After our first COVID-era trip to Boston a few weeks earlier and with the boys still away at summer camp, my wife and I looked a little for other mini-staycations. At the time, COVID restrictions between New England states were strict with many requiring a 14-day quarantine.
New Hampshire had a quarantine rule, but you could quarantine before you arrived. This worked for us so we looked for some interesting properties in the state. Since there are no Hyatt properties in the state, we searched for Marriott properties.
Finding a Hotel
There are a fair number of Marriott hotels in the state of New Hampshire, though many of them are lower-end Residence Inns, Fairfield Inns, and properties like that. Many are along the highway or near airports and are generally places to sleep rather than destinations themselves.
After a little searching, I found a few properties around Portsmouth. It’s a town I’ve driven through hundreds of times on my way to or from Maine but never stopped. There were two interesting hotels I focused on, including a Sheraton near the center of town and the Wentworth Resort and Spa which is more rural but near the ocean.
My wife had been to the Wentworth a few times without me, but I had never been. Looking at the rates and value with points, it was clear the Wentworth was going to be our destination. The Sheraton was more expensive than I wanted to pay, but a terrible value on points while the Wentworth was far too expensive on cash, but a reasonable value on points. I ended up using 120,000 points for a two-night stay. The cash rate was close to $500/night.
The New Hampshire COVID Experience
On check-in, the staff was wearing masks and protected behind a plexiglass barrier. There were stickers on the floor marking off the appropriate physical distancing as well.
We weren’t sure what to expect as far as amenities, but they notified us that housekeeping would be suspended during our stay, though we could call down to get extras of whatever we needed. We were surprised to get coupons for breakfast for two in the dining room. While that is a perk of my wife’s Titanium status, many properties have suspended that benefit during COVID.
We were quickly checked in and off to our room. There was hand sanitizer outside the elevators and a sign restricting the elevator to one party at a time. The hotel is mid-sized and there was never much of a line or crowding in the space, thankfully.
When we entered our room, it seemed clean enough, though it had a smell of smoke. Or more like the smell of the spray they use to cover up the smell of smoke. I quickly went down to the front desk and they reassigned us to a different room that was odor-free.
At breakfast the next morning we made it down mid-morning rather than first thing when it opened as we would normally if the kids were around. It was nice to sleep in… especially because the fire alarm had gone off at 3 am that morning. We were stuck outside in the parking lot for about 45 minutes before we could get back into our room and it was another 30 minutes before the alarm in our room was turned off. The front desk said they were having trouble resetting the system.
We had a choice to sit outside or inside and we chose to sit inside where it was cooler. The tables were widely spaced and they had clear signs on each table indicating whether the table had been sanitized or not. Our breakfast coupon gave us a choice of a half dozen selections on the menu.
Exploring Portsmouth
Neither of us had spent any time in the downtown area so we decided to make the trip there during our first morning. We found a central parking garage to park in and it was a short walk to all the shops. There are hundreds of small boutique clothing, coffee, and other trinket shops. There were restaurants everywhere with indoor and patio dining. Part of the main street shoulders was barricaded to allow sidewalk dining.
We explored seeminly all the shops and found a plce for lunch down near the water. It was pretty busy, though not mobbed like you would expect during a normal summer weekend. Most people were wearing masks. Most stores at least made the appearance of requiring masks and some were quite strict with occupancy limits. Hand sanitizer was everywhere.
Exploring the Resort
Back at the resort, my wife went to the spa. She had made an appointment to get her nails done. It was one of the few available services. Massages and some other treatments were suspended. The indoor pool was also closed, though the outdoor pool was still open with limited capacity.
After the spa, the two of us walked down to the oceanfront to walk around on the docks. There’s no beach at the resort, but there is a marina with restaurants and lots of places to take pictures.
The hotel also has an outdoor tennis court you can reserve and use for free. You can borrow tennis rackets as well, though due to COVID you had to buy your tennis balls for $5 a can. The reason is that they can’t sanitize the balls properly and $5 is pretty reasonable.
Nearby Activities
Both night we ended up going to a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was on the water and offered patio seating. There was a small marina there and it seemed like they offered takeout to boaters as we sal at least a half dozen pick up their orders on the dock each night we were there. The food was excellent!
There is also an ice cream stand called the Ice House about a mile from the hotel. We ate lunch there once and got ice cream twice. It hit the spot, though it got busy during peak times with long waits to order.
Between the hotel and the golf course, there is a small parking lot with a path to a small sliver of sandy beach overlooking the bay and the hotel. We spent the sunset hour enjoying the view.
Conclusion
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portsmouth and at the hotel. The hotel is a premier destination in the area and it was well worth the points it cost. We’ll certainly be back (and have been back with the kids).
The COVID restrictions were surprisingly similar to our stay in Boston. The main difference was that the restaurant and pool at the hotel was open. That may be due to economics as much as COVID restrictions in Massachusetts vs New Hampshire. We felt safe during both stays and enjoyed the ability to travel, despite it being a relative staycation. We’ll take what we can get!
Tomatico Travels 
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