We were very satisfied with our stay at The Carriage House on our first visit to the Newport area. Our room and the common areas look exactly as they are shown in the pictures. We also enjoyed having coffee on the back deck in the late afternoon.
Our room was one of only three on the third floor. It was very quiet, which we appreciated. But the elevator only goes to the second floor, which would be a problem for anyone who has any difficulty going up and down steps. It also made bringing our luggage to our room a bit difficult when we checked in, as the elevator is on the opposite side of the building from the stairs to the third floor.
We found the bed to be very comfortable, and the bathroom was adequately spacious. A couple of hooks in the bathroom would have been nice. Some fresh fruit at breakfast would have been a good addition, but we otherwise found the breakfast to be fine, with a good variety of items. We used the trays they provided and took breakfast back to our room.
We arrived two hours before the 3:00 check in. We understand that early check in may not be available if rooms were occupied the previous night, because they can’t be cleaned until the guests have left. We did not receive a reply to the email we sent in the morning asking if early check in would be possible, perhaps because the message went to Airbnb and not to The Carriage House itself? When we arrived we were told that if a room could be made ready for us before 3:00, there would be a $20 charge for early check in. Apparently that is a new trend in hotels, but this was the first time we have encountered that practice.
Not being familiar with the area, based on what we had read our impression was that Middletown was a bit away from Newport. However, we found it to be an excellent location for exploring both the Newport mansions and the waterfront area. If not for signs indicating that we were entering Middletown, we would not have known that we were not in Newport itself. If we visit Newport again, we would happily stay at The Carriage House.