Seacrest Manor
99 Marmion Way, Rockport
978-546-2211
What we liked most: The warm hospitality of the innkeeper and her staff.
What we liked least: On a cool rainy weekend we would have loved to see fires crackling in the downstairs fireplaces.
What surprised us: The Old World elegance behind the traditional New England exterior.
You know you're at Seacrest Manor when . . . you can see the twin lighthouses of Thacher Island from the parlor and end bedrooms.
Rates: Doubles off season $78-$195, in season $98-$215. Room 5 was $165 in mid-May.
Directions: Rockport is about 40 miles or an hour from Boston. Take Interstate 93 north to I-95 north to Route 128 north until it ends in Gloucester. Go through two rotaries, following signs for Rockport. At the lights after the second rotary, turn left onto Eastern Avenue (Route 127) toward Rockport. Take a right onto Barn Road immediately past the Shaw's parking lot. Turn left on Thacher Road (Route 127A). After 3 miles, look for Marmion Way on the right. Seacrest's parking lot is the second driveway on the right.
