Husband and I are going to Cape Cod this summer for 4 nights. Having not been before, I am finding it challenging to 1) find a location to meet our needs; and 2) find nice accommodations under $500/night (I love the look of Wequosset and Chatham Bars Inns – but I cannot see spending $500-700/night since we’re also visiting Boston and NYC !). In researching I came across the Top Mast Resort -- which looks more like a motel - but I am really interested in the beach front rooms/cottages which are sparse but priced well -- less than $200/night. For background my husband and I are in our 30s/early 40s. Enjoy ocean views and sunsets, great restaurants, maybe a lively watering hole one evening, cute towns/villages to explore and would like to be able to swim comfortably in the water. Any feedback would be most appreciated.

The Top Mast is just what it looks. However, Truro is beautiful and still rural. you are within a 10 minute drive of Provincetown and wellfleet, both with good restaurants, art, theatre, shopping and national seashore. until we bought a house in wellfleet four years ago, we had stayed in both truro and wellfleet and preferred wellfleet because we didnt always have to hope in the car and drive 10 minutes just to get a paper or coffee. our preference in wellfleet is a place called the colony. it is a series of neomodern houses- side by side duplexes, that was at one time an artists' colony. each unit has bed/sit with turn down serivce, a deck/patio, kitchen. the owners are lovely. there are rarely children there. there is a golf course with tennis courts next door and one of the bay beaches is a 5 minute walk. i recommend it highly.

As kborn mentioned "resort" is a bit of a stretch for the top Mast which is just a motel. The pluses are that you will be close to Provincetown (but will have to drive) and you will have a cape cod bay beach right out your door. The minses are that you will be in a very busy secton of Truro, just a stone's throw away from the major traffic road to and from Provincetown, and will be in close proximity to many other tourists. Have you looked into staying in Wellfleet or Eastham? Both will give you a more authentic Cape Cod experience. Check out the Fort HIll Bed and Breakfast, our personal favorite. They have two suites in the antique house that are very private and spacious. I believe they have a 3-night minimum for the suites. They also have a wonderful cottage with ocean views but I think they only rent that weekly in the summer. In any event they give a great full breakfast and are actually located inside the National Seashore Park in a Historic area with walking trails and fabulous ocean views. Eastham is very small, close to Wellfleet and Orleans, 30 minutes from Provincetown and Chatham and is noted for its ocean and bay beaches.

I agree with both of the above posters (I usually do agree with yellowbird)!

I wouldn't recommend the topmast, both because of its location, a very busy stretch of Rt 6A, at the far end of Truro, parallel to busy Rt. 6, just a few yards away.

That being said, you are close to Provincetown, with it's wonderful restaurants,galleries and activities on the pier. I would second a stay in Wellfleet, which is a charming village, not overly crowded, and one where you can walk to most everything in the village. If you wish a Cape Cod experience, I would suggest an Inn. Not on the highway, as most motels and resorts are on the Lower Cape, because of the unspoiled National Seashore. The Stone Lion Inn in Wellfleet is one that family have stayed in, and enjoy. Aunt Sukie's Bed and Breakfast is another-on the water, in a private separate complex. No Frills, but clean and very "old Cape Cod" is the Inn of Duck Creek, in an old Captains house. I suggest you google the towns themnselves, Chamber of Commerce. Each town has a booklet they will mail to you with all the information you will need. In fact, I would ask for Wellfleet, Eastham and Provincetown to send you the 2007 booklet- you will in your stay be exploring all these.

Thanks so much for the replies. I think it's a bit too "motel" for our liking. I now have narrowed down to the Crowne Pointe Inn in Provincetown or the Fort Hill B&B in Eatham. Any thoughts?

Both are top notch...but in different ways. Crown Point is in Provincetown...a very busy, fun, diverse town. Basically anything goes.....and usually does. Lots of tourists, shops, restaurants, bars, nightlife etc. It is at the tip of the Cape so you will have to drive one hour to get to Chatham. It has amenities like the spa (also open to public) and has an excellent reputation.
Fort HIll Bed and Breakfast sits on a knoll that is in the National Seashore....it is historic, quiet, small, surrounded by nature trails and ocean views. We go to Fort Hill for the ocean and marsh views ...some of the very best on Cape Cod. It is a reflective kind of place if you know what I mean. Although it is off the beaten track, it is only 5 minutes away from Orleans and Wellfleet and equidistant (about 25 minutes) from Chatham and Provincetown.
So the question is...do you want to be in town or out of town? Do you want to be in the action (Crown Point) or do you want to go to the action and come back to serenity (Fort Hill)?

all the suggestions are good. the crown point is going to be thick with people and noisy. it is right on commercial street in ptown. ptown is great to visit, but won't give you a quiet time - at least in the crown point area. fort hill is lovely. definetly get the chamber of commerce books for wlft and eshm. wlft. chmbr.ood web site also.