Ocean View

One of the great pleasures of coastal living is being able to enjoy a relaxed meal in an outdoor setting overlooking the ocean, when temperatures allow. Plymouth’s newest addition, the Waterfront Bar & Grill, offers a lovely view of the town’s harbor from a second-story deck. And its peaceful color scheme, a wash of blues and whites both inside and out, is a great fit with the ocean setting. One recent evening, we were lucky enough to score an outdoor table overlooking the harbor.

Visit Revel in Atlantic City and hang out on a 2-acre outdoor deck that has ocean views, cabanas, fire pits, and a man-made pine grove with more than 30,000 live trees and plants. A three-story, glass-enclosed nightclub overlooks the lobby, and a two-level circular bar sits in the middle of the casino. The new resort has 1,100 rooms, 46 shops, and a 28,000-square-foot spa where you can spend time in a cave that is made of pink Himalayan salt blocks and has salt-infused air. The glass resort, with its 150,000-square-foot casino, is located on the Boardwalk and opens this month.

The Grand Café at the Emerson Inn by the Sea 1 Cathedral Ave., Rockport 978-546-6321 www.emersoninnbythesea.com/grandcafe.htm Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m. All major credit cards accepted. Dining room accessible to the handicapped; restrooms do not accommodate wheelchairs. With daylight saving time here and the sky staying light through dinnertime, restaurants with a view are once again worth a trip. One of these is the Grand Café at Rockport's Emerson Inn by the Sea, which offers a classic New England ocean view.

This 1916 Tudor is perfect for spending endless hours looking out to sea, past the lighthouse at Eastern Point or Ten Pound Island, an isle in Gloucester Harbor that once was a temporary home to artist Winslow Homer. The home is a former chauffeur's cottage, perched 138 feet above Gloucester Harbor with sweeping ocean views and topped off with an infinity pool and lovingly maintained gardens. The distinctive property near the Hammond Castle, once part of the Hammond estate, has been transformed into a whimsical tribute to the current owner, interior designer and landscape architect John...

It seems appropriate that a restaurant in Winthrop, located a block from the ocean, would offer frutti d'mare (Italian for "fruit of the sea"). At D'Parma, the dish of shellfish and pasta ($12.95) is brimming with shrimp, clams, squid, and mussels, though the shrimp to mussel ratio skews toward the mollusk. It is served over a bed of linguine with your choice of sauce: oil and garlic, marinara, or if you want some heat, spicy marinara. The spicy sauce is bold and zesty, flavored with jalapenos, which give it just the right spice without overpowering the seafood.

We wanted to see if it was possible to get a last-minute room at five vacation spots in the region. So we randomly picked five hotels and called last Monday and Tuesday to see if we could get a reservation for either Wednesday and Thursday (nights of Aug. 16-17) or this weekend (nights of Aug. 18-19). Rates do not include tax. What we found: GLOUCESTER Best Western Bass Rocks Ocean Inn 107 Atlantic Road 978-283-7600 www.bestwestern.com (search Gloucester)

The Cliff House Resort & Spa Shore Road between York and Ogunquit, Maine 207-361-1000 www.cliffhousemaine.com What we liked most The ocean view from every room. What we liked least Standing in line for 15 minutes to get a table at breakfast. What surprised us How much the Cliff House feels like an intimate New England inn, despite having almost 200 guest rooms and a full-service spa. You know you're at the Cliff House when . . . From nearly any point on the 70-acre property you can see the Atlantic Ocean on three...

Castle Hill Inn and Resort 590 Ocean Drive Newport, R.I. 401-849-3800, 888-466-1355 www.castlehillinn.com What we liked most The ocean setting, the whirlpool tub for two and gas fireplace in the room, gourmet breakfasts, afternoon tea, fabulous dinners, the view from the dining room. What we liked least The view of the parking lot from our room (nearly all the rooms have an ocean view, but we were economizing, in a manner of speaking)

Let’s face it, after the summer hordes depart from our seaside havens, year-rounders can seem a bit peevish. And who could blame them, after months of catering to the trinket-and-ice-cream crowd? In our increasingly homogenized world, I take comfort in the fact that our old salts are still plenty salty. You can still find them in Rockport, although they might have traded in their fishing nets for a canvas and paint brush. This town, just an hour from Boston, offers a quiet winter getaway for families or couples and a way to reconnect with the...

The design and decor of the Secrets Marquis Los Cabos exude high-end luxury. A dramatic open-air reception lobby, with an arc-shaped roof, frames an expansive view of the Sea of Cortez. Each of the 235 ocean-view suites and casitas has a balcony overlooking three infinity pools and the sandy beach. In addition to a 15,000-square-foot spa, the property boasts a museum-quality art collection of more than 400 pieces, with monumental bronze sculptures by leading Latin American artists in public spaces and original oil paintings in every guest room.

