Serene and charming carriage house, artists' retreat

The Carriage House was built around 1860, according to Gary our amazing and interesting host, beautifully restored and updated with everything you would need for 7 days of relaxation and fun. The carriage house is decorated with many pieces from local artists including our host Gary's own amazing, unique and beautiful works of art and sculptures. The bathrooms were clean and nicely decorated. The large combined living room and dining room was wonderful for reading a good book ( of which Gary has many on the bookshelf upstairs), taking a nap, playing one of the family games stored under the bench or doing a challenging puzzle. There is no TV which is GREAT for motivating sprited discussions and rediscovery of how to talk with each other. The stone patio and dining table with comfy chairs was wonderfully relaxing with all the candles whether BBQing or cooling in the kitchen and eating outside. The outdoor clothes line gave our drying clothes that wonderful fresh air aroma we remembered when we were kids. There were bikes, beach chairs, a rolling cooler and even a beach umbrella..,..everything you would need for a day at one of the beuatufull beaches only minutes away. Last but not least there is Grigio a very handsome, well mannered and friendly giant Weimaraner. What a wonderful dog. Can't say enough about our world traveler artist host Gary who really made our vacation complete. Thank you Gary we hope to see you again!! All the Best, Mary Ellen, Manny, Madeline and Sophie

This is the perfect Cape vacation home. Gary is a wonderful host and we enjoyed getting to know him and his wonderful dog Grigio. The house is decorated beautifully and has everything you need for your visit to the Cape. There is a lot to do in Dennis including, great beaches, the Cape Cod museum of art, restaurants, amazing yoga studio and shops. We will definitely be back next year!

We had a really super week in Cape Cod at this very centrally located property in Denis. It's not far from the main road down from Boston, is easy to find, has all the shops,restaurants, etc that you may require very close by. The house itself is really full of charm, very well kitted out with everything you might need - the beach chairs and towels were particularly well used!! Having 2 bathrooms with showers was particularly useful, especially when travelling with teenage daughters.... There was plenty of space for us to spread out, and the patio area outside was very nice for a quiet breakfast while waiting for above mentioned teenagers to get up!

Last, but definitely not least we would like to mention our superb host Gary - he was so welcoming, making sure we had everything we needed. Gary gave us loads of information about the Cape and local area and lots of tips to make our stay so enjoyable - a really super, interesting gentleman! And finally Grigio, our big new friend - bounded over to say hello every morning and to get an ear scratch, he became our surrogate pet for the week!!

Great house, great location and great host - enjoy!!

The Thompson Family

Ballynure, Co Antrim, N Ireland UK

The Carriage house was a perfect base to discover the Cape due to its central position. Gary the owner was always on hand to help with any queries and the Carriage House itself was very comfortable.

In a quiet location it provided a haven following our travels, there is no TV or cable so you have to be prepared to switch off from the rat race, although there is WiFi if you wish to connect.

Shops are short drive away as are eating houses if you feel like eating out.

Hopefully for future visits Gary can install cable as an option for those who wish to watch TV.

Our stay at the Carriage House was all we had hoped for and more. We chose this particular rental because the place looked charming and the owners seemed a perfect match for us. We were quite an international group of six: 4 adults and 2 pre-teens; a mix-and-match of Italians, Spaniards and Americans. The owners: Gary, an artist and educator, and Ginny, a writer, have traveled extensively both in Italy and Spain, which made for great conversation every time we crossed paths. As an artist myself, I also enjoyed immensely being surrounded by tasteful décor and great artwork during my stay.

The Carriage House is a warm, lovely retreat in pristine condition. Every detail in it reflects the care and love with which this old building was restored and appointed. Wherever you look, functional comfort meets History and beauty.

The location is close to many places of interest in Cape Cod, and Gary and Ginny gave us wonderful tips on Beaches, dinning and possible day-excursions. Consequently, we were always on the go. One morning, though, I decided to have some “me time”- to recharge my so-called batteries- and I was able to enjoy some quiet reading time lying under the shady trees, while the others got a few shades darker at the beach.

To top this perfect vacation with a Great Finale, Ginny and Gary played perfect hosts and treated us to a wonderful afternoon get-together in their patio, where we enjoyed a most delicious lunch made by Ginny.

This will not be our last visit to the Carriage House. There are still many topics of conversation that we didn’t have the time to bring up at the table. I’m sure we’ll get to those next year!