Harbor View Offering Ownership
The first thing Alan Worden changed is the first thing people see. Smart. Very smart.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of staying at the Harbor View Hotel & Resort 
in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha’s Vineyard. Worden, CEO of Nantucket-based Scout Real Estate Capital, bought the 124-room hotel in December for $32.5 million, and things are changing 
quickly. Already, the first phase of a $77 million three-year renovation plan is complete. These renovations included redesigning the lobby and hotel entrance, and restoring the outdoor porch with its 
view of the harbor and the Edgartown Lighthouse. The lobby, although “new,” doesn’t feel it. And that’s the point, says Worden, who revels in architectural details. “It feels like it has always been there.”
With these changes comes the introduction of ownership opportunities for the first time at the 116-year-old landmark hotel, considered the “Grand Dame” of Martha’s Vineyard hotels.
In its initial release, the Harbor View is offering eight suites for purchase, and is developing a rental program that owners will have the option of entering. The suites range from a one-bedroom, one-bath for $525,000 to a three-bedroom, three-bath for $1.2 million.
I stayed in Suite 62, in the Captain Lafayette Rowley Cottage. With one bedroom, one bath, two decks, a fireplace and an outdoor shower, the suite is selling for $1.15 million and has already hosted the likes of Rachael Ray and Jada Pinkett Smith. It is beautifully furnished with the hotel’s elegant light blue and sea green motif. The bedroom is huge, the bathroom is luxurious with its marble and amazing shower, and the sitting and dining areas are roomy and comfortable. There is not a full kitchen, but the Sub Zero drawer-front refrigerator and freezer are useful, along with a huge sink fitted with Kohler fixtures. A hidden dishwasher and microwave complete the package.
Worten knows his buyer and knows that he/she is looking for a vacation home for two or three weeks, and not for a full-time residence. The suites have been designed accordingly. Maid service is provided twice a day, great room service is available, and the hotel has a program for kids. Plus, the hotel has bikes for use, and guests/owners can book time on a sailboat or the hotel’s own lobster boat.
All in all, if the first phase of renovations are any indication of what is to come, visitors–and owners–at the Harbor View are in for a treat. For more on the Harbor View, see the December/January issue of Unique Homes magazine.
