The National Hotel

It was my first time visiting Block Island and stayed here for 3 nights and it was amazing! It’s centrally located to EVERYTHING! You can walk to most shops, restaurants, ferry, etc. The views were fantastic and breathtaking in the morning! Staff was very helpful and friendly. The restaurant and fire pits are a bonus. Had GREAT meals and drinks there. The hotel was lively with music, but very quiet on the floors, which was nice. Truly an AMAZING experience and can’t wait to return next year! HIGHLY recommend!

The restaurant and the staff are great. The food was amazing and the staff eagerly showed us maps of the island and recommended things to do. The room was next to impossible to sleep in though, you can here every door slam and footstep all night from other guests and there is constantly a loud popping, tapping, or humming noise from the outdated fixtures. It is a light sleepers nightmare. Everything is great otherwise, just bring earplugs.

It was a nice location, right next to everything downtown! The people at the front desk offer a ton of free things you can borrow, like beach towels, umbrellas, wine glasses, and more! The only downside is that the whole place is incredibly creaky, the walls are thin, and you will hear other tourist walking and talking all night, even when they are floors above you. Overall, not a bad place!

Loved my 4 days here. Off-season was a great choice. Not crowded, very comfortable, and the friendliest and most cheerful staff, especially Kerrie and Jen. The whole experience exceeded my expectations.

My husband and I have visited the island twice this season and the food is always excellent.The sea scallops were great. This year we met Emma and her twin Mary on separate visits. Throughly enjoyed the service they provided . Hope to see them in the future. You made our May and August visits to the restaurant fun. Erin and Dave

My annual octoberbtrip to Block Island and staying at the National. Cindy was great, both at check in and departure. Emily was also very nice. A great stay. See you next year.

Great location overlooking the old harbor where the ferries come in and walkable to multiple beaches. You are right on Water St. which has a bunch of shops and easy access to taxi pickup. The fresh catch on the dinner menu is amazing.

Our stay could not have been more lovely! The staff is excellent and very accommodating. The front desk was always willing to help in any way, the housekeeping staff kept the room immaculate and our waitress in the restaurant, Emma, was efficient, professional and our order came as we placed it. The staff made our stay perfect!

Great view and so much outdoor shaded seating all with the amazing view. However you really really pay for that view, as the food was good though not out of this world. The Bloody Mary was novel and delicious but exorbitant price. Server was very good and attentive. 3 adults 2 kids, meal and 1-2 drinks was $200 lunch bill. We had just gotten off ferry from a long travel day and the experience was nice, just a very pricey lunch with a view.

The view from our corner room is probably the only reason I'm giving 4 stars. Otherwise the hotel is really outdated and needs some updating. Maybe that old school look is part of its 'charm' but I prefer much newer styles. Our room was decent sized but had some hideous carpeting. The furniture was old and outdated and the tv barely worked because of satellite. The air conditioning was consistently cool so that's a plus. The bathroom was good sized as well. I really like the lobby and the staircase was beautiful. The phone booth added to that old school charm. The store in the lobby was great- but some of the stuff the store offered SHOULD be complimentary! Otherwise the store was really convenient and the fact that they had Haribo Berries is a huge plus. Also LOVED the outdoor courtyard area- it was beautiful! It was a great place to hang out and kill time with nice scenery. The tables with the fire were extraordinary! The restaurant had AMAZING food we went for dinner and breakfast, albeit a bit pricy- was just as good. Also no microwaves or fridge's in the room- which was a bit of a bummer, but we had an overall good experience so 4 solid stars! They also let you keep your "stuff" in a room after checkout which is EXTREMELY CONVENIENT because if we had to lug around "luggage" for the day- well that just would've been awful! Spent the day on the island- came back for our luggage and left on a late ferry. PERFECT! I would stay here again!

This review is for the "Fireside" rear patio area. We've been here a few times and the service and ambiance are always excellent! We've never eaten on the patio, only the porch, but the drinks are very good and it is a nice place to relax and unwind in the evening. I highly recommend the porch or the patio, but if you're looking for peaceful, the patio is definitely the place to go!

We came here on a Sunday afternoon for drinks to wait for the time to pick up the ferry back to CT. I got a glass of Cabnernet Sauvigon that was chilled to the correct serving temp (a nice surprise!) They had a folk guitarist playing Beatles and Fleetwood Mac covers on the porch area near the bar. It was a very pleasant vacationy-relaxed vibe.

My husband surprised me with a room for our 1 year wedding anniversary and it was a very wonderful weekend. The only things I was disappointed with was the fact that my husband told them when he booked it, when we arrived, and again that evening that Sunday was our anniversary; the person at the front desk typed something in, but they never gave us anything. The room was clean, it's just an older place but it's homey. We skipped the continental breakfast because the regular menu sounded better and my husbands eggs were a little undercooked but everything else was yummy. Overall, I think we'd stay here again

We stayed at the National Hotel during our time on Block Island. The hotel is conveniently located right off the ferry. The room was pretty basic with no frills but was perfect for a place to crash at the end of a day of exploring! Breakfast was included with the room and we were able to upgrade our meals if we wanted. The food was good and the service was quick and friendly. Behind the hotel in the evening they had some live music and fire pits, a perfect place to relax at the end of the day. I would absolutely stay here again!

