Sunday, May 17, 2009

Innkeeper Visits: Fort Hill B&B


In order to recommend other Outer Cape bed & breakfasts, I have decided to visit them and report back in this blog. Congratulations go out to Fort Hill Bed & Breakfast, which won Cape Cod Life’s Editor’s Choice award this year for Best B&B on the Outer Cape. (Most winners are chosen by Cape Cod Life readers, who get the chance to vote for their favorites, but this award seems to be attributed by the editors, so is even more prestigious, in my opinion.) Actually I already recommend Fort Hill as one of the places I would want to stay, if I didn’t live here at Chez Sven, when we have no availability. With the publication of the 2009 picks, it was time to visit, so I contacted innkeeper Jean Avery who gave me a royal tour. It’s rare for bed & breakfast owners to get the chance to see other establishments, which is a shame. Now I can definitely tell guests all about Fort Hill. First off, Jean and Gordon’s old house is situated at an incredible spot, in the National Seashore, with the ocean visible in the distance. Granted, Fort Hill is in Eastham, not Wellfleet, so anyone who wants to be in our trendy town, should abstain, but the rooms are very cozy. I especially liked the Emma Suite, which features a well-tuned piano. Jean serves a full breakfast. She keeps an organic garden, as do I. Two of her six guests stay in a private building, the Nantucket Cottage. I was able to understand why the editors were charmed with Fort Hill. Every June Cape Cod Life publishes these awards, based on recommendations from readers. Last summer I actually wrote to the magazine and suggested a category Best Blog. My note was not acknowledged. Perhaps more of us need to urge the magazine to include blogging as one of its categories?