Some hotels are built for a week. The Chatham Inn is built for one perfect night, which is exactly why I keep going back. We checked in for a fall staycation, had dinner downstairs at Cuvée, slept under the eaves with the fire going and walked to Lighthouse Beach the next morning. Here is the whole stay, from the room to the last spoonful of ice cream.

Chatham in the Fall

Chatham sits on the elbow of Cape Cod, where the Atlantic meets Nantucket Sound. It is still a working fishing town, with a lighthouse, a fish pier where the day boats unload and a Main Street you can walk end to end. In summer it is busy. In the fall it goes quiet in the best way, and that is when I think it is at its most charming. I wrote more about that in why October is the best month on Cape Cod.

The Inn

The Chatham Inn sits right on Main Street. The house dates to 1830, and it is considered the oldest continuously operating inn on Cape Cod. Today it is a Relais & Châteaux property, the only one on the Cape, with just 18 rooms. That scale is the whole point: the front desk knows your name before you reach it.

Inside, the lounge is built around a marble fireplace, with leather sofas and a stack of travel books. It feels like a private house that happens to have a sommelier.

The Room

Our room was at the top of the stairs, tucked under the eaves, with exposed beams and a tall padded headboard. Nine of the 18 rooms have their own wood-burning fireplace, and in the shoulder season that is the feature to book. The details are right: Chatham Inn glass water bottles, an espresso machine, a lit mirror over a marble vanity. The art on the walls is by local artists, and much of it is for sale.

Champagne, the Lounge and the Wine Bar

Before dinner we opened a bottle of Lallier on ice. Lallier is based in Aÿ, one of Champagne’s Grand Cru villages, and it was fresh, precise and exactly right for the start of a night away. (If you are setting up the same moment at home, these Riedel Veloce Champagne glasses do the wine justice.) Then we went downstairs and sat by the fire for a while before dinner.

Off the lounge is the wine bar, where guests and locals share the counter. The by-the-glass list is long, which makes it an easy place to start an evening and an even easier place to stay.

Dinner at Cuvée

Cuvée is the inn’s restaurant: a small room with white tablecloths, low light and a menu that changes with the season. We have eaten there many times, and it is one of my favorite restaurants in Massachusetts. This visit we tried the new fall menu alongside a few of the classics.

• Tuna crudo to start, clean and bright.
• A new fall salad from the seasonal menu.
• Roasted octopus, one of the best versions I have had in a long time.
• Lobster ricotta cavatelli for the main. The lobster was so sweet I would bet it came from just down the road.
• House-made ice cream to finish.

What I love about Cuvée is that it does everything well without making a production of it. The sourcing is local, from Cape seafood up, the wine list is serious and nobody rushes you.

Breakfast and a Walk to the Water

Breakfast is back at Cuvée, and the room is just as cozy in daylight. We kept it classic, scrambled eggs and a shakshuka, and then walked it off. Lighthouse Beach is about a 12-minute walk, and the fish pier is where the boats come in. Watch the water long enough and you will probably see seals. For the walk, a Barbour Beadnell wax jacket is the Cape Cod uniform for a reason; for dinner, I wore a black leather biker jacket over a cashmere turtleneck.

Who the Chatham Inn Is For

This is a hotel for couples who want a night away without leaving the Cape. The inn is built for quiet, and it is not the place for young children. Come in the shoulder season, when the Cape belongs to the people who live here and the fireplaces stop being decorative.

I tell everyone who visits Chatham to book a table at Cuvée, and if you can stay the night, stay the night. You can see how my first stays went in my earlier Chatham Inn review, and book it, along with my other favorite hotels, on my Expedia Travel Shop.

Shop the Edit

• AllSaints Balfern Leather Biker Jacket, Nordstrom
• Vince Wool-Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater, Saks Fifth Avenue
• Barbour Beadnell Wax Jacket, Zappos
• Stuart Weitzman 5050 Boot, Stuart Weitzman
• Riedel Veloce Champagne Glasses, Target