Built in 1876 on the corner of Dodge and Water Streets, The Surf is the oldest beachfront hotel on Block Island and the only property on the island with direct beach access from the front porch. Restored by Lark Hotels in the most recent renovation as part of the Block Island Beach House campus.
"The only beachfront hotel on Block Island. Built in 1876, reborn as a Lark property, and still the address that puts you closest to the water."
The Surf Hotel opened in 1876 at the corner of Dodge and Water Streets, on the parcel where Block Island's main beach meets the village retail strip. It was built by Joseph Conley as a Victorian summer hotel during the post-Civil-War expansion of New England rail and steamer routes, and is the oldest continuously-operating beachfront hotel on Block Island. The exterior preserves the original gabled mansard silhouette, the wraparound front porch, and the distinctive shingle-and-clapboard envelope that has been photographed in every edition of the island guidebooks since the eighteen-eighties.
Fifty-nine rooms and twelve suites are distributed across three buildings: the main Surf hotel that holds the central front-facing rooms with private balconies onto the beach, plus the Gables and Gothic Cottage annexes that add cottage-scale and family-suite footprints behind the main building. The Lark Hotels renovation took every room down to studs while keeping the original window placements, the original room dimensions, and the original wood floors where they survived. Furnishings now run to a curated mid-century beach-house aesthetic: pale linens, vintage rattan, contemporary art on plaster walls, brass fixtures throughout. Every room has A/C, private bath, and free WiFi.
The Block Island Beach House operates the food and beverage program across the entire Surf campus: the front-porch bar that opens directly onto the sand, the upstairs Veranda restaurant with its long Atlantic view, a coffee program on the ground floor, and the beachside cabana service that runs from breakfast through cocktails. Lark's signature touches (paddleboards and cruiser bikes for guest use, beach attendants in season, the morning pastry counter) translate well to the Block Island setting and have lifted the property's service scores noticeably since the takeover.
What the Surf offers that no other Block Island hotel can match is the address. Walking out the front porch puts the guest directly on the Old Harbor beach with the village retail strip three steps behind. For a family with small children, a couple who want to swim before breakfast, or a group that needs the beach and the bars within the same hundred yards, the Surf is the only option on the island that delivers both. The price runs roughly twenty percent above the National Hotel two blocks east, and the position is worth the difference.
The Surf is the only Block Island hotel with the beach directly out the front door, which means small children walk themselves to the sand without an adult escort. The Gables and Gothic Cottage annexes hold the family suites with the bunk-bed second bedrooms that the main building cannot accommodate.
A front-facing balcony king at the Surf, with the Atlantic visible from the bed and the morning swim accessible barefoot, is the most relaxed Block Island honeymoon position. The upstairs Veranda restaurant handles the celebration dinner and the cabana service handles the days in between.
The Block Island Beach House operates the bar that the rest of the village comes to find at sunset, the Surf holds the largest concentration of suites within walking distance of every other bar on Water Street, and the front porch is built for the kind of group that wants the beach by day and the bars by night.
Corner of Dodge and Water Streets
New Shoreham, RI, 02807
United States
Old Harbor, Dodge and Water Streets
59 rooms guest rooms and 12 suites
From $310/night
4-Star Beach Victorian
Rated 4.6/5 across 892 reviews
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Built 1876; operated by Lark Hotels
Seasonal property (May-October)
Direct beachfront access from front porch
Veranda restaurant with Atlantic view
Beach attendants and cabana service
Paddleboards and cruiser bikes for guest use
Three buildings (Surf main, Gables, Gothic)
Free WiFi throughout
Oldest continuously-operating beachfront hotel on Block Island
From $310/night. Front-facing balcony rooms and family suites in the Gables annex book four months ahead for peak weeks.
Book This Hotel →