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The
Simmons Homestead Inn
Hyannis Port, Cape Cod
The Simmons Homestead is the only Bed & Breakfast Inn in Hyannis Port and truly reflects the spirit of old Cape Cod. The entire house has been designed to be a Cape Cod bed and breakfast providing a warm, friendly, relaxing, and romantic atmosphere. It is a place to meet new friends, to feel at home, and relax. A pleasant haven to retire to after a day of exploring, it is situated where you can wander around Cape Cod, enjoy the beach, or take a day trip to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard. At the end of the day, you will return to the Inn, sit on the porch with wine, and relax. Then go to some of the best restaurants on all of Cape Cod, which are less than a mile away. We take dogs of all shapes and sizes and same with kids, have handouts on what to do and see, WiFi Internet connections, discount coupons for restaurants, ferries to the Islands and much more. Just Perfect!
The Inn was the homestead of the Simmons family,
built in the 1800 - 1820 range by Lemuel Simmons, a somewhat
famous old sea captain. It was a private Hyannis Port estate until
1988, when it was renovated and made into a great Bed and Breakfast Inn
and finest Cape
Cod Lodging. What was the original barn, now houses 4 more guest rooms,
a common room and a billiard parlor (pool hall to you city folk). The house
is historically significant, but the interior and furnishings have added a
sense of fun and relaxation.
All the rooms are unique and beautifully furnished,
some with canopy beds, brass beds and all with plants, animals, love and fun. All of the rooms have wonderful animal themes.
In fact, most guests always call or e-mail to reserve the cat, zebra, elephant
or other room by name. Each room is very different and has its own personality.
We didn't start out with the idea of animal themes. Just kinda grew like Topsey.
Guests have done their part to add to the clutter. Over the years, there are
dozens 
of
critters added to the rooms by guests. By now, it is totally out of control.
There are 14 guest rooms in total, including a two bedroom suite set up just
for families, and the Cat Room which is a two room suite with a sitting area
and a separate king size bedroom. The rooms have either king or queen size
beds. One has two twins. They all have their own private bathrooms, with irons,
hair dryers and all that. You can see photos and prices for all the rooms
by clicking on the 'Rooms and Prices'
button on the header. With the gas prices what
they are, we dropped the 2006 and now 2008 room prices by $20 a night from
the 2005 rates, which makes them the lowest in 4 years. It's just our way
of making coming out here more fun and affordable. We also discount midweek
nights and stays of 3 or more nights. Then, while we rarely needed it, we
added air conditioning units into each bedroom in the Main Inn. Probably not
the best year to do so what with the economy dropping under the surface. Normally
you would raise rates to cover the cost over a few years. Don't think it's
a good idea now though. So, what we are going to do is make A/C an option.
If you really want it you can have the remote control at $10 extra a night.
That's what the normal increase would be. But if you don't want or need it,
then you are $10 a night ahead. The rooms all have ceiling and other fans,
and of course the Cape Cod A/C that blows cool through your window anyway.
In
the mornings, a full breakfast is served where everything is fresh and filling.
Bill's not the best cook in the world (or even close), but he slowly
improves with time. Breakfasts are based on the "All you can eat, but
absolutely no choice" school of cooking. They are basic, one day eggs,
fruit, fried ham,
fresh baked breads (by the cleaning kids, certainly not by Bill), another
day will have blueberry pancakes,
sausages, melons, and such. During the summer, we serve from around 7:30 to
9 and in the winter in the 8:30 to 9 as folks just hate to get up out of a
nice warm bed.
We are one of the few B&Bs or Inns around that take dogs and other small
farm animals. Can't take cats as a lot of folks are allergic. But if you need
a cat fix there are about 30 wandering around outside or over in the Annex
at nights. There is a small one time $25 clean-em-up charge. Here is Adam
the cat entertaining one right now. If they are part of your family, drag
them along. We've got plenty of yard space, and have handouts where you can
take the pups year round.
The Simmons Homestead Inn hosts
a social hour where you can meet the other guests and simply sit back and
enjoy a mug or two of wine.
Sit around
the huge porches in the summer and around the roaring fire in the common room
in the cooler months. It's a time you can look over menus from the Inn's list
of recommended restaurants and find special information on things to do the
next day. There is a large billiard room for guests. Bill hosts a single malt
scotch "Tasting Hour" week nights during the cooler months. He looks
at it both as a research project, and the fact he hates to drink alone. We
have billiards and bikes. Barry & Suzanne from England were here on their
first anniversary and were here the year before on their honeymoon. Shows
that people keep coming back and finding new things every time.
Really, our guests are generally lots of fun and are an important part of
our 'entertainment' package.
Cape Cod has some of the most beautiful beaches and
scenery in the East. The National Seashore is simply gorgeous. 
