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With covid numbers falling, we decided to take our anniversary trip this year. Our 1 year in 2019, we went to Stowe, VT, then, covid happened and we haven’t traveled since! Originally, we were going to Charleston, SC, but due to hurricane Ian, we had to cancel and come up with a different idea.
We decided to take a roadtrip and end up in Newport, RI! I’ve only ever heard great things about Newport so it was an easy decision for us! Here’s what we did!
Where We Stayed
I’d usually stay in an Airbnb, but finding something so close to our trip was a little hard. I remembered our hotel in Vermont was a chain and we loved it there so I figured why not check. Well, we got lucky. We stayed at the Gilded hotel. Gilded is such a beautifully decorated boutique hotel. It’s actually a renovated historic Newport home.
The lobby is so chic and every morning there is coffee and breakfast until 10AM, which is included when you book! Every Lark hotel provides you with a town guide to help you plan your trip activities! Most of the activities we did came from their recommendations!
We highly recommend staying in a Lark hotel if you’re in the New England area! When you become a member, you can receive points and discounts for your trips!
Where to Eat
We went to Jo’s our first night in Newport and it did not disappoint! Everything down to the appetizer bread was amazing!
Diego’s offers a twist on the classic Mexican food. I ordered the Buffalo Cauliflower burrito and it was absolutely amazing! The Crack Fries were absolutely incredible too! We went here for lunch and highly recommend; if you love tacos it’s a great spot!
Our hotel actually recommend this place to us and we’re glad they did! Brick Alley is super cool! They have really interesting decor inside that makes it such a fun spot to eat. Newport is a tourist area and this place is so highly recommended that they get crowded very quickly. We waited almost an hour for a table so definitely make a reservation if you plan to go! Overall the food, service and drinks were as good as they were hyped up to be! A great place for lunch!
We weren’t planning on going here because we’re Italian and eat pasta more than once a week lol, but after 3 days of seafood I needed some pasta lol. Pasta Beach comes highly recommended and for good reason! The food was delicious and the restaurant had a super cozy vibe which is important when eating carbs haha.
The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar
We wanted a fancier restaurant for our anniversary and stumbled upon The Mooring. Our waitress was amazing! She was super nice and even gave us great opinions and information on the food. I had salmon which had a peanut soba noodle base and wow. I never thought salmon and peanut butter would be good together, but its delicious! We were given complimentary dessert for the occasion as well!
Other recommendations:
- White Horse Tavern
- The Red Parrot Restaurant
- The Black Pearl
- 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar & Grille
- Smoke House and so many more!
What We Did
There’s a ton of fun things to do in Newport, but unfortunately we were there when the northeast was getting hit with the remains of hurricane Ian so it rained most of the trip. We had plans to go on a boat ride tour, but it was cancelled due to the ocean being too rough. We still highly recommend the boat company as it has many great reviews.
The only downside I will say about Newport is, unless you are in walking distance of the town you will spend a lot of money on parking and/or Ubers. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk from town, but due to the rain we had to drive each time. There is a ton of parking, but you have to pay every time even if it’s on the street and the meters are set for 3 hours max. There are 2 large parking lots that charge $30 for the day which is totally worth it if you plan on spending all day in town.
We decided to do the entire cliff walk which was absolutely amazing! It’s a 3.5 mile walk (7 miles total), with some parts running over unpaved rough natural rocks so definitely wear good sneakers or even hiking boots. The walk runs along the Newport shoreline which features beautiful ocean views, and the famous mansions of Newport. Cliff Walk is free to the public, but you have to pay for the parking.
Shopping
There are tons of stores to shop at in Newport! Some known stores such as, Banana Republic and Vineyard Vines, but also many cute Newport boutiques.
Ocean drive
We never got to do the full ocean drive, but heard its really beautiful to drive the shoreline and see the amazing landscape and architecture of Newport!
The Breakers was built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II from 1893-1895. It’s truly breathtaking to see the amazing architecture from the Gilded Age. Our tour was accompanied by pouring rain conditions so we didn’t get to tour the outdoor garden area, but overall it was truly beautiful. Learning the history and just being able to tour a home from the 1800s is incredible. To think someone actually lived in this mansion is almost mind-blowing.
Overall, Newport was beautiful and such a great town to visit! We wished we had a little better weather, but maybe we’ll go back in the summertime to really experience the Newport area in its fullest!
