Feeling incredibly achy and tense in the wake of Super Storm Stella and of not getting an annual February thaw-out trip recently drove your not-so-humble reviewer to an overnight stay at the uber-fantabulous Wentworth by the Sea hotel just outside Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The true blessing and the curse of staying there is that one night never is enough.
This grand hotel, which dates back to 1874, is a prime example of expertly renovated resorts of the era that include the Mount Washington Hotel in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It evokes equally strong thoughts of the Stanley Hotel in Colorado that is the inspiration for the Stephen King horror novel, film, and mini-series "The Shining."
This vibe provided a sort-of-a-homecoming in the form of thoughts related to a college-era summer working at the Mount Washington and living in the staff housing on the top floor of the hotel. The Mount Washington currently uses that space for storage, and the Wentworth converted the comparable area into guest accommodations.
The Wentworth staff provided the proverbial friendly and courteous service that enhances stays such as this. Front Office Manager Kathleen deserves special praise for her mad hotel skills that rival those of ideal hospitality industry executive Christine Francis of the '80s Aaron Spelling anthology drama series "Hotel."
The facade of the Wentworth and the elegant classic-style hallways prompted copious "Shining" jokes. Favorites included reporting guilt regarding declining the offer of identically dressed twin girls to play and complaining about a young boy riding his Big Wheel up and down the corridor.
The following photo of the hall allows you to judge the accuracy of the above statement.
The aforementioned style of the Wentworth is one-half of the conclusion that it is a mullet hotel in that it has pristine vintage elegance in the public areas and is upscale spatastic in both the guest rooms and the actual spa that is a perfect example of the restorative centers that many luxury resorts offer as a means to keep their doors open.
Although a tight schedule prevented enjoying spa services, two swims in the pool pictured below were nice substitutes. The water being the perfect temperature and the chlorine level being equally wonderful made these extended exercise sessions (followed by a soak in the whirlpool) special.
The professionals to whom a former roommate referred to as interior desecrators did an awesome job extending the luxury spa facet of the hotel to the guest accommodations. Entering a Grand King Suite, which features fully separate living room and bedroom areas with identically spatabulous bathrooms off of each, impresses luxury-travel veterans and should floor folks who typically patronize mid-range lodging facilities.
The image below is of the living room with a working gas fireplace and a marble bar area with real highball glasses and a stainless-steel mini-fridge. Relaxing there with episodes of the Disney Channel teencom "Liv and Maddie"after a tasty brick-oven pizza dinner in Portsmouth was a perfect end of a memorable day.
The equally desirable bedroom pictured below had the same "just right" Goldilocks quality as the rest of the suite. The good folks at the Wentworth magically found a mattress that was neither too firm nor too soft. That, along with the spa decor of the room, provided my best sleep in a long time; the aforementioned aches and tension were gone the next morning.
The massage rainfall shower head in the marble shower was another treat that allowed feeling rejuvenated at the end of bathing. An amusing element of this was initially being unhappy with the mid-sized towels hanging by the shower. They were larger than a typical hand towel and quite a bit smaller than an average bath towel but did the job. Finding good-sized bath towels in the cabinet under the sink solved the mystery and enhanced a second shower later in the stay.
The only negative aspect of the visit was being so comfortable in the spa-quality robe that almost ended up in my suitcase that I did not want to leave. Missing my kitty and being concerned about reports of an impending snow storm were the primary motives were checking out of the first (but not the last) stay at the Wentworth.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding either the Wentworth or the Portsmouth area is strongly encouraged to email me. You alternatively can connect on Twitter via
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