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Where to stay in Natick, Mass. (hotels, inns)

Natick offers a handful of hotels and inns for those visiting town or the area. All are conveniently located to major highways or roads, such as the Mass Pike (Rte. 90) and Rte. 9. Natick is just 23 miles from Boston.

In addition to traditional hotels and inns, Natick also offers short-term rentals via services such as Airbnb.


The Verve Hotel

1360 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east)

This Hilton hotel features The Pantry for dining and Violet Thorn, a chic lounge.

  • Fitness center
  • Free parking
  • Pet-friendly rooms

verve hotel bus

verve hotel

 


Hampton Inn

319 Speen St.

Located across from the Natick Mall, and is connected to Skybokx 109, a sports bar and grill.

Amenties include:

  • Free hot breakfast
  • Free parking
  • Pet-friendly rooms

Hampton Inn

skybokx

 


Courtyard by Marriott

342 Speen St.

Located next to the Natick Mall, and features a restaurant called The Bistro.

Amenties include:

  • Fitness center
  • Free parking
  • Pet-friendly rooms

courtyard marriott


Residence Inn by Marriott

1 Superior Dr.

Located across from Natick Mall, next to an apartment complex called Avenu for those ages 62+. Features a lobby lounge and bar.

Amenties include:

  • Fitness center
  • Free parking
  • Pet-friendly rooms
  • Free hot breakfast

Residence Inn


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Beyond Natick—we visit Ocean Edge Resort on the Cape in winter

December 29, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The weather has cooled off, but Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club on Cape Cod in Brewster extends a warm welcome to guests with a line-up of winter events and experiences available at the year-round resort. With its mid-Cape location (and just a sub two-hour drive from Natick), the 429-acre, 337-room resort is well-positioned for exploring Barnstable County.

Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club, Brewster

We were invited to visit the resort as part of a press tour to see what the area has to offer now and through the rest of the season. Our room and meals were paid for by Ocean Edge. What we found was plenty to keep us occupied during our two-night stay—two indoor, 86-degree heated pools, each with an adjacent (even warmer) whirlpool, were available to guests; four restaurant options; and plenty of experiences were on tap. Ocean Edge recently has created a Director of Fun position, and when I tell you that Brandon brings on the energy, believe it. “I used to be a cruise ship director for 11 years,” he told us. “So I really learned there how to keep activities going. Plus I love seeing everyone having a great time, and I can’t sit still until they do. Even then, I can’t sit still.”

Coincidentally, the first person we met in taking part in an Ocean Edge activity during the trip was…a Natick resident.

Read more.

Filed Under: Beyond Natick, Entertainment, Travel



Beyond Natick: Visiting Block Island during shoulder season

September 25, 2021 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

Block Island in Rhode Island swells from a community of about 1,000 year-round residents to become a summertime playground that hosts up to 20 times that during the peak season months of June, July, and August. We took advantage of our ability to visit for a 3-day September stretch during what’s known as shoulder season to experience this popular spot for the first time.

While Block Island temperatures hovered in the low 70s most of the time, strong winds and often gray skies made for less of a beach vacation and more of an exploring one. We biked, hiked, ran and walked the beach, visited lighthouses, shopped, came across interesting wildlife and domesticated animals, had a great view of a sailing regatta, and just missed most of the action planned for the island’s first Pride celebration that spawned rainbow flags seemingly everywhere.

All in all, the trip was a success. I even finished reading a book I started back in January, so it must have been a relaxing getaway.

Block island

We took the ferry from Point Judith, R.I., a sub-2-hour mid-morning drive from Natick. For the price of about $20 round trip for the regular 55-minute ferry, plus $7 per bike, we were off. (Impatient types can hop on the 30-minute high-speed ferry for about $50.) Parking cost $10 per day across the street. Overall, the process was smooth.

We walked just around the block in Old Harbor to our B&B, the Blue Dory, a charming old house at the start of Crescent Beach that earns a mention in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (under the Block Island section).

Block island

Given that the island was relatively quiet during our stay, noise outside our B&B was toned down, too. We were serenaded nightly by a singer with a regular gig across the street at The National, a hotel and restaurant with seating around fire pits in the back. He really knew how to cover James Taylor, Bob Dylan, and more, so we didn’t mind.

We had our first meal during our visit at The National, sitting on the front deck, which was mostly full and had a friendly buzz going at lunchtime. I took advantage of a buttered lobster roll and didn’t regret it. The menu also listed lobster roll with mayo, so all the bases were covered.

Block Island, The National

block island lobster roll

We didn’t have a bad meal during our stay, and found most of the restaurants on our list to be open despite the summer winding down. Other places we where we dined:

  • The Oar, where we sampled their seafood, infamous (and strong) mudslide, and grabbed a great view of the sunset from the New Harbor section of the island. The Oar has a fun tradition of honoring wedding parties with customized oars that decorate the restaurant and bar.
Block Island, The Oar
  • DeadEye Dick’s, another New Harbor restaurant, where we were initially mistaken for sailors sidelined by too-strong winds to take part in a regatta around the island (and there we were thinking wind was good for sailing). On our ferry ride back to Port Judith we luckily later caught the regatta in action, with dozens and dozens of boats taking part (or are they yachts asks the non-sailor?).

Nice view from ferry of regatta around Block Island pic.twitter.com/zMVO3BL4TG

— Natick Report (@NatickReport) September 19, 2021

  • Poor People’s Pub, one of those “Natick could use one of these” places, where we ate outside on picnic tables and hit the Shazam app more than once to capture songs from their playlist. Lobster & corn chowder and a burger hit the spot for us at this casual setting.

Block island

  • Bethany’s Airport Diner at the island’s airport is a classic cozy diner run by locals and offering menu items such as plate-sized pancakes. Unfortunately for us, the rain and fog that day nixed our plans to watch planes take off and arrive.

We made our way around the island largely by foot and bike. Dedicated cycling paths aren’t one of Block Island’s offerings, so you need to share the road with cars and mopeds, and that’s easier to do during the off-peak season given the reduced traffic. Still, within 10 minutes of our arrival I saw a woman wipe out on her bike, and possibly break her wrist. I was among those who helped her to the sidewalk to await an ambulance.

We hit the big sights, including lighthouses on the north and south shores. We walked from our hotel to the Southeast Light, a brick and granite structure. One thing about going off-season is that sights like this have more limited access, with tours only available on weekends.

Block island

From the lighthouse we walked down the road a bit and then down 141 steps to get a better look at the dramatic 200-feet high Mohegan Bluffs.

Block island

We took advantage of some of the island’s many dirt roads for shortcuts and to make our way to the waterfront, which is much more wide open to the public than beaches in some other northeastern vacation destinations. In walking down a dirt road called Beacon Hill Road we stopped at a bench to watch the action at a beautiful farm populated with ducks, chickens, cats, goats, and even a horse that peeked out of a barn just before rain drenched us during a hike on the nearby Greenway trails.

Block island

Block island

While not exploring the island’s natural beauty, one of us (not me) hit some of the shops, some of which were out of stuff (a pottery shop) and others of which were offering great end-of-season deals.

While Block Island isn’t that far away from Natick (friends more adventurous than us make a day trip of it), it felt like a legit getaway. It was definitely one of those trips we’ve been meaning to check off our list, and are glad we did.

Block Island North Light

 

Block island

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Filed Under: Beyond Natick, Travel

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