Summer Camp: A Martha's Vineyard Hotel With Color

Please let me state for the record that I am not a hotel connoisseur...given my usual accommodations of tents/hostels/ empty airport terminals, sometimes a Motel 6 can seem like luxury to me. But I just had to share this place with you guys because even I could tell it was something pretty extraordinary! Again...not a connoisseur nor an architectural/interiors photographer (these are just quick snapshots I grabbed throughout the weekend), but I just had to share!

I love things, people, places that are FUN. I know that seems like an obvious statement, but I truly value good cheer and bright playfulness over many other qualities, and most definitely over stuffy sophistication (okay, so I avoid stuffy sophistication like the plague, truth be told, but you get what I mean...). Maybe it's my age/stage, but I increasingly find anything too pretentious or that take themselves too seriously simply laughable.

Enter Summercamp.

I started smiling the second I entered the lobby. Beautiful, of course, but moreover, just plain ol' friendly and inviting! I couldn't wait to sit in one of the swinging chairs by the front window or drink coffee on the porch overlooking the water in one of their comfy seating areas.

The staff was adorable and really could have all passed for summer camp counselors...they were friendly and accommodating and found answers for me when they didn't know right away. When there was some confusion at both check-in and check-out (I was there for work and there was client billing involved which complicated matters), they were helpful and eager to please and followed up with me to check that everything was 100%.

Our room was snug and cozy, just their most basic offering, but I loved it. The little details like great colors and textures, awesome toiletries, a fantastic shower (glorious water pressure!), and bedside clock radios that featured all the modern necessities, made this "low-end" room a great experience. The only hiccup at all was the old air conditioning unit...the room tended to be either too warm or too cold and the thing made quite a racket when it was running, but I'm not one to get hung up on such things! 

After walking through Oak Bluffs and grabbing a bite to eat one evening (we got the BEST french fries at Fat Ronnie's Burger Bar!), Justin and I discussed our future and nailed down some plans over a rousing game of ping-pong in the game room...he beat me in the end, but I gave him a run for his money! It's one of the very few hotels I've ever stayed in where the guests truly made use of the lobby and shared public spaces...in the evenings, people were curled up on the porch and enjoying the view, all day the lobby and game rooms were buzzing with people taking advantage of the cute snack bar or nubby upholstered furniture.

So...if you find yourself headed to Martha's Vineyard for a weekend getaway, I can't recommend Summercamp highly enough! It's fun, comfortable, beautiful, and perfectly engenders the joy of summer and vacation and play.