The whimsical yet sublimely professional Winnetu Oceanside Resort draws a crowd of in-season families and off-season romance seekers craving hospitable service at the only oceanfront accommodation on Martha's Vineyard. Ditch your car for a week, settle in to a classic New England-style resort, and allow its heaps of amenities to entertain, inspire, and help you unwind. A wealth of activities, access to miles of beach, and its casual luxury are well worth the price tag.

You know something is different about this place when you see a 1943 fire truck carting kids from one activity to the next. Winnetu Beach Resort believes that families don't have to sacrifice luxury to keep the kids engaged; mom and dad can kick their feet up and read on an Adirondack chair by the pond while the kids race remote-control boats under the care of camp counselor-like staff. Couples, on the other hand, walk a narrow path to the long beach (with their comfy beach chairs in a rolling cart) to the

The whimsical yet sublimely professional Winnetu Oceanside Resort draws a crowd of in-season families and off-season romance seekers craving hospitable service at the only oceanfront accommodation on Martha's Vineyard. Ditch your car for a week, settle in to a classic New England-style resort, and allow its heaps of amenities to entertain, inspire, and help you unwind. A wealth of activities, access to miles of beach, and its casual luxury are well worth the price tag.

You know something is different about this place when you see a 1943 fire truck carting kids from one activity to the next. Winnetu Beach Resort believes that families don't have to sacrifice luxury to keep the kids engaged; mom and dad can kick their feet up and read on an Adirondack chair by the pond while the kids race remote-control boats under the care of camp counselor-like staff. Couples, on the other hand, walk a narrow path to the long beach (with their comfy beach chairs in a rolling cart) to the remote edge of South Beach to watch the sunset without hearing a peep from the slew of toddlers—or they come off-season when the resort is even more of an off-the-radar romantic enclave. (Note the resort is shuttered from late October to late April.)

A 45-minute ferry ride off the coast of Cape Cod (and another hour and change from Boston), the Winnetu is located just three miles from stately Edgartown on funky and cool Martha's Vineyard. But while you can ride bikes on a flat path from the resort to the genteel 19th-century town, most people barely budge from the shingled Winnetu.

The 54 nautically-themed rooms and suites here favor beach tones; think sand-colored carpet, sea-blue duvets, and cloudlike throw blankets. Couples gravitate toward studios or one-bedroom suites, while families appreciate two- to four-bedroom suites. All rooms offer ocean, dune, or pool views from your balcony. (Attention romance seekers or folks with light-sleeping kiddies: pay the extra dough for an ocean view.) Kitchenettes or kitchens, plus washers and dryers (in some rooms) are an added perk. It's all quite tasteful but remains the kind of place where you can put your feet up.

While the rooms trend toward supreme comfort, folks come to take advantage of the plethora of activities, fun for young and old. Play an outdoor game of chess on the oversized set or some ping-pong; take a dip in one of two heated pools; play Frisbee on the lawn surrounded by playful abstract sculptures; take a tennis lesson; or mellow out with a yoga class, a water-taxi cruise, or cookies and lemonade on the beach while the sun sends beams of rouge and pumpkin hues into an endless sky. If you're lucky enough to be here on a Wednesday, don't miss the quintessentially New England clambake. As if that's not enough, take advantage of off-site trips, including kayak tours, whale-watching, or lighthouse tours. Add it up and you'll see why this resort rates as one of the best North American beach resorts.

Kim Grant has been writing about the best places to stay in North America since the day after graduating college in 1984. Since then she has written over 35 guidebooks and for countless websites and print publications. She is also the editorial director of a forthcoming website on the best places to stay and the travel acquisitions editor for Countryman Press.

To see the difference between private ownership and corporate ownership of a hotel, spend one weekend with Mark and Gwenn Snider, proprietors of the Winnetu Resort on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Ten years after the Sniders transformed a rundown motel and created a grand Victorian lodging with one to four-bedroom suites, the Sniders continue to thrive because their passion for entertaining rubs off on all their guests.

The parents of three go overboard to keep the little ones happy. This includes rides on a 1947 fire truck Mark found on eBay in Michigan; free lemonade and fresh-baked cookies every afternoon at 3 p.m.; rides on a fun bike, where six kids jump on the circular vehicle for a spin; and, this being New England, a weekly clam bake that features a visit from a local naturalist who brings his collection of snakes, snapping turtles, owls, and large African frogs.

The funny thing is that the Sniders could be Scrooge-like and you'd still be wowed by this

To see the difference between private ownership and corporate ownership of a hotel, spend one weekend with Mark and Gwenn Snider, proprietors of the Winnetu Resort on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Ten years after the Sniders transformed a rundown motel and created a grand Victorian lodging with one to four-bedroom suites, the Sniders continue to thrive because their passion for entertaining rubs off on all their guests.

The parents of three go overboard to keep the little ones happy. This includes rides on a 1947 fire truck Mark found on eBay in Michigan; free lemonade and fresh-baked cookies every afternoon at 3 p.m.; rides on a fun bike, where six kids jump on the circular vehicle for a spin; and, this being New England, a weekly clam bake that features a visit from a local naturalist who brings his collection of snakes, snapping turtles, owls, and large African frogs.

The funny thing is that the Sniders could be Scrooge-like and you'd still be wowed by this resort. A short walk leads to one of the Vineyard's premier stretches of sand, the three-mile-long South Beach. There's a small pool on property, a pond to find turtles, a chef's garden, tennis courts, and bike trails that lead off in every direction like spokes on a wheel. In fact, one of the great joys of heading to Martha's Vineyard is leaving your car behind on the mainland simply to bike or bus around.

The Sniders can pick you up at the Oak Bluffs ferry, have bikes waiting for the family at the resort, even take you on a sunset boat ride to nearby Edgartown to have dinner at night. Bring some food, because each suite has its own refrigerator and microwave. There's also a small store on property to grab basic provisions like milk, bread, coffee, and juice, and an upscale restaurant, Lure, which caters to families and couples. Kids can dine on mac and cheese, burgers, and chicken fingers, while the adults dig into the fresh greens and seafood.

By all means, grab those bikes and head on a four-mile path into Edgartown, the Vineyard's oldest settlement, lined with whaling captains' homes. From Edgartown, it's a two-minute ferry ride over to Chappaquiddick, home to a Japanese-style garden, Mytoi, and the Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, where you can go sea kayaking with a guide. Or head back to Edgartown for the homemade ice cream at local fave, Mad Martha's. So much fun, so little time.