1. Bushnell House Inn
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (800) 342-3162
Address: 106 S. Main St.
Description: This yellow 1840 Greek Revival inn has a wraparound porch with wicker furniture that calls you to relax. Inside, the historic furnishings and original granite fireplaces, heart pine floors, and moldings make you immediately feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Of course, this magical past comes with wireless DSL connections and LCD cable televisions, but that’s what we expect in these fast-paced times. There are 3 guest rooms, all with private baths that include sani-jet Jacuzzis and heated porcelain floors. The beds are all kings, with fine linens, and each room is climate controlled. Your room comes with a full breakfast, beach passes, and beach bags, towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas for you to borrow. Once the Westbrook Inn, this house was restored in 2005, and you can really feel and see the difference.
2. Captain Stannard Country Inn
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 399-4634
Address: 138 S. Main St.
Description: This rambling house of 10,000 square feet was built by Captain Elbert Stannard in 1872 as his home away from home (his other being his ship, of course). After Stannard died, the house became an inn, going through a number of names until the present day, when it was named (properly at last) for its original owner. There are 9 large guest rooms, 6 of which are “garden rooms” and 3 of which are larger “manor rooms.” There is a larger number than usual of common areas, with a pool table, fireplace, and a huge 1,000-square-foot porch. You can also walk to the beach or the center of the village from here. No children under 16 or pets are allowed, and smoking is only permitted outside the house. The inn was restored and painted its original colors in 2006, and is now one of the most beautiful places to stay along the coast.
3. Westbrook Inn
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (800) 342-3162
Address: 976 Boston Post Rd.
Insider Pick:
Description: Voted one of the most elegant inns in the nation, this 1876 Victorian home built by a sea captain has been restored to its original state, but with the modern conveniences of air-conditioning, color television, and refrigerator in all the rooms. There are 9 rooms in total, with a suite and a 2-bedroom cottage. They offer a full breakfast daily, as well as complimentary beach passes, towels, and chairs, and you can easily walk to the sandy stretch from the inn. They also rent boating, biking, and fishing gear, and since it is located right on the river, and you can stroll out on the dock and fish. Or, just sit on the wraparound porch or by the fireplace and read a book from their library. If you’re coming in the autumn, as with all Connecticut bed-and-breakfasts, make reservations well in advance.
4. Water’S Edge Resort And Spa
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (860) 399-5901
Address: 06498
Insider Pick:
Description: Set on a hill above the Sound, the Water’s Edge was once a country estate and has expanded to become one of the state’s premier resorts, with guests from Woody Allen to Barbara Streisand. With 101 sleek rooms with private baths, the resort also includes 2 pools, a fitness center, a steam room, tennis courts, a sauna, and a whirlpool. The Water’s Edge also has 68 seaside “villas,” total-amenity condominiums of over 1,000 square feet perfect for long stays on the shore. The rooms are clean and modern, with attention to design and function. They also have one of the best Sunday brunches in Connecticut and a fantastic spa. Along with a martini bar, an outdoor grill, and the main dining room, there is also a coffee bar, with all your favorite caffeinated beverages and pastries. You can walk down the grassy hill to the beach and watch the sailboats, or maybe swim out to the small offshore island to soak up the rays.
5. Water’S Edge Restaurant
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 399-5901
Address: 1525 Boston Post Rd.
Description: The terraced lawns of the Water’s Edge bring people throughout the year, and the flowering bushes from spring to fall seem to sparkle with luxury. The huge windows of the main dining room look out to one of the best views on the shore. The barbecued duck breast and veal porterhouse are both worthy entrees, and the emulsion they use with their crispy fried oysters is remarkable. The main room is not your only option here, either. The Seaview Bistro and Martini Bar offers burgers, pizzas, and sandwiches, along with great cocktails. The even more casual (and less expensive) Sunset Bar and Grill is open seasonally, and offers live music Wed through Sun nights. The Water’s Edge is also known for having one of the best Sunday brunches in Connecticut, which includes a Belgian waffle and French crepe bar that will have you reevaluating your relationship with breakfast. At nights in the lounge there is entertainment, and you will be taken back (or perhaps forward?) to the time of the great American resorts.
6. Cafe Routier
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 399-8700
Address: 1353 Boston Post Rd.
Description: After moving from Old Saybrook to Westbrook, this French café has changed its format and focus. Along with French food, Routier has New American dishes on its menu, as well as global food influenced by a dozen different countries. The menu has three panels: one with the consistent classics, one with a different region of the world every eight weeks, and one with locally sourced seasonal ingredients. This great format has made fans of everyone in the area. You can also get small plates at the bar like mac and cheese croquettes and Portuguese shellfish stew. Cafe Routier is open for dinner only, but also features a “mood lounge” where they have small tapas-style dishes and live music.
7. Bill’S Seafood Restaurant
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 399-7224
Address: 548 Boston Post Rd.
