Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club was originally the summer residence of Samuel Nickerson, a prominent Chicago banker, and his wife Matilda, built in 1890. Fieldstone Hall, as it was known, was perched high on a bluff overlooking Cape Cod Bay.
Unfortunately, the mansion burned to the ground in 1906. It was rebuilt in 1912 by Addie Daniels Nickerson, the widow of Samuel and Matilda’s son, to resemble an English country manor. Perhaps the most striking feature architecturally was the adjacent Carriage House, which looks like it’s been plucked right off the pages of a children’s fairy tale and is used today for small events of up to 120 guests.
With so much of Cape Cod populated by sprawling hotels and motels, Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club evokes not only a sense of history, but also of exclusivity. Guests venture through massive stone gates and down a long, meticulously landscaped driveway with the sea in the distance, past the gatehouse, to the front entrance—all the while knowing that they have, unquestionably, arrived.
For groups, the focus is on private and fun activities, from mixology lessons to beach bonfires. Attendees can take a group tour of the Brewster Flats, the widest expanse of tidal flats in North America, where Cape Cod’s finest oysters are farmed, and choose their own oysters for a tasting—with champagne, of course. Or perhaps a private clambake on the beach, with checkered tablecloths, corn on the cob and lobster cooked in pits beneath the sand, is a better fit.
A beautiful addition just across the street from the Mansion is the Beach House Spa, a new pampering option for spouse programs or non-golfers whose partners are spending the day on the resort’s 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed course. Treatments are inspired by the surroundings, such as the Cranberry Heaven on Earth body treatment, a cranberry body exfoliation followed by a relaxing massage.
The resort just began opening year-round in 2020, and in winter has added the Frost Bar, with 10 outdoor igloos and fireplaces for keeping toasty when those Cape winds blow. In the warmer weather there’s the Front Lawn, with comfy chairs clustered around fire pits, and a wood-burning pizza outfit and food trucks serving nibbles and libations. And of course there are the lawn games, from bocce to horseshoes. At night, the mood in any season is chill, as everyone takes a front-row seat to watch the crystal stars, which always shine so much brighter on the Cape.
Ocean Edge has 21,000 square feet of meeting space, with the Mansion Ballroom accommodating up to 500 attendees, and a number of picturesque outdoor venues, including a private beach, a terrace with an ocean view and tented pavilions. Accommodations are in 90 rooms in the Mansion’s two wings and 30 condominium-style villas. In addition to 9 tennis courts, 5 pools and fitness center, the resort recently added 16 pickle ball courts.
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