab a drink and sit on your porch and watch, especially if it’s at sunset.

My friends and I rented a cottage here for my 30^th birthday and it was AMAZING!
It was in early March, so it was still fairly cold out, and not too crowded. We pretty much had the cottage area to ourselves, and we got private use of the hot tub for the night. You’re right off the beach, too, and it’s far enough away from the city that you can see just about every last star in the sky.
The only thing I’d say was less than ideal was that their tubs had zero traction. My friend took a bath the night before, and when I went to take a shower the next morning, I slid and banged my knee really badly. When I mentioned it to the front staff during checkout (the staff appears to exclusively be teenagers that look like they belong on a mid-​90s WB teen drama, a la Dawsons Creek, but in a sleepy New England beach town), she looked perplexed and actually said something along the lines of «Well what did you want me to do about it?» How about some of those sand paper sticky things in the shower?
Regardless, I’ve been back and absolutely love this place, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a vacation– ESPECIALLY if you’re living in the Boston area and want to go for a reasonably priced but well worth it weekend getaway.

It’s amazing! I fell asleep every night to the sounds of waves crashing. I woke up & walked right out to the beach. Staff was helpful with anything my girlfriend & I needed. Blue Inn will be my new summer getaway.

Great beach front resort. The guest rooms and accommodations were unreal. Rooms are spacious. Each room has an ocean front view and accompanying balcony. Highly recommend this place if you are looking for a beach vacation.

This place is incredible. Stayed here with a group of friends in the Grand Salon on short notice and everything was perfectly prepared for us. The perfect combination of modern and rustic, the view is like a portrait. Ocean Front views and rooms so close to the beach you can hear the waves all night.
Staff was amazing, very friendly and everything was in pristine condition. Hardly anyone on the beach — not crowded at all.
Perfect place to getaway that isn’t a tourist hot spot. Would highly recommend. Came up from NYC.
Worth every cent.

The nicest place I have ever stayed, hands down. The staff was amazing and the hotel itself was very clean, and cozy. If you enjoy waking up to the sound of the ocean in a very comfortable bed this is the place for you!
A short trip to Newburyport, which is a perfect place to get a quick drink or dinner with the family. The beaches are clean and not crowded at all.
Thank you to the staff for a great weekend

This easily could have been a 5-​star review, but there were a few things that could be improved upon for people who are paying nearly $ 800/​night when [outrageous] service charges and sales tax are included.
We stayed in Penthouse 3 and it was magnificent. The room was beautiful. The view was beautiful. The deck was great. The TV was huge. The master bathroom with steam shower and Kohler Purist fixtures was exceptional — very high-​end. The kitchenette with granite countertops, breakfast bar, 2 refrigerators, toaster and microwave was nice to have. The complimentary wine, bottled water and snacks were nice. The furnishings were comfortable. It was very quiet at night and the staff was helpful.
There were only a couple of areas in need of improvement. First, the breakfast was so-​so. Average bagels with a tiny portion of what I think was canned pineapple chunks and some Greek yogurt. They bring it to you in a picnic basket and leave it outside your door. Also, the room is surrounded on 3 sides with windows so that you don’t miss any of the view. That means there are a LOT of drapes to deal with. Normally they have a remote control that operates the drapes, but it was broken while we were there. That meant that we had to go around and force the drapes to close at night and then force them open in the morning — no small feat, as the automated rail system they are on makes them difficult to move manually. That was a pain and it definitely made the room feel overpriced.
The other thing that bothered me — and this REALLY bothered me — was the service charge. Their website is down at the moment, so I can’t check on the exact amount, but the room rate was around $ 650/​night (we went during high season). The 15% service fee amounted to nearly $ 100. We got exactly nothing for that extra $ 100. The only service we needed was check-​in/​check-​out. Oh, and the person who walked the breakfast basket to our door. These are costs of doing business. Everyone who operates a hotel incurs labor costs… and I would think that the $ 650/​night would be more than enough to cover the few minutes of labor required to check us in and check us out. I actually was offended by that fee. It’s not quite as offensive when you’re only paying $ 150/​night to begin with, but start adding a fee like that to the bill of someone paying $ 650/​night and it gets a little shifty in my opinion.

