VICTORIAN TOWNHOUSE IN NARRAGANSETT PIER

The photos don't do justice to the beauty of this charming Victorian cottage, decorated in delicate shades of peach and blue by someone with an artistic sense for color. Two bedroooms in this two-story duplex apartment have skylights. It's situated on a beautiful, shady street with other attractive homes, trees, and gardens, about 20 minutes' pleasant walk from Narragansett Town Beach and convenient to a number of small shops and restaurants as well as at least 2 churches (Catholic and Episcopal). There's a nice deck and yard in the back; we looked at the stars from the deck at night. Those who have not been to Narragansett in recent years should be warned that the supermarket is gone from the Pier area, so you will need a car for groceries. Owner met us the first day to make sure everything was OK, which I appreciated. You can't take this for granted: in another cottage where I stayed another year, the owner had been completely unavailable.

Negatives: two bedrooms are arranged so that you have to go through one to get to another -- better for family with young kids than for teens or adults who will want privacy from one another. Not recommended for anyone who has trouble with stairs. If you're considering this place, you should probably count on having to pay the cleaning fee, unless you are a habitually neat person who can easily maintain a high standard of cleanliness. The level of cleaning one must do to keep the cleaning fee involves scouring sinks and toilet, etc., which is beyond what I want to spend scarce vacation time doing. All the same, it was well worth the money to stay in this lovely and comfortable cottage.