Menemsha Inn & Cottages

The people at this Inn are some of the most pleasant and helpful we've ever encountered. Plus, the views are spectacular. Perfect Martha's Vineyard getaway in a great location, near lovely restaurants and shops. I highly recommend both the Menemsha Inn and the Beach Plum Inn!

Mainstay, a two-bedroom cottage, was comfortable and cozy in the middle of winter. Well stocked kitchen, beautiful views, every amenity I could ask for! I hope to return again soon. I came for a writing workshop in Chilmark and Virginia helped me find good coffee and the Menemsha Fish market for local delicious fare.

My husband and I went on a trip for my birthday - late May, early June. We heard about this lovely Inn from a family friend. We fell in love with the property (and Martha's Vineyard)!! Do yourself a favor and stay in the Iris room at Beach Plum Inn. We can't say enough great things! Great hospitality, too!! We'll be back!

My sisters and I had a "Sisters Weekend" and stayed at Mainstay. The suite was very clean and well kept. The entire property is charming and picturesque. We enjoyed exploring the island and doing some shopping. We will definitely be going back, hopefully when the weather is warmer.

We booked the Topside Cottage for my family of 5 to stay in August. We checked in and went to set up the pull out sofa for my daughter’s to sleep on and found the couch in horrible condition. The cushions were soiled and had been flipped over to hide stains. The bed frame was rotting and we found bed bugs on mattress. We immediately requested to change our room were told that they would remove mattress and sheets to could have us return to the same cottage or the only option they had was a smaller accommodation with double bed. It’s common practice that with an infestation that you have to inspect and treat room. To offer to change sheets was appalling, especially given we were there with children and a young infant. We ended up being moved to a significantly smaller hotel room at a lower rate and told our breakfast would be comp’d the next day. When I requested a refund we were given the run around and it took over a week to hear back from a manager, Rachel. She replied that she was having going to have room inspected and would get back to us with a resolution. Why it had been over a week since we reported the issue and they had not addressed or checked the room was appalling to me. We were moved to a room at a significantly lower rate than we had been charged for and the only thing the inn comp’d was free pancakes for my daughters the next day. It’s been over a month since we stayed and the inn has not come back with a resolution, and every time I call I’m told manager is not available and she has not returned our calls or emails. I have never wrote a hotel review but the lack of accountability and the way the hotel has been maintained is shameful and the worse experience I have ever had at any hotel. Do not spend your money here.

This is a deeply special place. My husband and I have spent a week in August at the Menemsha Inn for the last five years. It is uniquely and exceptionally beautiful. The grounds and view are the best we have found, having come to the Vineyard yearly for the last 25 years. Your staff is most helpful and Virginia,from our first conversation, has made us feel like long-time friends. Yes, the cottages are 'rustic' and can use updating... but this by-far is a wonderful place to be. And, this year, an extra big thank you to Maggie, Thomas, and Bob for the above-and-beyond extra boost!

This is our fourth stay at Menemsha Inn and Cottages—previously we stayed here in June 2013 and 2014 and in May 2022. It’s hard to square our wholly positive experience with the negative comments in the one-star reviews. The past two years we stayed in two different cottages, which had obviously been renovated, including being equipped with new appliances. And the fireplace is great! It’s a wonderful location, with views of Vineyard Sound from the cottages, Dutcher Dock and Larsen's Seafood Market a pleasant walk down the hill, access to fabulous Lucy Vincent Beach for guests, and a five- minute drive to the Chilmark General Store. We have always found the staff warm and helpful. We will be back again.

In July, the cost for a one-bedroom cottage is about $550 a night -- for that price, I would have expected a lot more. There are far better options on the island. One of the lightswitch cover plates was broken, exposing bare electric wires -- not ideal, especially since we were staying there with our toddler. The cottages are adjacent to the swamp / estuary that is between the main property and the beach. Probably for that reason, the mosquito and fly problem is the worst I've seen anywhere on the island. The cottages are barebones, which is fine, but I think they are quite overpriced, even by MV standards. We tried to communicate with a manager about a couple issues, and have received no response. I suspect they don't get many return visitors, and therefore just don't care about maintaining good relationships with customers. The Menemsha area is beautiful, but if you can find alternative accommodations, I'd go for those instead.

The Menemsha Inn was such a horrible experience that I am compelled to write my first trip advisor review. Our room was disgusting-tiny bathroom with rusted bath drain, peeling plastic tiles, and hand towels parading as bath towels. The room was equally bad. Sticky floors, bedspread with holes, cruddy blanket that was as thin as a sheet, air conditioning that was so noisy that sleep was almost impossible. When I requested another blanket, they sent us something right out of an army/navy store. I wouldn't touch it, that's how disgusting it was. But the worst--on our second day in this dump that masquerades as a hotel, I stood at the shower for 20 minutes waiting for hot water. No such luck. I called the front desk to enquire why I couldn't get hot water for my shower and no one picked up the phone. I had to get dressed, go to the office, wait until the clerk checked in another customer, to find out how to get hot water for a shower. The clerk said, Oh-the boiler broke down. When I asked her why the management didn't inform guests that there was no hot water, she said 'good point'. She then pointed me to the outside shower. The next day, another clerk offered us another room, even though the Inn was at capacity (where was she putting us, on the beach?). This would have meant packing up, and moving our bags ourselves in the 90 degree heat, and unpacking. When I told this story to a friend who has a house in Chilmark, she was not surprised and said that the owners haven't put a dime of maintenance into this place in 20 years. We had no hot water for the two of the four days we stayed at this very expensive dump. To add insult to injury, the management offered to give us ONE complimentary breakfast at their sister hotel. I actually ate breakfast the first morning at this place because when you check in, the check in clerk says 'breakfast will be at the Beach Plum Inn'. Anyone who frequents high end inns knows that if you couch breakfast in these terms, it is included. What they neglect to say is that you will pay a ridiculous sum of money for very mediocre food. Additionally, the Inn is supposed to have coffee available in their canteen. For three of the four days, there was no coffee. To pair a lovely day on the beach with coming back to a disgusting room that may or may not have hot water, surly service, if there is any service at all, is pretty much a vacation ruiner. And to pay extortionist prices for the worst lodging experience in my adult life is highway robbery.