Castle Hill Inn announced Tuesday that it will begin welcoming overnight guests again on March 5, less than a month after a two-alarm fire caused significant damage to the historic Ocean Drive property.
The fire, which broke out the evening of Feb. 5, has been deemed accidental and was related to the use of a wood-burning fireplace, according to the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Newport Daily News reported Monday.
The Beach Houses and Beach Cottages, which were unharmed by the blaze, will be the first accommodations to reopen. The Chalet, also unaffected, will serve as the hub of inn operations while repairs to the Agassiz Mansion continue, the inn said in a statement Tuesday.
Overnight guests will be offered a gourmet buffet breakfast, afternoon tea, and light bites with cocktails in the evening from the Chalet. Room service will be available throughout the day and evening, and the inn will provide evening transportation for guests wishing to dine at downtown Newport restaurants.
The inn’s boutique spa, The Retreat at Castle Hill by Farmaesthetics, will relocate from the Mansion to the upper level of the Chalet.
The Newport Restaurant Group, which owns and operates the property, said its goal is to reopen the inn’s restaurants and bars, including The Lawn Terrace and Aurelia at Castle Hill, by Memorial Day.
All previously booked weddings will proceed as planned, the company said. The event and wedding spaces are adjacent to but separate from the main inn and are fully supported by the Chalet kitchen.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude to the community for the extraordinary outpouring of support,” the inn said in the statement. “It has meant a great deal to everyone impacted by the recent fire.”
Some affected staff members have been temporarily placed at other Newport Restaurant Group properties while the company works to bring team members back to the inn as soon as possible. The group, which is 100% employee-owned, operates 17 dining establishments across Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Further updates on the reopening of rooms and suites in the Agassiz Mansion will be shared in the coming weeks, the inn said.
Firefighters responded to the inn around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 and found smoke and flames coming from the roof in the back of the building. A second alarm was called around 10 p.m., drawing mutual aid from Portsmouth and Providence. The fire was brought under control around midnight.
Castle Hill Inn, a Relais & Châteaux property set on 40 acres along Ocean Drive, traces its origins to 1874, when marine biologist Alexander Agassiz of Harvard University commissioned the shingle-style mansion as a summer home.