Description: Near the singing steel bridge in Westbrook (drive across and you’ll understand), this restaurant on the Patchogue River is a local hangout with all the great seafood you’d expect here on the coast. There’s a family-friendly indoor dining area (air-conditioned, of course), or you can sit outside on the deck under umbrellas and watch the birds in the tidal marsh. The steamers are particular favorites, and you can get some of state’s best ice cream at the small shop next door. They have live music in different genres, even old-time banjo, most nights.
8. Lenny And Joe’S Fish Tale
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (860) 669-0767
Address: 86 Boston Post Rd.
Description: Since 1979 this seafood shack that has become a restaurant has been making award-winning lobster rolls and other seafood. The two brothers who opened it wanted a place to serve fresh seafood, and have created just that. Lenny and Joe have dozens of great dishes, but specialize in two things: fried seafood done just right, at a higher quality than a traditional seafood shack, and sandwiches. The lobster rolls here are famous, but the shrimp roll, clam roll, scallop roll, hot buttered crab roll, and soft-shell crab sandwich are all the best of their kinds you’ll find anywhere. Their second Fish Tale restaurant opened several miles down the shore in Madison, at 1301 Boston Post Rd. (203-245-7289). The Madison outpost has a small carousel for the kids, too. This is family seafood dining a step above the traditional seafood shack, and many steps above in taste.
9. Shoreline Antiques, Llc
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 669-3330
Address: 13 Boston Post Rd.
Description: Located right between seafood rivals Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale and Westbrook Lobster, Shoreline Antiques carries everything from early 18th-century furniture to 20th-century toys. They consistently change the inventory, but you are likely to find some fine art, folk art, cut glass, oriental rugs, needlework, and clocks. It’s not as cluttered as some shops, with a clean and neat appearance, and the staff is very helpful. Shoreline keeps good hours, Tues through Fri from noon to 5 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are a lot of choices here, but the real question will be which restaurant’s lobster rolls to go for after browsing the shop.
10. The Pink Sleigh
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 399-6926
Address: 512 Essex Rd.
Description: In an old 1830s barn in Westbrook, you’ll find this little piece of Christmas magic. The silver and gold of colorful displays fill two floors; you can find thousands of ornaments for your tree, as well as other decorations. They also carry Halloween and harvest decorations in the early autumn and Thanksgiving wreaths and centerpieces later on. Candles, tassels, garlands, ribbons, silks, and more fill the shelves of this charming shop. It is a great place to go to on a cold Nov day when you just want to start thinking of the holidays.
11. Tanger Factory Outlets
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (860) 399-8656
Address: 314 Flat Rock Place
Description: With almost 60 stores, this expansive set of outdoor malls is more like a small village than an outlet. There is a huge variety of stores in all categories, from Timberland to Bath and Body Works. There’s even a Vanity Fair outlet here, with prices so low for jeans (with one stitch misplaced or similar minor problems), you’ll be confused, until you snatch them up and happily take them home. Tanger Factory Outlets also includes a movie theater, in case you want to relax in a dark room after being dazzled by so much merchandise. Tanger rhymes with hanger, as in clothes hangers, and yours will be full after a visit to these outlets.
12. Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 399-2513
Address: 06498
Description: The Salt Meadow section of Connecticut’s coastal national wildlife refuge is also the headquarters, donated in 1972 by Ester Lape to save some of the state’s shoreline from development. From that date the local area grew to 274 acres, and more sections along the entire coastline were added. This spot provides resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for 280 species during the fall and spring migrations. You can find brants, scoters, black ducks, woodcock, bluebirds, tree swallows, wild turkeys, egrets, ibis, kingfishers, ospreys, red-tailed hawks, and endangered roseate terns. There are trails that wind through the different habitats of barrier beach, tidal wetland, and grasslands here, and you should take them very slow, with a pair of binoculars and a quiet heart. Spring and fall are the best times here, with the most species, but during the summer you can sometimes see the permanent avian residents in the little aerial dramas of their lives.
13. Water’S Edge Resort And Spa
City: Westbrook, CT
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (860) 399-5901
Address: 1525 Boston Post Rd.
Insider Pick:
Description: One of Connecticut’s premier spa resorts, the Water’s Edge is set above manicured gardens and lawns above the sparkling waters of the Sound. The jumble of clean white buildings includes a spa that has become hugely popular not only as a summer activity but as a winter retreat on the shoreline. They offer various massage therapies, facials (including a caviar facial), manicures and pedicures, holistic services like reiki, and awesome body polishes that will leave you feeling as clean as the day you were born. They even have their own skin-care line, Pevonia, which focuses on the healing properties of the sea. As a seaside resort, the Water’s Edge also has lodging and spa packages, which may not seem like bargains at first, but do some calculation for yourself. Unlike some spas, the gratuity is included in the price.