My family and I went up to Plum Island for a 2-​night getaway at the beach. Upon calling the inn an hour prior to arrival (well before 3pm check in), they were quick to tell me the cottage would be ready in about an hour which is how long it takes us to get there. So right off the bat, it was already a pleasant and courteous experience. The inn itself has breathtaking views of the water along with a private beach for guests. There are 2 hot tubs on their property and a variety of private cottages available. We stayed in Cottage 61 which is a one bedroom unit on the second floor. The décor is hip white and bright blue. There was a spacious living area with a fairly comfortable pull out queen bed. The bedroom had a king bed and spacious bathroom. The kitchen was fully stocked along with complimentary sodas, waters, coffee with creamers, and a lovely bottle of white wine. It also had every cooking device you could imagine. There is a cute 4 person built in breakfast bar as well which really utilizes the space well. Working fireplace too — would be great for the Fall! There was a (steep) widow’s walk that had great views of the ocean. The staff could not be more accommodating if they tried! Each person always had a smile on their face. We were there over Yankee homecoming weekend in Newburyport. We had reservations in town and wanted to stay to watch fireworks afterwards. Jessie tried to get us a taxi but the wait was an hour and a half so jokingly we asked in one of the staff would drive our car one way into town and we would take a taxi back. She immediately inquired with the General Manager, David, and said he would be more than happy to drive us into town. David was extremely courteous, friendly, and professional. He is also the son of the owner and gave us some background on how they came up with the concept (a hotel in St. Bart’s) as well as the history and reconstruction and renovation they had to do when they opened it back in 2003. We offered a tip to him and after insisting profusely he did take it and should have as he deserved it! Also other added touches were the daily breakfast they deliver in a picnic basket on your porch each morning — quality products and a large continental breakfast — muffins, danish, bagels, croissants, juices, yogurts, and fruit. There were also blue beach cruisers available to use at your leisure, which we did one afternoon. One suggestion is that it would be nice if there were outdoor showers at the cottages. We are looking forward to going back with other family members in a few weeks!

One of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever stayed in. My parents were paying the tab for the two bedroom cottage for a night after my brother’s engagement extravaganza. My fiancé and I had a comfy bed in a large room with a flat screen tv.
The living area was amazing. All white, huge tv, lots of sitting room. Modern, clean kitchen, complete with Keurig and any appliance you would need for a week stay. I couldn’t help but be pained to see the sweet patio and grill, considering it was November when I was here and there was no chance of us using it.
The off season rate of $ 195 a night for four people is actually spectacular even though there’s not a ton to do when it’s not beach season. I assume it’s ridiculously expensive during the summer since it’s steps from the ocean. I would come back in the winter just for the hotel perks, especially the complimentary breakfast served to your cottage or suite every morning and the complimentary bottle of wine.

We enjoyed the lower rate of the off season and had fabulous weather in September. Hotel was lovely (pure white with blue accents). Our room was on the second floor, ocean view suite with a fireplace. I personally loved those shiny blue rocks in the paths. Breakfast basket was tasty and you could eat in your room, on the deck or on the beach! Staff was helpful and friendly. Plum Island is a not very well known treasure.

Gorgeous. Luxury and privacy in a down-​to-​earth setting. It felt like we were in California (in a good way).

The staff was young, friendly, and responsive. The complimentary breakfast basket was nice; don’t know what the complaints were about. We stayed in Cottage 14, which is all white and has C/​A. It was not a high end unit and the «living room» was tight for the 5 of us (2 adults, 3 small kids), but it was clean and came equipped with microwave, toaster, paper towels, dish soap, and soda in the full-​size fridge. Plenty of fry pans, but they only had one small pot, so not sure how they expect one to boil pasta or a lobster. Also could have used a sponge and an outdoor shower; however, the maid washed the dishes each day so that was nice. TVs in every room and free wifi. The blue «pebbles» that fill the paths were annoying as were the noseeums (midges) that attacked all of us. Be sure to bring Off! If you have young kids, also consider walking the short distance to the public beach entrance (rather than going up the white stairs) to access the more extensive «flats» of the beach. BTW, the beach was uncrowded and peaceful and quaint Newburyport is a quick 10 minute ride away.

This review is based on their off-​season rate. ($ 195 + 15% «service charge» for Sep 7^th 2011 — Apr 30^th 2012)
Just stayed there this weekend and I can’t wait to go back! The staff was very friendly, prompt, and helpful; and the accommodations were clean and beautiful! The little breakfast basket (sent to our cottage at a specific time that we selected between the availability range of 8am — 10am) was very plain (bagel, fruit, juice), but better than I expected. My family and I stayed in one of the cottages and the beach was literally just a few meters away. The beds were very comfortable and the kitchen carried all of the essentials. Wish we could have stayed more than just the one night.
I had issues with their wifi (couldn’t connect at all, but I didn’t bother asking to get the problem resolved) – if you need wifi during your stay, make sure to check your connection as soon as you get there, so that you can attempt to get any issues resolved before the office closes for the night.
Bottom line and other thoughts: Super expensive, very comfortable, wish I had asked about the wifi. Plum Beach is really lovely and Downtown Newburyport is pretty fun – we spent a LOT of time outside of the room – that’s something to keep in mind if you’re wondering whether it’s really «worth it» to stay in an expensive place like this in the North Shore). Totally memorable, but I do admit that I would think that this place would be overpriced for any rate over $ 200/​night. Go here if you can afford it and/​or feel comfortable paying this high for a memorable and nice accommodation!

This place was absolutely amazing. The perfect retreat from reality. Newly renovated, the modern rooms featured plasma TVs, DVD and CD players in every room, indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis, a stove and mini fridge and a complementary bottle of wine. The walkways were paved with shiny blue rocks… it was the coolest thing Ive ever seen. A great place to spend the weekend relaxing on the beach right outside your hotel.