Providence
Where To Stay

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Old World Charm and Modern Convenience

Providence is becoming such a popular destination for tourists and business travelers that new hotels are being built to accommodate the demand. The city’s small size, attractive, Venetian-style downtown and the historic East Side draws visitors from all points.

If you want to stay in a decent downtown hotel in Providence, within easy walking distance of both the Financial and Arts District of the city, you have about five choices. Starting from the west part of downtown, just below the Italian neighborhood called Federal Hill, you'll find the The Holiday Inn-Downtown Providence on Atwells Avenue. Rooms offer air-conditioning, TV, high-speed Internet access, and extras like hair dryers and irons. More uniquely, this Holiday Inn also features the Black Swan restaurant and lounge, which offers casual European and American food.

Moving a little further downtown you come upon the The Westin Providence, which is attached to both the Rhode Island Convention Center and the new Providence Place Mall. This hotel offers all the modern conveniences one expects from a Westin, including 18,000 square feet of meeting space, 23 suites, and aerobics classes in the Capital Club Fitness Center. They also offer American fare at the Agora restaurant, cigars and cognac in the Library Lounge and a sports bar.

Moving a very short distance east you come to the Providence Biltmore, the elegant grand dame of Providence hotels. Perched right in the center of downtown, across from the Fleet Skating Center and just down from City Hall, the Biltmore offers old-style luxury, and a glass elevator that will whisk you to their 17th floor ballroom while you take in a spectacular view of the city. They also have a business store on the premises for purchasing supplies.

The Providence Courtyard by Marriot is the newest downtown hotel and is very convenient to everything from the train station to Waterplace Park & Riverwalk. This Marriott has a fitness center and pool, and some of the rooms offer Jacuzzi tubs. There is also a library and business center on the premises, along with the breakfast-only Riverwalk Café and a cocktail lounge with great city views.

Next moving east comes the Providence Marriott, which offers all the usual Marriott conveniences including meeting rooms, in-room movies, a pool, and its own award-winning seafood restaurant, the Bluefin Grille. This hotel has its own sizable parking lot and is just below the East Side, within walking distance of downtown activities.

At India Point Park off Wickenden Street sits Providence’s sixth major hotel, the The Radisson Hotel. This hotel offers all the usual Radisson accommodations, and has the Harbor Grille restaurant right on the premises along with its own parking lot. Its chief distinction may well be the fact it sits at the harbor offering some views of the water, as well as being right at the edge of the popular and elegant East Side and the restaurant and shopping area of Wickenden Street. This hotel features shuttle service to and from the T.F. Green Airport, 20 minutes south in Warwick.

The Providence area also offers inn and bed and breakfast accommodation. Two lovely B&Bs on Providence’s East Side are the Cady House Bed and Breakfast and the Annie Brownell House. The Cady House on Power Street, at the edge of the Brown University campus, is a handsomely appointed home, which includes a collection of primitive folk art. Cozy and lovely accommodation is offered here, and the B&B’s owner, who is a professional caterer, offers a breakfast you won’t forget. Also, it is just a few steps from the Providence Link trolley, which transports visitors to all key city areas.

The Annie Brownell House outwardly seems just one of several Colonial Revival homes on Angell Street, only a few short blocks to Brown University and the Thayer Street shopping area, right on the RIPTA bus line. But inside this B&B is very attractively decorated and comfortable, offering a luxurious, restful stay and very tasty full breakfasts served by the English owner.

A few minutes outside Providence in Seekonk, Massachusetts is the Historic Jacob Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast Inn. This handsome old Colonial house offers luxurious rooms with some special features, sumptuous breakfasts, and a quiet place with nice grounds outside the busy city.

If you wish to travel 30 minutes south to waterside Rhode Island locales, there is the Castle Hill Inn and Resort by the ocean in Newport. This luxury resort with its variety of cottages has been chosen by numerous celebrities visiting the area as the place to stay. The restaurant here offers delicious food and itself is a sought-after destination.

Also in Newport, just one block from the famous Cliff Walk of Newport (where you walk a rocky path along the water, past the lawns of famous old mansions) sits the Cliffside Inn Bed and Breakfast. This attractive Victorian house offers an elegant breakfast and a tea hour, and is a luxury stay at a prime location for access to shopping, sightseeing and restaurants in Newport.

Across the bay in Wickford sits the The Haddie Pierce House Bed and Breakfast just a few minutes from the quaint and charming Wickford Village shopping area and historic homes, and down the road a short way from a pleasant bay beach. Staying here also puts you about 12 minutes from an ocean beach in Narragansett, but out of the way of the hectic tourist activity there.

This is just a sampling of places to stay in or near Providence, but among these you will find accommodation to meet every need and taste of the vacationing or business traveler.