I visit Rhode Island's famed town of Newport to pretend. To pretend I was born into the yachting world. To pretend that in a previous life I attended balls in the spectacular mansions that line Bellevue Avenue. And if you'd like to step out of your life for a couple of days and try on a new one, there's no better place to stay in Newport than the Castle Hill Inn & Resort, perched prettily on 40 acres overlooking the water at the mouth of Narrangansett Bay.

Summer, of course, is all about sailing and golf in Newport, where America's wealthiest East Coast families built homes at the turn of the last century. Remember the ballroom scene from the movie "The Great Gatsby?" That was filmed in Newport's largest ballroom at Rosecliff, a 1902 mansion modeled after Louis XIV's little crib called Versailles. You can visit Rosecliff, and many other historic mansions, and even take a twirl across the ballroom floor.

But there's no reason not to visit Newport in the winter, too, when the cold weather makes the beautifully decorated rooms at the Castle Inn all the more cozy. Have tea or hot chocolate in the inn's darkly wooded public rooms or sink into a plush sofa in front of a fire, and it's easy to imagine you've stepped back into a more elegant era.

There are three parts to the inn, which has 25 rooms and two suites: the main building, or Agassiz Mansion (named after the scientist who built the original building), the Chalet rooms (added later and more modern), and the Beach House rooms (just along the edge of the water). However, from Nov. 15 through April of next year, the restaurant and the nine rooms in the inn's main house will be closed for renovation. Guests staying in the beach accommodations or the Chalet rooms will be served a gourmet breakfast, and there are plenty of restaurants in Newport, including two owned by the inn's owners: 22 Bowens Wine Bar & Grille and the Mooring restaurant.

Which means you'll have to return again in the spring or summer to sample the cuisine of Executive Chef Casey Riley, whose commitment to local ingredients is married with a willingness to mix those ingredients in decidedly un-New England ways. Maybe it's his New Mexico background that inspires Riley to turn out a quesadilla of smoked cod loin or striped bass with sweet, corn-lime polenta and red chile. But he also brings Mediterranean, Asian, Caribbean, and other regional influences to his dishes. I still relish the memory of a paella with foie gras he served earlier this year.

The dining room in the main part of the inn is enclosed on three sides by glass, and guests have a view of the water and a lighthouse on the rocky cliffs that rise from the bay. Part of this winter's renovation process will be to modernize Riley's kitchen. I, for one, can't wait to taste the results.

Castle Hill Inn & Resort
Ocean Drive, Newport, RI 02840
888-466-1355
www.castlehillinn.com
Double rooms: $175-$250 midweek; $325-$450 weekends. Includes breakfast and tea. Occasional sales on the inn's web site offer rooms as low as $169 midweek.

November 2002