Brewster by the Sea

716 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631, 508-896-3910 www.brewsterbythesea.com

This nice little bed & breakfast has lots of high points and perhaps a couple of low ones. We booked the Refugio Suite and it was very large and very comfortable. The bedroom features an oversized California King bed, a desk and chair, television and lounge chair with ottoman. Beautiful French double doors lead to one of the loveliest features of the room which is a private deck with chairs.

The large bedroom of the Refugio Suite

The living room has a delightful fireplace, comfortable sofa and another television. There is also a tastefully done little kitchenette which was stocked with dishes and glassware as well as a mini fridge. And off the living room is the attractive bathroom stocked with toiletries and comfortable robes.

Cozy by the fire

Right outside our room was a Flavia coffee and tea maker as well as another refrigerator with complimentary creamer, soda and bottled water. The table in our bedroom also had a complimentary decanter of sherry and two scrumptious chocolate truffles were left on our pillows each evening.

Although most of the inn's rooms are in a separate building a few steps away, breakfast is served each morning in the main house and in the company of Harrison, the inn's resident and well behaved Labradoodle. An afternoon sweet treat of cake or cookies is also provided in the main house and there's always a bowl of chocolates if you need a sweet to tide you over.

We had the bad luck to not have the innkeepers, Donna and Byron, in residence during most of our stay as they'd suffered a death in the family and were out of state. However, they'd left clear instruction with their staff about our arrival and we were warmly greeted and welcomed. During our stay, the staff was quick to answer questions about the area and to provide restaurant recommendations. The room itself also contained a lot of information about local attractions and restaurants. The night before our last day we came back to our room to find a complimentary bottle of champagne and note from the innkeepers with their sincere regrets for having been away during our stay. That was a very nice touch and was greatly appreciated.

Hadley inspecting our private deck

On the down side, we actually didn't think much of the breakfasts as they were largely flavorless and frequently included microwaved bacon. We wondered if the food suffered due to Donna's absence because she was billed as the cook. Both Donna and Byron were back on our last morning and it was Donna who prepared our breakfast that day.  The food did improve under her stewardship but we'd still say it compared poorly to other B&B's we've visited.

Romantic breakfast for two

Our room, though lovely, did have some oddities. All the plumbing fixtures were installed backwards so that all handles turned in an atypical direction and the shower pipe was loose which restricted some of the water pressure. The impression was that the work had not been professionally done. In the bedroom, the bed was oddly situated with one side far too close to the wall despite more than ample room on the other side. It made it uncomfortable for the person sleeping on that side to get in and out of bed.

Harrison the labradoodle keeping us company at breakfast

Finally, we do have somewhat of a pet peeve with innkeepers who advertise suites, which should be two separate rooms divided by a door, even though the room does not meet that criteria.  In this case, the only separation between the bedroom and living room was a screen.

Brewster by the Sea is, indeed, by the sea

Nevertheless, the inn was quite nice and Donna and Byron were charming hosts who had trained their staff well. Brewster is located mid-Cape and convenient for day trips to Hyannis and Provincetown which makes this a good choice for a place to stay and there are some lovely beaches right by the inn. Overall we enjoyed our stay on Cape Cod very much.