Ten years ago looking for a change of pace, Scott Jones and Kell Hicklin left their suits and ties down south and bought the Lambert’s Cove Inn and Restaurant in West Tisbury.
“Who would’ve thought we’d be bottle feeding goats four times a day?” said Mr. Hicklin. “It’s a long way from the corporate world.”
John Tiernan has the talk of a salesman, the walk of a local and the passion and energy to dream big for Oak Bluffs, which is perhaps why the Dockside Inn has flourished since he bought it in 2012. “I have a vision that Oak Bluffs should be that grand seaside resort it once was, with welcoming arms,” he said.
Four words are carved in a wooden block sign hung above the door frame in Peter Martell’s Oak Bluffs office. Ever Ready. Ever Willing. Mr. Martell is one of the co-owners of the Wesley Hotel, the oldest hotel on Martha’s Vineyard. Along with George Fisher and Richard Kelley, he bought the hotel in 1985 from Paul Chase. The three men renovated it for nine months and reopened for business in the spring of 1986.
At the Lightkeepers Inn on Simpson’s Lane in Edgartown, it was a long summer for light-sleeping inn-seekers.
Construction across the lane at the site of the former Shiretown Inn has provided its share of metaphorical and actual headaches to Heidi Raihofer and her guests at the Lightkeepers Inn over the past several months, and the time has come, she says, for a rational noise ordinance in Edgartown to address the matter.
Decades ago most visitors to the Island stayed in hotels, usually for several weeks and often as long as several months. At larger places like the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown and the Pequot Hotel in Oak Bluffs, it was common for people to rent a room all summer long.
A glass of wine or beer at the end of the day is relaxing and may have health benefits, it is said.