WESTERLY – Ocean House Management LLC and Watch Hill Properties LLC will affiliate with and manage the Watch Hill Inn, renovating it in time for the summer season as a luxury boutique inn in Westerly’s Watch Hill neighborhood.
“We are thrilled to join [Watch Hill Properties] in overseeing the renovation of this historic property into an all-suite villa component to our existing property just up the street,” said Daniel A. Hostettler, president and group managing director of Ocean House Management in a statement issued Feb. 12.
Located just down the road from the Ocean House, at 44 Bay St., the newly-renovated inn will offer 18 residentially inspired suites and duplexes, ranging in size from 650 to 4,000 square feet and close to Watch Hill Harbor, Hostettler said.
Details of the affiliation agreement and the cost of the renovation were not released.
The suites will be equipped with new custom kitchens and private laundry facilities, conducive to longer stays. Designed to appeal to a youthful clientele, the suites will incorporate a “contemporary coastal design esthetic,” in-room iPads, wireless music systems and Apple TV, he added.
Guests will also be able to use private concierge services through the inn’s on-site management and guest relations team and use the facilities of the Ocean House located just a short walk up the road, as well as the offerings at the Weekapaug Inn through a complimentary shuttle.
“While the Ocean House and the Watch Hill Inn will evoke two very different atmospheres, we plan to create appropriate synergies between the two properties to create truly unique and special experiences for guests at each hotel,” Hostettler added.
The multimillion dollar renovations are slated to begin in February. Hostettler could not be reached Thursday to elaborate.
The 146-year-old Ocean House reopened in June 2010 after a $140 million rebuild and restoration. Ocean House is a member of Relais & Châteaux, an exclusive collection of more than 500 hotels and gourmet restaurants in 60 countries. The hotel is the only AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Five-Star rated resort in Rhode Island. The oldest original structure in Watch Hill Village, the Watch Hill Inn was built in 1845 and was known as the Narragansett House. Once renovated, the Inn will be affiliated with Relais & Châteaux.
The Weekapaug Inn, which reopened in October 2012, has been a staple of the Rhode Island coastline since 1899.
