And if you must bring the kids...

The Yachtsman Lodge
Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport, ME, 207-967-2511, yachtsmanlodge.com, doubles from $325.
The Yachtsman’s motel-like exterior belies the sophistication inside. Redesigned by celebrated Boston architect Peter Niemitz, its 30 rooms are outfitted with supersoft duvets, Egyptian cotton sheets, CD players with Bose speakers, and French doors that open to private patios and marina views. But the Yachtsman’s real year-round appeal is the welcome it gives to both the kids and the family dog—for an extra $25 per day, Rover has the run of the room. Come winter, the cozy-chic lodge makes a good home base for exploring Kennebunkport and is filled with (tasteful, of course) holiday spirit. The town’s annual December Christmas Prelude (held the first two weeks of the month) includes a tree-lighting ceremony and bonfire, caroling by candlelight, and shopping galore.


Home Plates
Tasty Picks for Foodies

Four Columns Inn
Newfane, VT, 800-787-6633, fourcolumnsinn.com, doubles from $160.
Master chef Greg Parks has been tickling palates at southern Vermont’s Four Columns Inn for 30 years, collecting a James Beard and wowing everyone from Henry Kissinger to Nicole Kidman along the way. The only one not impressed, it seems, was Parks himself. Hence, his new personalized five-course tasting menu. While Parks specializes in French- and Asian-inspired food (rack of lamb with mushroom-rosemary demi-glace, grilled squab with strawberry-yuzu sauce), with a week’s notice he’ll put together the dinner of your dreams, be it filled with New Zealand venison or farm-raised Italian caviar. The inn, which looks out on what is arguably Vermont’s most idyllic town common, was recently renovated to add in-room gas fireplaces and modern conveniences—high-speed Internet, portable DVD players—to its country-comfy décor. Order ahead and dig in—if you don’t like what’s on the menu, you’ve only yourself to blame.

The Chanler at Cliff Walk
117 Memorial Blvd., Newport, RI, 401-847-1300, thechanler.com, doubles from $325.
The Chanler’s customary offerings speak for themselves: 20 posh guest rooms in a restored Civil War–era mansion, a lauded restaurant with ocean views, and easy access to Newport’s sightseeing and shopping. Not one to rest on its lofty laurels, though, this September the inn hired master chef Kyle Ketchum, who promptly overhauled the menu at its flagship eatery, the Spiced Pear, and stocked it with lots of New England standards, like simple, local seafood and poultry. Comfort-food enthusiasts will devour the seared foie gras with apple pain perdu, or grilled buffalo strip loin with spaetzle and organic Brussels sprouts. And since the Spiced Pear seats just 60, diners feel comfortably removed from the often crowded Cliff Walk outside.

The Inn at Sawmill Farm
West Dover, VT, 802-464-8131, www.theinnatsawmillfarm.com, doubles from $300.
Inn addicts love Sawmill Farm—partly for its serenity (pristine hills dotted with ponds), partly for its personable hosts (it’s been family-run for nearly 40 years), but mostly for its dinners. Chef-owner Brill Williams’s seasonal American-continental menu and comprehensive cellar of rare wines—a ’74 Ridge Monte Bello is but one example—have always made supper the main event.

Earlier this year, the Williamses upgraded almost every corner of the property, remodeling the rooms and installing wireless Internet access and new outdoor decks perfect for predinner cocktails. So while fans are still inclined to linger in the lamplit restaurant over a postprandial bottle of ’82 Haut-Brion, they’re no doubt equally tempted to scurry back to their suites.

Castle Hill Inn and Resort
590 Ocean Dr., Newport, RI, 888-466-1355, castlehillinn.com, doubles from $229.
Built in 1874 on Newport’s famous Ocean Drive, Castle Hill is one of those rare places both tourists and locals adore. Renowned for its views of Narragansett Bay, the seaside Victorian manor has long proffered fine dining. This year, new executive chef Jonathan Cambra is raising the bar with his Mediterranean-inspired seasonal cuisine. His $65 prix fixe winter dinner takes a rustic turn with dishes such as grilled antelope with a red chili rub, and rack of lamb in a red currant consommé (not to mention an insanely good chocolate soufflé). Weekends find guests sipping afternoon tea before checking out Castle Hill’s arts and culture series, which kicks off this month with pianist George Winston. Those who prefer alone time can eschew the nine guest rooms for one of the renovated private beach cottages.

Stonehedge Inn
160 Pawtucket Blvd., Tyngsboro, MA, 978-649-4400, stonehedgeinn.com, doubles from $225.
Levent Bozkurt is nuts about wine, and his 100,000-bottle cellar is only the half of it. He recently reoutfitted his Tyngsboro inn with a wine cave and dining room filled with stacks of big-gun bottles from Bordeaux and Napa, which guests sample at monthly wine dinners. Adding to the oenophile experience is new chef de cuisine Klaus Raferzeder, who pours his creative juices into the “Chef’s Adventure” menu at the on-site Silks restaurant. The quaint 30-room country spot also added a range of “vinotherapy” treatments to its spa menu, including a crushed chardonnay sugar scrub and the Le Vin Chardonnay bubble bath. Like we said—the guy’s nuts about wine.

Reported and written by Jane Black, Michael Blanding, Blythe Copeland, Sascha de Gersdorff, Alyssa Giacobbe, Alexandra Hall, J. L. Johnson, Christie Matheson, Erin Byers Murray, Meaghan O’Neill, and Francis Storrs.