The Edge, Orient Express Suite
The skinny: Take a trip to the Orient via this Asian-themed, two-level room with wet bar, kitchen, gas fireplace, and balcony overlooking Isle of Wight Bay.
Over-the-top touches: King Japanese platform feather bed and paper lanterns in the living room.
Celebrity guests: None yet, but all guests—including celebrities—would do well to draw the blinds. “This particular suite faces north toward our restaurant, Fager’s Island,” says Angela Reynolds, managing director. “We had a couple staying with us who apparently were lost to the moment and forgot to pull the blinds by the Jacuzzi… An older couple in the restaurant was dining upstairs when one of our managers heard a woman’s cry. They dashed to the table to discover that the woman was fine, but her dignity was a bit offended with the view of the young couple in the Jacuzzi au naturel. The couple was re-seated with a different view, and the concierge was on the phone to the suite requesting that the blinds around the Jacuzzi be used. It all ended happily.”
Rate: $229 to $395
Contact: 201 60th St. on the bay, Ocean City, Md. 888-371-5400 or http://www.fagers.com/edge.
Inn at 202 Dover, English Suite
The Skinny: Your own private entrance and back porch helps convey a feeling that this restored 1874 Victorian manse is all yours. French Provincial reproduction furniture adds a regal touch.
Over-the-top touches: Gilded accents throughout, from sconces to mirrors. The bathroom’s gold cherub fixtures add to the French chateau feeling. (The Victorians loved French style, you know).
Celebrity Guests: None yet, but the privacy of that separate entrance is enticing. Innkeeper Shelby Mitchell sees this space as being the perfect bridal suite. “There’s room for a bride to get ready with all of her bridesmaids buzzing about. It’s a short walk to local churches, too.”
Rate: $450
Contact: 202 East Dover St., Easton, Md. 866-450-7600 or http://www.innat202dover.com.
Hotel Blue, Tower Suite
The skinny: A 500-square-foot room with a 180-degree view overlooking the Lewes Canal.
Over-the-top touches: The ice buckets glow different colors.
Celebrity guests: The hotel opened in 2005 and almost netted Sarah Jessica Parker as its first guest. “Our builder was running behind schedule,” says owner Donna DeKuyper, “and Paramount called two weeks before we had our permit. They were filming Failure to Launch and wanted Sarah and Matthew McConaughey to stay at our hotel. We could not put them up, but if we had, we would have put Sarah in this suite.”
Rate: $175 to $220
Contact: 110 Anglers Rd., Lewes, Del. 800-935-1145 or http://www.hotelblue.info.
The Inn at Perry Cabin, Chairman Suite
The skinny: Walk out a set of French doors onto your own raised private terrace with panoramic views of St. Michaels Harbor. Inside, country inn decor meets big-city amenities.
Over-the-top touches: Armani couches, heated marble bathroom floors, lush upholstered sleigh bed.
Celebrity guests: Warren Buffett, Wynton Marsalis, Rachel McAdams and her parents during The Wedding Crashers filming. “Most celebs stay in other suites with adjoining rooms for assistants and nannies to come and go,” says Paul Gardner, front office manager.
Rate: $750 to $1,000
Contact: 308 Watkins Ln., St. Michaels, Md. 866-278-9601 or http://www.perrycabin.com.
InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore, Presidential/Harbor Court Suite
The skinny: This sprawling, two-bed-room, 2,600-square-foot suite is bigger than many houses and even comes with a private butler.
Over-the-top touches: Swarovski crystal chandelier, eight thirty-seven-inch flat-screen televisions, and, to satisfy your inner-Liberace, a baby grand piano
Celebrity guests: “Lots and lots,” says Courtney Moore, senior sales manager. “When celebrities come to Baltimore, they stay with us.” Bruce Willis bunked here when he filmed Die Hard IV. Over the years, the guest list has included Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, and Jerry Lewis.
Rate: $3,900
Contact: 550 Light St., Baltimore, Md. 410-234-0550 or http://www.ichotelsgroup.com.
The Tides Inn, Lancaster House Suite
The skinny: A two-room suite with two bathrooms, kitchenette, and private patio separated from the rest of the inn creates your own private vacation cocoon.
Over-the-top touches: Can’t beat the extra-large marble soaking tub and patio overlooking Carters Creek.
Celebrity guests: “It’s so quiet and remote that the people who stay here just want their privacy and the peace and quiet,” says reservations manager Susan Williamson. “When Tom Cruise stayed here, no one even knew he was a guest until a month after he left.” Other visiting celebs: Steven Spielberg and The Dave Matthews Band.
Rate: $360 to $515
Contact: 480 King Carter Dr., Irvington, Va. 800-843-3746 or http://www.tidesinn.com.
The Bellmoor, Carolina Suite
The skinny: Your private elevator key gains access to the Bellmoor Club suites, including this palatial room, sporting two fireplaces, wet bar, 150-square-foot private deck, and two-person “Ultra Thermo-Masseur Hydrotherapy Tub.”
Over-the-top touches: The bathroom measures a whopping twenty-three-feet long. A private library for all Bellmoor Club suites is offered on the floor, complete with leather seating, fireplace, and complimentary beverages and snacks.
Celebrity guests: Plenty of high-profile types, mostly those involved in big trials in nearby Georgetown, Del. The suite is named after the University of North Carolina; when the president of Duke came to town, a friend booked him in the room as a joke.
Rate: $295 to $675
Contact: 6 Christian St., Rehoboth Beach, Del. 800-425-2355 or http://www.thebellmoor.com.
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, V.I.P. Suite
The skinny: It’s like checking into your own apartment—one with two bathrooms, two fireplaces, a kitchen, wet bar, dining room table for four, and double balconies.
Over-the-top touches: Master bath boasts a flat-screen TV and Jacuzzi for two below a bank of candles. And the view: “The minute you walk in,” says rooms executive Joel Bunde, “you see the window with the view right out over our Breakwater Pavilion on the Choptank River. It’s a perfect line—nothing but water view. It’s spectacular.”
Celebrity guests: Hollywood-types are likely the only ones with deep enough pockets to stay here, but management is tight-lipped when it comes to previous A-list guests. It is, however, well-known in Washington’s politico circles.
Rate: $1,200 to $2,400
Contact: 100 Heron Blvd. at Route 50, Cambridge, Md. 410-901-1234 or chesapeakebay.hyatt.com.