It seems appropriate that a restaurant in Winthrop, located a block from the ocean, would offer frutti d'mare (Italian for "fruit of the sea"). At D'Parma, the dish of shellfish and pasta ($12.95) is brimming with shrimp, clams, squid, and mussels, though the shrimp to mussel ratio skews toward the mollusk. It is served over a bed of linguine with your choice of sauce: oil and garlic, marinara, or if you want some heat, spicy marinara. The spicy sauce is bold and zesty, flavored with jalapenos, which give it just the right spice without overpowering the seafood.

One of the great pleasures of coastal living is being able to enjoy a relaxed meal in an outdoor setting overlooking the ocean, when temperatures allow. Plymouth’s newest addition, the Waterfront Bar & Grill, offers a lovely view of the town’s harbor from a second-story deck. And its peaceful color scheme, a wash of blues and whites both inside and out, is a great fit with the ocean setting. One recent evening, we were lucky enough to score an outdoor table overlooking the harbor.

Let’s face it, after the summer hordes depart from our seaside havens, year-rounders can seem a bit peevish. And who could blame them, after months of catering to the trinket-and-ice-cream crowd? In our increasingly homogenized world, I take comfort in the fact that our old salts are still plenty salty. You can still find them in Rockport, although they might have traded in their fishing nets for a canvas and paint brush. This town, just an hour from Boston, offers a quiet winter getaway for families or couples and a way to reconnect with the region’s rugged seafaring roots.

The Grand Café at the Emerson Inn by the Sea 1 Cathedral Ave., Rockport 978-546-6321 www.emersoninnbythesea.com/grandcafe.htm Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m. All major credit cards accepted. Dining room accessible to the handicapped; restrooms do not accommodate wheelchairs. With daylight saving time here and the sky staying light through dinnertime, restaurants with a view are once again worth a trip. One of these is the Grand Café at Rockport's Emerson Inn by the Sea, which offers a classic New England ocean view.

The Rockport Chamber Music Festival opened its 26th season on Thursday night with an impressionistic gaze into what it hopes will be its own future. Before a note was played, ushers handed out this summer's program book, with its cover given over to a soft-toned artist's rendering of an airy, spacious concert hall with expansive views of the ocean. The hall does not yet exist; it is the new 325-seat, $17.5 million concert venue that the festival hopes to build in time for the summer season in 2009.

We wanted to see if it was possible to get a last-minute room at five vacation spots in the region. So we randomly picked five hotels and called last Monday and Tuesday to see if we could get a reservation for either Wednesday and Thursday (nights of Aug. 16-17) or this weekend (nights of Aug. 18-19). Rates do not include tax. What we found: GLOUCESTER Best Western Bass Rocks Ocean Inn 107 Atlantic Road 978-283-7600 www.bestwestern.com (search Gloucester)

OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine - The mere mention of Old Orchard Beach evokes images of crowded arcades, sticky cotton candy, and sunburned children sprawled across the beach. But what happens in the fall? Turns out, this beach town has a good deal to offer when the vacationing families pack up and go home. Here, single friends can rent entire beach houses, gorge on lobsters, dominate nearby bowling alleys, and mingle in bars with the locals who emerge out of hiding. Easily stroll the miles of sandy beaches as New England welcomes its fabulous fall.

Ocean View Inn and Resort 171 Atlantic Road, Gloucester 978-283-6200, 800-315-7557 oceanviewinnandresort.com What we liked most: The view of lumbering waves swelling and crashing on the rocky shore. What we liked least: The lingering smell of disinfectant in the room. What surprised us: How far away the city seemed. You know you're at Ocean View Inn and Resort when . . . seagulls wheel past, inches from your window.

Ocean View Inn and Resort 171 Atlantic Road, Gloucester 978-283-6200, 800-315-7557 oceanviewinnandresort.com What we liked most: The view of lumbering waves swelling and crashing on the rocky shore. What we liked least: The lingering smell of disinfectant in the room. What surprised us: How far away the city seemed. You know you're at Ocean View Inn and Resort when . . . seagulls wheel past, inches from your window.

The Cliff House Resort & Spa Shore Road between York and Ogunquit, Maine 207-361-1000 www.cliffhousemaine.com What we liked most The ocean view from every room. What we liked least Standing in line for 15 minutes to get a table at breakfast. What surprised us How much the Cliff House feels like an intimate New England inn, despite having almost 200 guest rooms and a full-service spa. You know you're at the Cliff House when . . . From nearly any point on the 70-acre...