Newport houses more bed and breakfasts per square mile than any other tourist town with over 150 B&B's, inns, and guest houses for visitors to choose from. Setting one apart from another is the innkeepers and their personalities, the styles of the B&B's, the amenities offered, and of course the proximity to the area attractions, like the treasured waterfront.

Consequently, how do you select the perfect Bed and Breakfast experience? One approach is to log on to the web site of the particular B&B, view the amenities, locations, pricing, and interior and exterior photos. Usually a very good indication of what a B&B represents is on their web page. Since the web is the showcase for advertising, each Inn will demonstrate its best.

The Spring Seasons Inn (www.springseasonsinn.com) is a regal Victorian hosted by Innkeepers Susan Mergenthaler and Bill Farrell. It platforms a luxurious distinction from the ordinary with three suites, each more magnificent than the other in the center of Newport. Spring Seasons serves candlelight breakfast to the music of a player piano. A majestic hand painted mural by local artist Susan Whitney graces the entry. The colorful display of a courtyard scene decorated with faux stonework, a garden scene, birds and animals is breathtaking. Several murals are featured in the guest rooms showing scenes such as faux stonework around the perimeter of doorways, painted topiaries and plant life, and floral displays accenting over the bed in the penthouse suite.

A short distance from town, off the famed Ocean Drive is Ocean and Ivy (www.oceanandivy.com). Innkeepers Agatha and Rich Tresky have offered lush accommodations for the past eight years. Each guest room has a private bath and a balcony overlooking the scenic mouth of Narragansett Bay that opens towards Rhode Island Sound. The ocean vista premiers an ever-changing picture as cruise ships, colorful tankers, and sail and power boats come into view. Murals decorate this B&B too. Local artist Mary Lou Smith adorned the entrance walls with magnificent murals of garden scenes. Paintings of bird houses, sheds, various summer flowers, hats and a window panorama offer sights for more than a casual glance. Each mural is artistically and tastefully created in a timeless vision.

Continuing the a list of B&B's decorated with murals by local artists is my own centrally located Kitt Shepley House (www.kittshepleyhouse.com) in Historic Hill, just minutes to the waterfront with its fine restaurants and shops. Local artist Rick Champagne created a ceiling painting of four individual cupids surrounding clouds of an azure sky in the Italian Renaissance Suite. It appears each cupid is waiting for the sky to open up for them to return to the heavens. A truly glorious masterpiece makes it debut as one of the lush and different.

These three B&B's, along with 14 others are registered members of the Newport Country Bed and Breakfast Association (NCBBA). They are individually owned and operated, owner occupied, inspected under rigid specifications, and registered in the city and state. All of the NCBBA member B&B's offer warm hospitality and comfort with individualized attention to every detail.

The association was founded in 1984 by a group of Innkeepers including Cindy Roberts, Polly Canning, Sue White and the late Anne Lindsey as a means to network and brainstorm on capitalizing the soon-to-be-tourist boom. At the time there were few hotels and little competition.

From the beginning, the NCBBA stressed quality, cleanliness and gourmet breakfasts. They were ahead of the time with inspections and consideration of safety and security. Today NCBBA has evolved into a first class association that meets monthly in the B&B memberships homes. Two or three social events are planned per year with quality in the forefront, like the recent “Kickoff to the Summer Season” dinner meeting at Sardella’s Restaurant on Memorial Blvd. Not only were three Past Presidents in attendance, Polly Canning, Susan Mergenthaler, and Paul Manning, current President Paula Kelley, organized and hosted the event inviting members, past officers and their spouses or significant others to partake in the festivities.

Offering a variety of amenities, locations and charisma, each B&B is designed with you in mind. You might have a difficult time in choosing a B&B, this being the million dollar question, which one? Keep in mind, small establishments aim to please, and the NCBBA aims to maintain their quality.

All three of these B&Bs are in Newport. Spring Seasons Inn 86 Spring Street, Ocean and Ivy is at One Doris Terrace, and Kitt Shepley House centrally is at 23 Division Street. You can visit the NCBBA online at www.newportribedandbreakfast.com

About the author, Linda S. Manning: Linda S. Manning is the definition of a take charge person, continually seeking new avenues to expand her creative talents. In addition to a quarter of a century as a real estate broker, former elementary teacher and current Bed and Breakfast owner in Newport, Linda is also a licensed Captain, PADI Dive certified, artist and has written travel articles and short stories about life in Newport and beyond. A former runner up for Miss Rhode Island World, she was born in Providence has resided in Newport for 8 years with her husband Paul.

The Kitt Shepley House 23 Division Street Newport, RI 02840 877.362.8664 Kitt1932@aol.com www.kittshepleyhouse.com

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