A
drive along Old King's Highway will provide enough antique shops, galleries,
craft studios and shops to keep you going for days. The Inn is two minutes
from the
harbor and island ferries. It is only an hour to Provincetown at the tip of
the Cape where you can find bizarre quaintness, and whale watching. We have
tons of handouts and Trip Tips to make sure you get around to all the great
spots and villages, and avoid the tourist clutter. There are museums galore
and the Cape's best restaurants are within five minutes of the Inn. If you
want to see our reservation, cancellation and other policies, click on the
'Details & Policies'
button on the header for all the nitty-gritty stuff.
The Inn is also a great place to hang around and
relax and enjoy yourselves as well as the Cape.
There
are free 10-speed bicycles for your use, beach chairs, towels and things for
the warmers months. There are fireplaces and rooms with large cast iron bathtubs
for the cooler months. There is also the Lemuel B. Simmons Memorial Free Lending
Library. Grudgingly, after ten years, a TV has been added to the Annex billiard
room and back corner of the dining room. But, they are well hidden behind
plants. Hanging out in one of the many hammocks in the back yard is a much
better way to waste time. The local beach is only a half mile bike ride away.
Say 'Hi' to the Kennedys while you are there. The Inn is also a great place
to meet new friends. We
have a bunch of 'groups' of guests that keep coming back together. When the
Hunts come from England twice or so a year, there are other couples that join
them every time. Don't you Jeff and Melissa. And speaking of Janet and Laurie
Hunt, Here they are driving a Morgan, one of their UK cars, to the Fathers
Day Car show in Hyannis. Check out the 'Special
Information'
button on the header to see some of the other special things that go on
around here at the Inn.
50 all told inside. 
Toad
was a character in The Wind In The Willows,Kenneth Grahame's 1908 classic.
He had a love for the new motor cars of the late 1800s. Bill carries on the
tradition, and like Toad, his cars are all red. If you want to see the current
bunch of cars in the barns out back, click on the 'Sports
Cars' button on the header.
If you need to be picked up at the airport or bus station in Hyannis, we'll
come get you in the Bentley or one of the Jaguar Coupes that have back seats
and trunks, unlike the rest of the cars in Toad Hall.
People are why this Inn is so different and so
great. A lot are the great folks that work here at the Inn. 
The
high school and college kids are not only hard working, 
but
helpful. Emily will walk your dog while you are out, Megan or Shauna will
get you a beach towel and a bike and tell you the best beach to go to. In
the evenings, we have another Innkeeper take over so Bill can have a Scotch,
sneak out to dinner and collapse. Kathy, Laurie and the evening crew will
get you some wine, go over menus of the restaurants we recommend, and make
reservations for you. You won't even know about the restaurants we don't recommend
for various reasons. They'll also help you plan your next day. It's not that
we don't really trust you on your own, we just think it works out better if
we kinda guide you through everything. Adrian, one of the almost three dozen
Inn cats, helps on the computer with the Trip Tips. These folks are what make
the Inn special, and great guests are what make it even more special. In fact,
our guests are our best social asset. They are always lively, interesting
and fun. More and more are repeaters. You'll probably be too.
You'll
get a really good feeling about the Inn and the Cape just from the other guests.
All you folks make it so much easier for us when you do our job by yourself.
Heck, the main reason I keep running the Inn is that I really enjoy the people
that come to hang around here.
spend some time.
The combination of having all the
rooms with animal themes, allowing pets, and all that, has backfired. Word
somehow got out and a herd of some two to three dozen pink flamingos have
completely taken over the grounds at the Inn. While the Inn has always been
a shade tacky, this has now gone just too far!
Shop,
drive around, borrow a bike, beach it, take a walk through great conservation
lands or the National Seashore. Pick a hammock in the back yard. Meet new
friends. It's all right here in Hyannis Port. When you make your reservation,
we'll send you a confirmation and directions. If you want a preview of how
to get here, click on the 'Directions'
button on the header. All in all, the Inn is a great spot to call home
while you discover the Cape and the Islands. Can't wait to meet you.
Bill Putman, Innkeeper of Sorts.
The
Simmons Homestead Inn
288 Scudder Avenue, Hyannis MA 02601
Mailing address: P. O. Box 578, Hyannis Port MA 02647
Call
us at 508-778-4999 or 800-637-1649
e-mail us at SimmonsHomestead@aol.com
Let me see the Rooms
and Prices
Take to the
Page with all the Special Info
What about the Policies
and Details
Let me get directions to the Inn
Can I look at what
the Guidebooks say
How about
a peek at the Sports Cars
Heck,
let's see all the Cats
I'd
like to see Bill's Scotch Collection
I
would like to contact the Inn