Sylvia Beach Hotel has a particularly beautiful panorama of both Nye and Agate beaches including Yaquina Head Lighthouse to the north. All the rooms are author-themed. This is truly a hotel for book lovers. There are no TVs, radios, telephones or wi-fi in the rooms. A hearty breakfast is included. The hotel serves a delightful family style dinner every evening. Guests are offered all the privacy they want, while being in the good company of strangers.
Virtual reality is almost as good as being there.
TripAdvisor
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Fascinating Place
On our roadtrip through Oregon we spent two nights in Newport at the Sylvia Beach. They call themselves a hotel but it feels as much like a bed and breakfast. It's beautiful from the outside and is on Nye Beach. Inside the focus is on literature and noted authors (e.g. Hemingway, Austen, Twain, Tolkien, Verne, Steinbeck, etc.). We stayed in the Alice Walker room. If you have a room on the first floor you don't have to wrestle your luggage up and down the stairs (no elevator). Our room was pretty small but adequate, the bathroom was also small and the sink was in the room. The breakfast was limited but good and interesting (a couple of daily specials along with some standard continental breakfast items). There is a dinner each night that you can reserve. It's more or less served family style and you can choose from three entrees. The dinner we had was very good; somewhat pricey but in line with a good restaurant. Wine is extra. The decor in and around the lobby area is true to the theme of literature. There is a large painting of all of the authors together and you had to contemplate what a gathering of those authors would have been like. Lastly there is a resident cat so if you're allergic to cats keep that in mind. In our view she was a great addition.....very friendly and loves to be petted.
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Wonderful, restful and special
Gorgeous and relaxing stay in this beautiful book themed haven. The rooms are so imaginatively designed and to my mind wonderfully old fashioned but also completely comfortable. The top two floors have reading rooms looking over the Pacific. I would love to stay for days in horrible weather just to giive me chance to hunker down with a longer novel. Very special. I would love to think I’ll be back one day but it’s a long way from England!
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Different and fun at the center of Nye Beach
This is a great little place to spend a few days escaping from the stress of life. It's not like any other hotel on the coast. This independently-owned hotel has a whimsical library theme, and each room (there are only about 20) is themed after an author, from Shakespeare circa 1600 to JK Rowling today. Everything is unique; no two rooms have the same colors, furniture, or lighting - it's all designed to take you into the world of the individual author. Every single member of the staff was extremely nice, responsive with anything you needed, and knowledgeable about the area. The owners of the hotel work the front desk in person, seem to genuinely enjoy getting to know their guests, and are happy to explain how things work and how to find your way around the building, as well as recommend places to eat or drink in the neighborhood. The hotel is well-cared for and clean throughout, but it is an old building, dating from 1912 (and it has always been a hotel). The stairs are steep and the ceilings are low. There are dings and dents and here and there a little peeling paint. But you will mostly notice the humorous works of art, the literary references, the vintage furnishing, the windows in public spaces on all levels overlooking the ocean, the comfy sitting areas inside and outside of the building, and the cozy library occupying part of the third floor and the attic containing many hundreds of books that you're welcome to sit down and read. And in fact that is what many guests do. People find a sitting spot, switch on a lamp, pick up a book, read, and even catnap the day away in the library space. There's not much else to do in the hotel itself. There is no television, no wi-fi, no landlines, no DVD players - rooms are comfortable, but they are quiet quarters for sleeping, reading, or watching the ocean (which is visible to some extent from nearly all of the rooms, although only 3 face the ocean directly). Each room is also stocked with books by the author it's named for. This being a 100+ year old hotel, the rooms are not large (with the exception of the 3 oceanfront rooms, which are very popular - book those far in advance if you want one), but they make the most of the space that's available. But each room is uniquely furnished, taking you into the world of each author's most popular works. I stayed in the F Scott Fitzgerald room, at the NE corner of the building, which had 3 windows and was a little larger than average. From there I had a good view of the ocean, the coastline, and the whole Nye Beach neighborhood. It was very quiet and I slept perfectly well. You can't beat the location of this hotel. It's right in the center of Nye Beach, easy walking distance to coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and art shops. The hotel is directly on the ocean, and steps leading to the beach can be found practically right outside the hotel door. It is however, a lot of steps. A whole lot of steps. But it's worth it because it leads right to the center of Newport's best beach. And you can leave your car in the parking lot. There is a restaurant on the lowest floor (i.e., a daylight basement that has perfect ocean views). The hotel includes breakfast with your room rate, which is served here, but you can also purchase a very nice dinner in the same facility. The rather structured and upscale dinner arrangement is somewhat incongruous with the informal vibe of the rest of the hotel, but if you're looking for a fine dining experience at least one night while you're in Newport, this is it. Allow plenty of time for dinner; this is not a rushed experience, but the service is spectacular and the food is excellent. You'll need to make reservations for dinner, but this time of year (March) you can usually make them same day. There were very few negatives. Any building this age has its maintenance challenges, and the floors tend to creak and groan, the windows have seen better days, carpets look worn, the mattress was not the newest, the heating system in the library noisy. This is not a luxury property, nor does it have a lot of the amenities people take for granted with major chain hotels. No swimming pool, no fitness facility, no wi-fi, no room service. It's an early 1900s structure that does not hide its wrinkles under makeup. If you have difficulty getting around, you'll find the steep stairways and narrow passages and doors daunting. There are 5 or 6 hotel rooms on the main floor that largely enable you to avoid steps, but there are no elevators or ramps in the building. While lots of classic authors are represented (Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, JRR Tolkien etc), there are relatively few contemporary ones or authors that younger generations relate to, and the clientele (when I was there) was predominantly a 55+ crowd. Some selective updating might be in order to capture the interest of a new generation of literati. But for a quiet getaway and an out-of-the-ordinary experience this place is definitely worth trying. Oh, and in the JK Rowling room, there is of course a stuffed 3-headed dog.
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Less than welcoming reception
This was our first time at the coast and at this hotel in the Agatha Christie room. It was quaint and cozy with a fireplace and an amazing view of the ocean. Our weekday stay was adventure filled as we enjoyed walking to the nearby park and The Bay side District. We ate some delicious and fresh seafood, checked out the local shops and met some friendly people along the way.
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One of a Kind Escape
I spent a charming weekend in the Lincoln Steffens room. The hotel is right off the beach near the artist district. The hotel has a nice little gift shop and a terrific dinner for guests. Guest have the opportunity to play "Two Truths and a Lie." I highly recommend a day's walk along the beach to Yaquina Head Lighthouse and the natural area the includes Cobble Beach and the tide pools.