When I say my husband finds unusual lodging, I am not exaggerating! On our adventure in New England he booked two nights, in a lighthouse, on Rose Island in the Narragansett Bay.
Rose Island is an 18 acre island located in Narragansett Bay near Newport, RI. The island was home to Fort Hamilton and its earliest fortifications were built in 1780 during the American Revolution. More construction took place from 1798-1801, but was never finished. Today only the long barracks remain. In the early 19th century these barracks were used as a quarantine hospital during the Newport cholera epidemic. Throughout World War I and World War II the barracks were used to store munitions. However, the island eventually became part of the US Naval Torpedo Station during World War II. The lighthouse was built in 1869 on the southern most point of the island on the ruins of one of the bastions of Fort Hamilton. The light was first lit on January 20, 1870.
Rose Island Lighthouse and Fort Hamilton Trust is in charge of the islands’ preservation and operates the overnight accommodations (Roseisland.org). The accommodations on the island include 4 spaces available for overnight stays. On the lighthouse museum first floor there are two rooms that are booked as a package. The Curt Bunting and Wanton Chase rooms can accommodate 4 guests. These rooms include a small kitchen pantry, sink and toilet, but no shower. The Light Keepers rooms are on the second floor of the lighthouse museum and are the biggest rooms available for rent. It includes a full kitchen, queen size bed, futon, a small sofa in the bedroom, plus a dining table for 4. It also is the only accommodation with a full bathroom. The Bunk room on the second floor is also available to rent to give the Light Keeper’s room extra space for a total of 6 people. All rooms in the lighthouse have electricity. The Foghorn room is located in a separate brick building, on an outcropping in front of the lighthouse. It has a queen size bed, small dining table and a working woodstove. It does not have electricity or a bathroom. You have to use the bathrooms located near the barracks. The Fort Hamilton Barracks have one room available to rent. It has a queen sized bed with 2 cots available. It does not have electricity and you would use the bathrooms located near there.
After Dave received our confirmation for booking, we received an email with directions and parking instructions. We were able to print off a parking permit ahead of time, so we could do overnight parking in the Fort Adams visitor parking lot.
We arrived in Newport Rhode Island around 11:20a. Our ferry pick up for the island was at noon at Alofsin Pier North in the Fort Adams State Park. Once you enter the park, you will follow the signs to the Fort Adams visitor center, which is the road to the left around the pier directly in front of you. The pier you will be leaving from will be the same pier that the Jamestown/Newport Ferry leaves from.
Captain Mike picked us up at noon and it was a 15 min ferry ride to the island. After we took our belongings to our Light Keepers rooms, Mike gave us a quick rundown and history of the lighthouse and the island and he mentioned that the island, light house and barracks were rumored to be haunted. 😳 After our quick tour, we finished unpacking and started to explore the other rooms in the museum and headed up to the top of the light house. The stairs are steep and the entry into the top is small. You have to get down on your hands and knees to go through the door to the outside, to walk around the light, but what a gorgeous view. Next we headed to the gift shop and then the Barrack room. The Barrack room has plenty of room, but rather musty. It has its own gas grill outside of the entryway. We arrived with a lovely couple from Newport that was staying in the Foghorn room. This was their third time staying on the island and they were incredibly helpful with tips about the island and suggestions for Newport. They told us that low tide would be around 3p and that you could walk around the island on the shore. So, at 3p we headed out to explore the island. There are a large amount of shells on the beach as well as a lot of sea glass. We suggest taking water shoes to walk around the island. You also will be required to walk on very slick boulders. It was a great way to see the island and lots of birds along the way. From May to August the interior of the island is a sanctuary for nesting birds and you are not allowed around certain areas of the island. After getting back we joined the other couple, sitting in adirondack chairs watching the sailboats, and enjoying a glass of wine. Later that evening we enjoyed a nice campfire before retiring to bed. The people that stayed in the light keepers rooms the two nights before we arrived had written in the guest book that they had witnessed a ghost one evening in our rooms. So that made staying in the light house after dark, with no locks on any door, and no screens on any window, with all windows propped open very interesting. We did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary that night. The next day it rained most of the day and we stayed in and read. We did have visitors on the island during the day, but because of the rain the other guests that were supposed to arrive decided to cancel and the couple we had been with the day before, were only there for one night. So, the caretaker said we would have the 18 acre island all to ourselves, which I have to say was a little eerie! It rained all night, the foghorn on the light house across the bay, under the bridge went off every few minutes and the wind howled through the light house tower up top. But we did not have any visitor show up 👻. The next morning Dave got a call that it was too rough and raining too hard for our boat to come pick us up, and that the Jamestown ferry would be picking us up at 10:45, and for us to put up the yellow flag on the dock to signal them to stop. We received another message that the Jamestown ferry had also shut down and they were not going to start service until noon. So we waited. We were finally picked up at 12:15 in the pouring rain and delivered back to Alofsin Pier, rather soaking wet.
It was an adventure and we are so glad we stayed on Rose Island. How many people can say they had an entire island to themselves for a night. What a unique and wonderful experience!
Some things to consider before booking a stay at Rose Island:
The water in the sinks and showers comes from a cistern on the island that is chlorinated. It is not potable and not safe to drink. They supply 5 gallon water dispensers for your drinking water. (this was not clear to us before arriving, and there are not signs on the sinks in the Light Keepers rooms, but we found out about it from the laminated information in our room). At our time of stay there was a drought and the cistern was low. They asked you not to flush the toilet every time, to minimize water from faucets and to use the bottled dispensers whenever possible.
You will need to pack in all of your food for your stay. Only the Light Keepers rooms have a refrigerator, so you will need to bring a cooler with ice to keep your food and drinks cold. There are gas grills available, they were very clean and worked well. There is also a fire pit if you wanted to roast over the fire, but you would need to bring your own roasting sticks.
The Foghorn room and the Barracks room do not have electricity and candles are not allowed in any of the rooms so it would be wise to bring a flashlight.
Visitors arrive on the Jamestown/Newport ferry between 10a and 4p everyday. All rooms except the Light Keepers rooms must be picked up, beds made and belongings stowed away, so visitors can tour the museum.
There is a gift shop, but it is on the honor system. Checks and cash are required. No credit card purchases.
Departure is at 10a on the same ferry you arrived on. You must strip your bed and remake it with the clean sheets supplied to you, bag your used sheets and take them to the ferry. You will also be required to take all trash and recycling from your rooms and take it to the ferry as well.
