Review of our Stay at Summercamp Hotel in Martha’s Vineyard

 

 

Did you ever go to summer camp? I did – not only was I a camper, but I was a really cheesy-but-happy camp counsellor. I loved having money to buy candy at the tuck shop, staying up late with flashlights past lights-out, and the care packages my mom would send at camp. I was all in – camp life was good.

It’s funny, when I decided that we would stay at Summercamp Hotel in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard I wasn’t so much thinking about camp. I saw a hip and modern hotel that looked like the kind of place I wanted to stay. I showed photos of the lobby to anyone who asked where we were staying, and they all thought it looked like a fun spot to stay. It ended up being one of my favourite hotels, and we really didn’t want to leave!

We left Nantucket and hopped on a high-speed ferry and arrived in Martha’s Vineyard in an hour. As our ferry docked we could see our hotel on the other side of the harbor. It’s absolutely walking distance from the dock – I know because I walked it with a six year old and didn’t hear a peep of complaining!

 

 

 

 

Here’s what I loved the most about this hotel – the porch. As you walk up to the hotel you see this amazing porch filled with colorful pillows, rocking chairs, loungers, and the hotel just LOOKS inviting. There were lots of guests hanging out on the porch with seemingly no place to go. I wanted to be one of those guests as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

We walked into the lobby, and again I was wowed. I had seen photos online but they didn’t do it justice – this lobby has to be the most relaxing and entertaining I’d ever been in. The front desk was straight ahead, and was surrounded by cozy seating nooks with coastal-themed books waiting to be read, comfortable seats surrounding the fireplace, chairs and couches facing the porch and harbour so you could people watch, and swinging chairs to relax in. The lobby also included a canteen and tuck shop, and a separate room off the lobby lead to a games room that our son tried to sleep in he loved it so much.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were handed our cute keys, and we were off to our room!
 

 

 

 

This hotel does not have an elevator – for us this was not an issue at all, but if you have accessibility issues you should let the front desk know upon booking so you can be situated on the first floor.

Our room was perfectly clean, bright, and was great for our stay. The bathroom was very small with just a glass shower, toilet and sink, but we didn’t mind. The room did not have a closet, so the hanging rack with our robes and where we would put our clothes was in the room, but otherwise it was enough space for our stay.

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

The canteen had everything from Summercamp Hotel gear (vinatage-style camp shirts, ect.), candy, ice cream bars, donuts from Back Door Donuts (I’ll talk more about them later), and anything else you could think of! The hotel had free cold water, coffee and tea in this area as well, and we actually ended up having our morning cereal and oatmeal there each day.
 

 

 

 

The Rec Room was a dream come true for our son. They had a Wii video game system, a ping pong table, bean bag chairs, and a life-size jenga set. All of the kids who were staying at the hotel hung out here, so he spent a lot of time each day playing with all of his new friends. What we loved about this (and I think this is genius!) was the door to the games room was not only through the lobby, but there was another door to the porch! We would sit in the chairs closest to the door of the Rec Room and relax with a drink while our son would play with his new friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had a wagon full of toys for the kids to choose from each day that they could keep. There were crayons, colouring books, slime, kites – all kinds of stuff!
 

 

 

 

 
 

We were within walking distance to the gingerbread cottages (they were right next door), restaurants and the downtown area. We also walked to the beach! Summercamp also had chair and umbrella rentals which we took advantage of.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We loved the laid back feel of the hotel. We spent a lot of our time people watching on the porch, and just generally relaxing at the hotel. We were hardly in our room at all! On the day we checked out they offered lockers to store your luggage in which was super convenient as well. Of course my huge suitcase wouldn’t fit (overpacker much?), so they safely held onto it until we were ready to leave.

We had SO much fun at this hotel – I cannot wait to return to it!

There’s a few other things I’d love to mention about Martha’s Vineyard if you are planning an upcoming trip!

First off, our whole trip will be on the blog tomorrow with a YouTube video so you can check out exactly how we spent our days!

What else did we do?

We headed to Menemsha Beach for the sunset and fresh seafood! I learned before we left it’s best to order from Larsen’s Fish Market prior to your visit to the beach because of the long lines. I called them the day before and ordered a lobster and oysters to be ready for 7pm.
 

 

 

 
We took an Uber to the other side of the island ($40 there, and a whopping $87 after the sunset was over to get back!), and were dropped off at the dock where Larsen’s huge line up started. I just needed to walk inside and pick up my order – it was awesome! The food doesn’t get any fresher – the fishing boats dock on the other side and drop off their catch. Best lobster and oysters I’ve ever had.
 

 

 

 

 

 
My son doesn’t love seafood all that much, so we got him a grilled cheese from another food stop nearby – otherwise there isn’t much else at this beach. We brought a bottle of prosecco, but we wished we brought a table and chairs like other people did! People clapped when the sun set – it was that beautiful. An amazing experience.
 

 

 

 
We lined up at 7:00pm for fresh donuts from Back Door Donuts. They have a storefront open all day, but at the back door there are freshly baked donuts (still hot!) served from 7pm to 1:00am. We got in line with everyone else, and I ate their famous apple fritter which was incredible – and huge!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We took an Uber to Edgartown, and fell in love. Seriously. Edgartown is pretty dreamy. We arranged a photo shoot for one evening, and it was the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen in my life. The place looked like a dream. We ate dinner in town, and decided this was where we would spend the next day. The shops were so cute, and this was our favourite little town on the island. I loved Behind the Bookstore – I had read about it in From the Corner of the Oval and had to visit!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We went on a pirate cruise with Pirate Adventures! I read about this cool cruise at home but wasn’t sure if it would be worth it or not. As we sat on our porch at the hotel we decided we had to do it! It was pretty darn cool.
 

 

 

 
We arrived to the storefront where our son picked out his pirate outfit (some he could keep, some was a borrowed costume), then they offered face painting, signing the pirate flag, and then we boarded the ship! It was one of the most well-done excursions we have done. They did an amazing job with the kids – on land they went over the rules of the ship and talked about how we would be hunting for treasure. The parents sat in a viewing area on the boat, and we watched the kids have a total blast.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The story itself was so well done. We went back and forth in the harbour, and then we were off to find the treasure. Eventually one of the staff came along as a pirate and the kids could shoot water cannon’s at her – a kid’s dream come true! Eventually we pulled a treasure box up from the water, and the kids were able to take home some of the treasure. This trip was seriously a must-do if you have kids. It was awesome!

0 Below Thai Ice Cream is right on the dock at Oak Bluffs, and it was cool to watch them make this amazing ice cream creation! The ice cream was so good!
 

 

 

 

The funny part about our trip to Martha’s Vineyard was that we didn’t have a jam-packed schedule, but we had the best time. When people asked me to list all of the amazing thing we did, the list was short. The beach, food, and the hotel. For us, that was the easy equation for an incredible trip! The excursions we did were amazing, but that was enough for us. We had time to say goodbye to summer as a family, and it will absolutely go down as one of our all-time favourite trips.

Thank you to Summercamp Hotel for hosting us – we had an amazing time!
 

 
 

 

Items in this post may have been provided to me for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own. This post contains affiliate links.