We are long-time owners at the Neptune House. If you are not familiar with the island, Block Island is a wonderful small island a few...
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We are long-time owners at the Neptune House. If you are not familiar with the island, Block
Island is a wonderful small island a few miles off the coast of Rhode Island, and it is what The
Nature Conservancy has designated one of the twelve "last great places in the Western
Hemisphere." People often think of it as a smaller version of better-known Martha's
Vineyard, but the way Martha's Vineyard was 20 - 30 years ago. There are great restaurants,
a great social scene in the summer, and a picture-perfect downtown area, but still quiet
beaches to be explored, nature trails abound, and the slow pace that comes from island
living.
The Neptune House itself is perched on top of a hill about a 1/2 mile from downtown and the
ferry, and about 1 mile from State Beach, the largest beach on the island (though there are
several other less crowed beaches equally nearby that we prefer...). The Neptune House
features the only indoor pool on the island, which is great for rainy days or taking a dip in
after a day of exploring. There are two tennis courts (not exactly in U.S. Open condition,
but still lots of fun), a game room, plenty of outdoor gas grills for cooking, community-access
washer and dryer (bring lots of quarters for these--fresh water on the island is at a
premium!), and an unbelievably extensive library of movies that are yours for the watching.
There is also a large grassy hill/field in the back that is great for kids to run around on.
The units themselves have all been updated recently, and are well kept, clean, and
comfortable. Our two-bedroom has an open livingroom-diningroom-kitchen area. The
kitchen has everything we need and is in great shape (refrigerator, stove, microwave, pots,
pans, utensils, etc.). Ask at the front desk for extras like a giant lobster pot or a blender for
frozen drinks. Note that our unit does not have a dishwasher, so we generally bring a supply
of paper plates to cut down a bit on the time spent at the sink! There are picnic tables and
chairs on the deck outside each unit, so we eat outside as often as we can in the summer.
We own a week in the summer, and a "floating" shoulder week. We go to Block Island every
summer, but often trade the shoulder-season week, and have had fantastic luck in our
trading, landing great exchanges to places like Key West or the Dominican Republic in mid-
February.