Wellington Resort

Wellington Resort is a condominium style resort composed of five detached buildings facing Newport Harbor. It’s a great location for sunsets, but it is certainly not the “seven acres of waterfront elegance” with “luxurious accommodations” that the hotel’s website makes it out to be. Instead, the exterior of the property appears weathered, and the large outdoor deck, with its mid-size pool and harbor views, looks like it could use some sprucing-up. The clubhouse, where check-in takes place, has a few communal spaces with large sectional sofas, a TV, a computer, and a free DVD library for guests’ use. The atmosphere is relatively quiet, as the resort is somewhat spread out. Guests vary in age from young children on vacation with their families, to 20-somethings celebrating a bachelorette weekend, to groups of older couples who have been coming to the resort for decades.

Located on the corner of Thames Street and Wellington Avenue, the Wellington Resort is truly in the heart of downtown Newport. Thames Street is the main thoroughfare along the harbor, and is where travelers can find some of the city’s best shops and restaurants. Guests can easily walk to Thames Street from the resort, a nice perk in a place where finding parking can be a headache-inducing endeavor or a wallet-emptying experience. The famed Newport mansions are about a six-minute drive from the hotel, and the beginning of the Cliff Walk, a lovely three-and-a-half mile cliff-side path that meanders along the coast, is about an eight-minute drive. Driving to Easton’s Beach will take about 11 minutes, and Second Beach will take about 13. T.F. Green Airport is 40 minutes by car, while the city of Providence is 50 minutes.  

Rooms at the Wellington have the same austere quality as a hospital waiting room, with cheap furniture, a wall-mounted TV, and bland taupe walls with floral wallpaper borders. Generic ocean themed artwork is scattered about the room, but many pieces appear faded, as if they have been exposed to too much sunlight over the years. In any given room, guests are likely to find dining tables that have been stained from years of vacationers who never used coasters, and light-fixtures that look straight out of the '80s. Each apartment also has a wood burning fireplace. Kitchens are spacious, immaculately clean, and come equipped with full-size refrigerators, dishwashers, pots and pans, plates, utensils, and glassware. There are also coffeemakers, toasters, and microwaves. The one puzzling aspect here, is that not all kitchens have ovens and stoves. Guests who plan to cook meals during their stay should call the resort to ensure that their room is one with an oven. Just off the kitchen, there is a small closet that houses the apartment’s washer/dryer unit.  Bedrooms at the Wellington are a tricky situation. All apartments come standard with one bedroom; this is known as Unit A. If guests would like to add a second bedroom, they must also rent Unit B, which is accessed by a separate entrance. If both units are rented, the two units are connected via a small hallway. And though the hotel considers this a two-bedroom apartment, the second bedroom still feels separate from the other rooms (a pro or a con, depending on the guests). Bedrooms, like the other rooms, look bland and dated, with cheap furniture, barely-there bedspreads, and limp pillows. Decor consists of more wallpaper borders and faded art pieces. Every bedroom has its own bathroom -- a nice feature for families traveling with children. Naturally, the master bathroom is larger and has a deep soaking tub/shower combo. The second bathroom has a large shower stall with dual showerheads. Neither bathroom has toiletries. One of the redeeming qualities of these rooms are their spectacular harbor views and private decks/balconies. Each apartment has two balconies, one off the living/dining area, and one off the master bedroom. The hotel provides a small table and a few plastic chairs on each -- by no means luxurious, but adequate for watching the sun set each evening above the harbor. 

The Wellington Resort offers free parking and free Wi-Fi to its guests, but its best features are its two pools overlooking the harbor. The outdoor pool isn’t large, but it has a small whirlpool and is surrounded by lounge chairs in the summertime. The indoor pool is housed in an atrium-like structure, so it receives ample sunlight throughout the day. The hotel also has a nice fitness center, with a few Cybex machines and free weights. And though there are no classes available, guests can borrow workout DVDs from the DVD library in the clubhouse. There is no on-site restaurant, and the hotel doesn’t offer any sort of breakfast or afternoon tea.