The Martin

Martin's Guest House is a thirteen-room family-run inn on Centre Street, in the heart of Nantucket town — one of the older continuously operating guesthouses on the island, kept up rather than gut-renovated, run by people who have been doing this for decades. It's the kind of place where breakfast is on a porch over a garden and the desk staff knows the bus schedule by heart.

Nantucket has plenty of expensive places to stay. Martin's is the rare one that doesn't lean on five-figure summer rates to define itself. It's a real guesthouse, in a real building, on a real street, run by a real family. That's a rarer combination on this island than it should be.

The setting

Nantucket town is the island's main village — a dense grid of cobbled streets, shingled buildings, and chandleries-turned-boutiques laid down over the original whaling-era plan. Centre Street is one of the principal walking spines, a block off Main, lined with historic houses and a few inns. Martin's sits on this stretch, a five-minute walk to the harbor, the ferry, and the Whaling Museum.

The rest of the island is a short bike or shuttle ride: Sconset is six miles east; Cisco and Surfside beaches are south; Madaket and the sunset are west. None of it is far. The slow Hy-Line and the Steamship Authority slow ferry connect the island to Hyannis on the Cape; the fast ferries cut that to under an hour.

The building

A nineteenth-century shingled Nantucket house, expanded with a guest wing and a side porch over the years, with the original detailing — wide-board floors, painted millwork, sash windows — preserved where it survived. Public spaces include a small parlor, a breakfast porch, and a garden that the family clearly tends.

The rooms

Thirteen guest rooms across the main house and the wing — small to mid-sized, each one different. Beds are good, linens are crisp, bathrooms have been brought up to a current standard while keeping the proportions of the original house. Decor is refined Americana with mild bohemian leanings: painted furniture, real art on the walls, the occasional Nantucket-correct toile without going overboard.

Food & drink

Breakfast is included and served on the porch in season — fresh-baked goods, a hot option, real coffee. There's no dinner service; Centre and Main Street are walkable to a long list of restaurants, and Brotherhood of Thieves, Straight Wharf, and Cru on the harbor are all within ten minutes on foot.

On the property

A town guesthouse, not a resort. The town is the amenity.

• Breakfast included on the porch
• Garden and porch for afternoon sitting
• Walking-distance to harbor, ferry, and Main Street
• Beach passes and bike storage available
• Open seasonally — typically late spring through fall, with shoulder-season pricing

Who it's for

• Couples who'd rather walk into town than drive
• Families with older kids doing a Nantucket week
• Repeat island visitors who already know the beaches and want a base in town
• Travelers who specifically want a family-run guesthouse, not a resort

Who it's not for

• Anyone needing a full-service hotel with a pool and a spa
• Travelers who want to be oceanfront — this is town, not beach
• Year-round visitors during the deepest off-season

Nearby

The Whaling Museum is a five-minute walk and worth two hours. Main Street has the bookstore, the cobbles, and a cluster of old chandleries. The bike path to Sconset is six miles each way and one of the better rides in New England. Cisco Brewery, on the south side, is a fifteen-minute drive or shuttle. For food: Brotherhood of Thieves on Broad, Straight Wharf for dinner, and Black-Eyed Susan's for breakfast on a day off from the porch.