City: Hyannisport, MA

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (508) 778-4999, (800) 637-1649

Address: 288 Scudder Ave.

Description: The Simmons Homestead Inn is a historic sea captain’s home built in 1820 by Lemuel Simmons. It was a private estate until 1987, when it was restored and converted into a country inn. The property is attractive, with a rolling backyard and a sitting porch. The interior decor is eclectic, reflecting the personality of its innkeeper, Bill Putnam. The inn has 14 rooms, some furnished with canopied four-poster beds, brass beds, or white whicker. Each room has a private bath, two have private decks, and two have working fireplaces. And if you like plants and animals of the brass and ceramic variety, you will be right at home. All the rooms have their own animal theme (as in giraffe, elephant, cat, etc.). There’s even a hot tub and a spacious billiards room. There is a fleet of mountain bikes for guests to use. In the morning, guests will find a full country breakfast in the dining room (the late Dinah Shore once cooked breakfast here for the guests). A social hour with wine takes place every evening, and a single-malt “tasting hour” is staged on weeknights during the cooler months. Putnam is an avid collector and has perhaps the largest collection of single-malt scotch—542 brands at last count—in the country. He also has 55 classic red sports cars he keeps out back in “Toad Hall,” along with 30 cats, although they are not allowed in the main house to avoid problems for those with allergies. The Simmons Homestead is the perfect setting for a Hyannis-based stay that will include shopping, dining, entertainment, beaches, and boat excursions, all within a short drive. Open year-round, the inn welcomes children and dogs.