I've been coming here for years. The staff is always accommodating, the location can't be beat, breakfast on the veranda overlooking the water is incredible. Can't say enough good things!

This place is one of the first places you can see once you get off the ferry with the American flags hanging. There is outdoor seating with fire pits in the back and all around the hotel. There is also an indoor bar. The food and drinks are very good but a little on the pricey side. I would definitely return and recommend to a friend!

Just had lunch here - can't beat the view. Great lunch spot. Our waitress Kasey was phenomenal - very personable and attentive! She is the reason for the 5 stars!

This place was amazing! Service was great, especially front desk and the bartender on the porch! Stay here for sure!

Chicago dip and calamari is to die for. Service is fantastic and environment is very small beach town and comfortable

This hotel was very nice. I rate it four star for two reasons. Price and customer service. The room was very pricy at over $500 a night. I expected to pay a lot to stay on the island but for the size of the room and what you get, it seems a bit up there. Second, there are no elevators. I am fine with walking up stairs but when you arrive and check in to an expensive hotel you would expect someone to offer to help with bags. This did not happen. The person at the desk watched my friends and I struggle with our luggage taking multiple trips up and down the stairs. Now the room was nice. We stayed in a two queen bedroom. It was small but expected. The view was fantastic. Beautiful view of the ocean. The room had a ceiling fan and AC. The weekend stay was very hot so this was definitely a plus! Room service was quick and they brought toilet paper, towels, and a mini fridge as soon as we called and requested. The hotel has a bar and a restaurant. We enjoyed both dinner and breakfast here. Both were delicious. A bit pricy but again- expected on the island. For dinner we sat out back where they had fire pits going and music. They have live music throughout the day. Check out is at 11am. They had a complementary luggage room in which they allowed us to leave our bags until we left for the ferry ride home. This was GREAT as I do not know how to pack light! Haha! Overall, I would stay at this hotel again. I would just recommend they offer to help people with luggage :) NOTE: do NOT use the hand sanitizer unless you are desperate! it has the worst smell unlike anything I have ever smelled before!

Great location. Short walk from ferry and to the beach. Room not available til 3. Self serve luggage storage was over crowded and difficult to access. Lobby bathroom was needed to change into swim suites since room was not available-very small and no air circulation. Rather uncomfortable. Our room was on the 3rd floor. It's a walk up and lots of stairs. Room was tiny and outdated. No A/C. Ceiling fan was very noisy. Our room overlooked the back where there are several fire pits. It was loud at night. Front desk staff was helpful. Best feature: location. This is our first visit to BI. We'll def be back but won't be staying here.

We had an amazing time at the National last weekend!!! The weather did not cooperate at all and we hunkered down there all day all weekend! The staff and management were amazing. They were so friendly and attentive to our needs we can't say enough. The bar was a lot of fun( and I do not drink!) with live entertainment by Rob Davis who was fantastic and has such a wide range of music genre's!! The food was also very good and we did not have to leave our hotel to enjoy time away from reality! We are going back in July and can't wait!!!

Awesome time hanging here for the 4th of July parade. They allowed myself, my dog and my girlfriend to hang out and drink beers on the porch. Alcohol was moderately priced for Block Island. Had a great time and will definitely stop back soon!!

Was visiting for the day on Saturday, August 11. Had a very nice lunch on the porch. One little problem. I asked the server for a glass of White Zinfandel. She said to me that they don't have it, but, it is a pinkish color. I said ok. She comes back, and what did she bring? Salad dressing. The group I was sitting with, and myself look at it. I turn around, and have the server come back (since she was at another table). I told her that I wanted a glass of wine. She just stood there and looked at me. She then said that she had to go and get the wine list for me. Otherwise the meal was good.

Really expensive food and drinks, the portion sizes are pretty small. $10 for two eggs and like 10 slices of potato. The coffee is 3.75 per mug full and alcoholic drinks are $10 for about 6oz of fluid. Over priced and not that great.

On our only night of our trip to Block Island, a Sunday night, last weekend of the season, the Rhode Island Dept of Transportation began roadwork right in front of the hotel. Jack hammering, sandblasting, giant trucks beeping as they back up, men yelling and laughing,radios blaring, strobe lights, street sweepers up and down cleaning the debris. This started a little after midnight on a Sunday, and went til about 6 AM. The noise was so loud I couldn't hear the TV, which I turned on because who could sleep? I called the front desk shortly after it started and was told this was a surprise, and they only knew about it late Sunday afternoon. But when I visited the Town Manager Monday morning, she said the State planned this when they could get vehicle reservations on the ferry. The hotel's position was that they had done nothing wrong and refused to offer anything more that a one/night voucher, but if they were going to take a loss on a night anyway, why couldn't it be for the previous night? Their position was "Of course we care about our guests, so sorry-not sorry." There were many other hotels and inns on the island and those who had guests along Ocean Avenue comped their guests for this night of ridiculousness. Not the National. Along with this was a sparse, Motel-6 style 'continental breakfast' of lukewarm air pump coffee, a few muffins and bagels, and yogurt on ice. Cannot recommend them on their customer service, and this was after I reminded them that they are 100% tourist-driven. They didn't care.

This hotel never let us down!! The rooms are always clean with great views. The entire staff are kind, funny and professional. Conveniently located to anything you need. If your coming to Block Island - this is the experience you'll want!!