Named for 1661 when Block Island was first settled by English colonists, the main clapboard house dates to 1870, twenty-four rooms across four buildings, the family-run sister property to Hotel Manisses, and the keeper of the island's most beloved animal farm.
"1661 in the name for the year Block Island was settled; 1870 in the bones. The Abrams family inn with the llamas and donkeys behind the porch."
The 1661 Inn takes its name from the year Block Island was first permanently settled by English colonists from Massachusetts Bay; the main clapboard building of the inn was actually constructed in 1870 on Spring Street, a four-minute walk uphill from the Old Harbor ferry landing. The property has been owned and operated by the Abrams family for several decades, alongside their nearby sister property Hotel Manisses, the two together forming the largest family-run lodging operation on the island. The 1661 Inn is the older and more central of the two, and the Abrams family's flagship.
Twenty-four guest rooms span four separate buildings within a five-minute walk of one another: the 1870 main inn (nine rooms with private baths, the most decorated and characterful stock, several with whirlpool tubs and gas fireplaces), the Mitchell Cottage (a small adjacent guest house with rooms in the family-cottage vernacular), the Guest House (five economy rooms in a separate building, the only Block Island rooms at the historic inns under $300), and the Nicholas Ball Cottage (the property's three highest-category suite rooms with private decks and ocean views). The main-inn rooms are the headline booking; the Nicholas Ball suites are the ocean-view upgrade.
The 1661 Inn's signature is the working animal farm directly across Spring Street from the main building: a small petting-farm population of llamas, alpacas, donkeys, fainting goats, emu, and a rotating cast of fowl, all genuinely beloved by the Abrams family and free for guests to visit. The farm has become one of the most photographed Block Island landmarks and a particular draw for families with young children. Breakfast (a substantial buffet served in the main-inn dining room) is included in the room rate and is generally considered the best hotel breakfast on the island; the buffet runs through the morning and is open to outside guests as well.
The 1661 Inn sits four minutes' uphill walk from the Old Harbor ferry landing, the most central position of any historic Block Island inn and the right address for travellers who arrive by ferry and want to be on a porch with a drink within fifteen minutes of stepping off the boat. The position trades some ocean view for accessibility, but the Nicholas Ball Cottage suites recover the view in the higher categories. For Block Island travellers who want the historic-inn experience with the most central walking position, the animal farm, the included breakfast, and the Abrams family's deeply personal four-decade stewardship, the 1661 Inn is the answer.
A Nicholas Ball Cottage suite with private deck and ocean view, three nights with the included breakfast and a Hotel Manisses dinner one of those nights, is the unfussy Block Island honeymoon. The 1661 Inn handles the central-village position and the morning breakfast; Manisses handles the milestone dinner.
The animal farm across the street settles every family-with-young-children booking the moment children find out about the llamas. The Guest House rooms are the most affordable Block Island family stock; the Mitchell Cottage rooms sleep four; the included breakfast handles the morning logistics. Three-generation summer weeks are a 1661 staple.
The main-inn rooms with gas fireplaces and whirlpool tubs are the right anniversary stock at the 1661 Inn: characterful, central, well-priced relative to the Spring House and Atlantic Inn, with the included breakfast and the walking position to handle dinner anywhere in the village.
1 Spring Street
New Shoreham, 02807
United States
Old Harbor
24 guest rooms
From $375/night
Four-Star Historic Inn
Rated 4.6/5 across 1023 reviews
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Main inn built 1870; named for 1661 settlement of Block Island; Abrams family ownership for several decades
Working animal farm (llamas, alpacas, donkeys, emu)
Full hot breakfast buffet included
Four-minute walk from Old Harbor ferry landing
Whirlpool tubs and gas fireplaces in select rooms
Sister property to Hotel Manisses
Free WiFi throughout
Seasonal property (May-October)
From $375/night. Peak summer and holiday weeks book three to four months ahead; shoulder weeks generally available with two weeks' notice.
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