Photographs courtesy Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club.
Visitors to Cape Cod can be forgiven for pretending they have reservations at Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club just so they can have a look-see. The 429-acre site, on a bluff overlooking Cape Cod Bay, bills itself as “the most luxurious destination” in one of the world’s summer playgrounds, beloved by Clintons and Kennedys alike.
It isn’t just the Victorian-style Nickerson family mansion and carriage house that form the centerpiece of the complex. (The 1912 manse was named for the owner of the site’s original house, built in 1890 by Samuel Mayo Nickerson, who seems to have had the best of both worlds: He was descended from Puritans but made his money as a distiller of spirits and fine wines.)
Ocean Edge boasts 90 guest rooms and 31 two- and three-bedroom Presidential Bay Collection villas, which underwent a $40 million renovation in 2013 that resulted in a AAA Four Diamond rating. (The villas include exclusive concierge service, views of the bay and the 700-foot private beach and such homey amenities as a gourmet-stocked fridge and washer /dryer.)
That’s a lot of room to luxuriate in. And luxuriate you can — when you’re not busy playing sports, taking tours of the historic mansion or communing with nature.
For the eco-minded, there’s the new Brewster Flats Walks, weekly complimentary beach walks led by local experts designed in part to introduce visitors to the Brewster Oyster Farm off the resort’s private Bay Pines Beach. It’s a chance to discover beach critters and even help harvest oysters at select times of the year. There’s more for nature lovers at Blueberry Pond, the resort’s first freshwater activity center, which offers kayaking and paddle boarding off two sundecks. They’re near the entrance to the Cape Cod Bike Trail, for which Ocean Edge has a new fleet of custom bikes.
These sports are just the beginning. There’s croquet on the front lawn, a new 5,000-square-foot Members Sports Club, four outdoor and two indoor swimming pools, a USPTA-certified tennis complex and fitness and cardio rooms.
The sporting pièce de résistance, however, may be the only Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course on the Cape. There are complimentary lessons at 4:15 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays with family golf daily after 4:30 p.m., allowing future Rory McIlroys ages 9 and under to hit the links for free with an adult.
By now, you’re tuckered out and famished. Fortunately, the resort has three restaurants, including Ocean Terrace, with its commanding views of the bay.
Over the Memorial Day Weekend, the restaurant launched the signature Ocean Edge Pale Ale, created by Cape Cod Beer, to pair with its Brewster Oysters, among other specialties.
Somehow we think Samuel Nickerson would heartily approve.
For reservations and more information, call 800-343-6074 or visit oceanedge.com.
