Lighthouse Inn

Set on placid West Dennis Beach on Nantucket Sound, this popular resort has been welcoming families for more than 60 years. In 1938, Everett Stone acquired a decommissioned 1855 lighthouse and built a charming inn and a 9-acre cottage colony around it. Today his grandsons run the show, pretty much as he envisioned it; the lighthouse has even been resuscitated. As they have for at least two generations, families gather at group tables in the summer-camp-scale dining room to plot their day over breakfast and recap over dinner. Many coordinate their vacations so that they can catch up with the same group of friends year after year. With a private beach, heated outdoor pool, tennis courts, and motley amusements such as miniature golf and shuffleboard right on the premises, there's plenty to do. The rooms aren't what you'd call fancy, but some have great Nantucket Sound views. Four rooms are fully accessible to travelers with disabilities.

The dining room -- with state flags rippling from the rafters -- is open to the general public and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The prices are reasonable, and the menu isn't half as stuffy as you might expect: Lunch is served under umbrellas on the deck overlooking Nantucket Sound, a delightful setting in which to enjoy a club sandwich. This is one of the few places left on the Cape where you can be on the "American Plan," in which both breakfast and dinner are included in your bill. Down the road, at the entrance to the complex, The Sand Bar, a classic bar with cabaret-style entertainment, serves as an on-site nightspot.

Facilities: 2 restaurants (large dining room, pool snack bar); bar w/entertainment; outdoor heated pool w/ample sunning deck, chairs, umbrellas, and pool house/changing rooms; outdoor tennis court; shuffleboard; volleyball; minigolf; InnKids, a free supervised play program (ages 3-11) offered July-Aug; game room.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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