Lotion M.
Yelp
Don't know where to begin. This old, native Californian has been to far reaches of the globe, but this was my first time visit to the East Coast in which I took time off work to explore New England. My 4 nights here were magical. All of the other guests seemed blissed out, too. Most were East Coast residents. Please note that my review is from a West Coast perspective.
This guest house is ancient and funky. As is much of Ptown. And special and charming and stunningly beautiful. Everything is well maintained and decorated. I had a small bedroom with tiny shared baths, which were spotless and amusing. And it's affordable. The A/C unit, fan, and mini-fridge kept me cool during the night, while visions of uptight Pilgrims and Samantha Stevens danced in my head for restful sleep on the surprisingly comfortable bed. The Inn is centrally located, yet just off the hyperkinetic main street and walkable to anything except Mars.
The housekeeper and the proprietor are delightful and helpful. Jeff's gourmet breakfasts hit it out of the park every day. He's such a great host; non-intrusive but helpful and kind.
The main focus of my wonderful experience turned out to be socializing with other guests on the gorgeous downstairs deck.
So many beautiful plants and flowers that don't exist, at least not in the Summer, where I am from. This is where guests -- if they choose to -- socialize by day or at night around the hot tub, clothing optional. Jeff serves breakfast every morning here. I wish I were more like Jeff. There's an ice machine and a modest open bar, a delightful surprise. Half way into a Bloody Mary, I suddenly found myself without clothes and in the tub, laughing with other guests. The free WiFi signal pretty much dies when you are out on the deck....hmmmmmm... they really thought of everything. When in Rome...Hours of fun conversations with gay men, trending towards older.
The Gaslamp Inn welcomes everyone. The "clothing optional" aspect was completely appropriate during my visit: In the evenings, mostly gay men hung out in their birthday suits in the tub. On one morning, a charming, elderly straight couple from the Boston burbs appeared for breakfast. It was their 12th visit in as many years. Everyone kept their shorts on, not that they would have cared. I ended up spending two hours with them, talking about everything.
The next day, a family of four from Orange County appeared in the morning after breakfast. The Father disappeared to go do something. Worst nightmare: I was in the tub and my shorts were 20 feet away. I asked the 19 year old boy to throw me my shorts. His sister was in the tub with me, in a swimsuit. She ordered him not to, so I pulled my towel under the water. They were giggling. The Mom dragged me into a live, national trivia game playing her cell phone. Turns out my knowledge of pop culture is embarrassingly accurate. We made it to the final round, huddled together around a hot tub in freaking Puritanical preppy New England, as if I was family. (Did I even leave San Francisco?) Turns out they were visiting that sneaky daughter -- an Electrical Engineering major at MIT. WTF?
Not catering to a diverse clientele in Provincetown would be a bad business model. Guests at this Inn seem to be open, accepting, and understand the environment, at least during my 4 night stay. Was here at the end of Bear Week. This place had a room left. Was intending to stay at a plastic motel. So glad I landed here!
