Newport, Rhode Island · Five-Star · ★★★★★
The Vanderbilt, Auberge Resorts Collection
Alfred Vanderbilt's 1909 residence, reborn as Auberge's most polished East Coast property. Rooftop pool, harbor views, downtown Newport.
Alfred Vanderbilt's 1909 residence, reborn as Auberge's most polished East Coast property. Rooftop pool, harbor views, downtown Newport.
"A Vanderbilt's 1909 vanity project, handed to Auberge a century later. Thirty-three rooms, a rooftop pool with harbor views, and the only downtown Newport address where the architecture is the amenity."
In 1909, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt — heir to the Commodore's railway fortune, future first-class casualty of the Lusitania — commissioned a building on Mary Street that he intended to gift to the city of Newport as a YMCA. The brick-and-limestone structure, designed in the Beaux-Arts manner, served that purpose for most of the twentieth century before passing through several private owners. In 2018, Auberge Resorts Collection took over the building and reopened it as The Vanderbilt — a thirty-three-room boutique hotel that finally puts the architecture to the use it was always too good for.
The conversion is unusually thoughtful. Auberge kept the original limestone façade, the marble staircase, the leaded windows, and the proportions of the high-ceilinged ground floor — then commissioned a full interior redesign that pairs the period bones with a softer, more contemporary palette. Rooms are notably larger than Newport averages, with deep bathtubs, working fireplaces in the suites, and views split between Mary Street's leafy quiet and the Newport harbor a block away. The Vanderbilt Suite — formerly the master apartment — runs to nearly 800 square feet with its own terrace.
Giusto, the hotel's signature restaurant, opened under chef Kevin Tien (Moon Rabbit, Washington D.C.) and serves coastal Italian cooking with New England seafood at the centre. The dining room occupies the original ground-floor hall — coffered ceilings, marble columns — and the kitchen runs a tight thirty-cover service that is genuinely difficult to book in season. The Bar at The Vanderbilt is the property's pre-dinner drawing room: marble counter, low light, a serious cocktail list. The Library, set off the lobby, is the quieter alternative — single malts, espresso, and the kind of armchair you don't want to leave.
The rooftop is the property's signature surprise. A heated pool, cabanas, and a small bar occupy the upper deck, with views across the rooflines of Newport's Historic Hill district to the harbor and the Pell Bridge beyond. In summer, the rooftop opens for guests only from noon onward; in shoulder season the deck doubles as a sunset cocktail address. Spa Vanderbilt, on a lower floor, is a four-treatment-room operation with a focused menu — facials, deep-tissue massage, a couple's room. It is not a destination spa in the Six Senses sense, but it does what a thirty-three-room hotel needs.
The address is the rest of the argument. Mary Street puts you one block from Thames Street and the harbor, three blocks from the cobblestone of Bowen's Wharf, and a manageable mile from the southern entry to the Cliff Walk. Bellevue Avenue and the Newport mansions are a five-minute drive. Castle Hill, Ocean Drive, and the lighthouse-lawn version of Newport are fifteen minutes south. The Vanderbilt is the hotel for guests who want walking access to dinner, the harbor, and the wharves — without giving up the standard of finish that Castle Hill or The Chanler offer further out. Auberge's service standards close the gap.
For round-number anniversaries, The Vanderbilt offers the rarest combination in Newport: walkable downtown, full Auberge service, and the discreet kind of luxury that doesn't demand a dress code at breakfast. Book the Vanderbilt Suite for the terrace, request the corner table at Giusto for the second night, and let the rooftop bar handle the third. The concierge will pre-arrange a private mansion tour at The Breakers and a sunset sail from Bannister's Wharf — the two experiences worth doing properly.
For couples honeymooning in Newport rather than flying further, The Vanderbilt does the local version exceptionally well. Auberge's honeymoon package layers in champagne on arrival, breakfast in bed, a couple's massage at Spa Vanderbilt, and a private rooftop dinner that can be choreographed for a specific evening. The walkable downtown means dinners at White Horse Tavern, drinks at Midtown Oyster Bar, and a return walk along Thames at midnight — the kind of casual romance that doesn't require a chauffeur. Reserve the Auberge Suite category for the soaking tub.
Castle Hill gets the iconic Newport proposal, but The Vanderbilt handles the more intimate, indoor version — and does it without the lawn-and-photographer crowd. Two settings work: the rooftop at sunset, with the harbor and Pell Bridge as backdrop and a private cabana set up in advance, or the Vanderbilt Suite terrace at dusk, champagne staged. Brief the Auberge concierge at booking and they will manage flowers, photographer, dinner reservation, and the music cue. The whole property knows what is happening; the rest of Newport never does.
Rates checked May 2026. Price may vary by date.
The Vanderbilt is the most polished downtown address in Newport. Auberge service, a Vanderbilt building, the harbor a block away.
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