Harbor View Hotel- Martha’s Vineyard

I’ve been coming to Martha’s Vineyard every summer for basically my whole life, but we never stayed overnight on the island. Edgartown is our favorite area of the island, and every time we visit, we pass Harbor View Hotel, and I always wondered what it would be like to stay there. I’m so happy I finally did.

THE PROPERTY

The property is located right near the iconic lighthouse in Edgartown. Once you take the ferry to MV, it’s easily accessible by taxi, Uber, or even the bus. If you don’t have much luggage, I recommend taking the bus and walking about 14 minutes from the bus stop to the hotel. If you have kids and a lot of items, taxis and Ubers are easy to grab. We took a taxi from the ferry since we had a lot of things with us. There is a taxi stand right when you get off the ferry. The taxi and Uber are about the same price, so there was no point in waiting for an Uber. The property's surroundings are absolutely stunning; it is bordered by beautiful houses in the neighborhood, along with cute cafes, bookstores, shops, bakeries, and restaurants. I like that the hotel is a little removed from the shops, offering an unobstructed view of the ocean and lighthouse. My favorite thing to do is walk to the lighthouse. It’s so beautiful and peaceful around there. You can also swim at the beach behind the lighthouse, which is so nice to do in the Summer. Edgartown, though it does get busy in the Summer, is not as busy as other towns like Vineyard Haven or Oak Bluffs, which is my favorite part about it. 

The hotel is very cute and gives off the quintessential Cape Cod feel. I love its wraparound porch with lots of seating to enjoy the view. They have an open grassy area where the kids loved running around, along with a beautiful elephant sculpture. I’m not sure if the sculpture is there all the time, but it was a nice added touch. There is also a gym, two restaurants, and a pool (it was closed when we went in the Spring). The lobby was nicely decorated with a cozy fireplace. All in all, there are a lot of rooms, but the actual amenities are few, and the hotel is not that big, which actually gives it a quaintness that matches the MV vibes.

THE ROOM

I will say I hyped up this hotel in my mind a bit too much, because when we checked in, we were underwhelmed by the room. We came off-season at the end of April, and there was a lot of construction happening. I know off-season is their time to fix everything in the hotel and get it ready for summer, but it would have been nice not have to walk through construction to get to our room every time. It would have made sense, since it was off-season and the hotel was not busy, to arrange for guests to stay away from the construction site. Our room was just a simple double room with a little patio that looked out into the grass and a generator. I know we didn’t splurge on the ‘nicest’ room, but I feel like it was another miss for the hotel to place us in a room like this when the hotel was not busy at all. We did overhear many people checking in at the front desk asking for upgrades, and I wish I had followed suit, but by the time we got in our room, I was too tired to switch, and really, it wasn’t bad. I think I just romanticized this hotel so much in my head that I expected to be more impressed by the actual room. Another issue we ran into was that there were ants all over the room, and they were even crawling on us in bed. It could have been a result of the construction and being on the ground level, but that is also another reason why I think guests should have been placed elsewhere. The room was just a place to rest our heads anyway, as we planned on enjoying the island as much as possible, so we tried not to let it bother us too much. 

THE FOOD

The hotel has two restaurants on site. We did not eat at either of them, but they were very cute. We saw some of the dishes coming out, and they smelled and looked attractive. The menu for both locations also looked great, and the prices rivaled the local restaurants, so it wasn’t much more expensive to eat at the hotel. Because we were venturing out a lot, we ended up eating while we were out. We did get room service breakfast for the girls one morning, and it was an ok simple breakfast. The customer service wasn’t great while we were there, and they forgot some of our requests. I’m not sure if it’s because we stayed off-season or if it's normally that way, but I had to really lower my expectations as time went on. 

There are many delicious restaurants surrounding the hotel. During the summer season, everything is open, but if you travel off-season. (between mid sept to Memorial Day) You will run into many closed shops and restaurants on the island. Even though many things were closed, we found some good places to eat. My favorite was Rosewater, a cute little cafe walking distance from the hotel with the freshest, most delicious food, including breakfast. I highly recommend them. We also had dinner at The Wharf, which is also open all season, but the food here was just ok. The other place we had dinner was Rockfish. I would say the food here was better than at The Wharf. I ordered the girls the Halibut48 dish that was so flavorful.

If you visit during the season, I recommend stopping by Seafood Shanty in Edgartown. It’s really yummy and also has a view of the ocean, but it is only open in the summer months.

Martha’s Vineyard is known for their homemade ice cream and fudge, and thankfully, there were some shops open nearby during our stay. Mad Martha’s is the main ice cream shop on the Vineyard, open year-round, and they also offer vegan options, which is nice.

THE BEACH + POOL

Unfortunately, since we came off-season, the pool was closed and under construction. It was too cold to swim anyway, but it would have been nice to see it all set up. The beach is open to the public, and although it was too cold to swim, we had fun walking along the trail to the lighthouse and letting the girls collect seashells and throw rocks into the water. Edgartown has my favorite beach on the island, so I might be biased, but I just love this beach and location so much. 

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

I already touched on the neighborhood, but Edgartown is such a cute little town. It is charming and bright with lots of shops, cafes, bakeries, bookstores, and restaurants. There is even a farm close by, Morning Glory Farm, you can visit and get fresh food and produce, and they also have toys for kids to play with. The houses are grand and beautiful, and it’s clean and really a lovely place to take a stroll. Edgartown always makes me, a city girl, want to trade it in for a simple small-town life. It’s so beautiful and peaceful here. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t love it, even if just for a visit. 

Overall, our stay at Harbor View Hotel was a bit underwhelming. I can say my expectations were probably a bit too high, as I glamorized this hotel in my mind for so many years, and also visiting off-season probably skewed our perception a bit. Nevertheless, despite run-ins with not the greatest customer service, loud construction, and ants, Martha’s Vineyard is a magical place, and nothing could ruin my time there, really. If you are visiting out of season, I would look into one of the other cute boutique hotels in Edgartown, as there are many.

If you choose to stay at Harbor View Hotel, just make sure you get a room that is not on ground level with a view. I do think it would be worth the upgrade. The absolute best way to stay on Martha’s Vineyard, though, is by staying in an Airbnb or home rental. Just be mindful that the busy season is summer, and people book out sometimes a year in advance, so if you plan on staying overnight on the island, I would say to book at least 6 months in advance for a hotel or Airbnb.

See pricing and availability for Harbor View Hotel HERE and use my code MISSENOCHA for $$ off.