By plane: Boston is home to Logan Airport, close to downtown, and should offer the best fares and most number of flights. If you decide to fly into smaller airports in New Hampshire or Rhode Island, we can’t offer you transportation to those airports on the way back from Rockport. Check to see if your hotel offers shuttle service from Logan, or you can take public transportation, a cab or Uber.

By train: Amtrak runs to 3 stations in Boston. You’ll probably want the one that stops in Back Bay, depending on where you’re staying. There are also several commuter rails that come from the north, west and south. Check the MBTA commuter rail website for locations and schedules.

By car: Please see the next FAQ.

Our best advice is to park your car at a train station outside the city proper and take a commuter rail or the T into Boston to avoid city parking fees. If you do want to drive all the way into Boston, you’ll either have to pay for 3 addtional nights of parking in Boston and ride with us the the van we’re providing, or drive yourself up to Rockport. We can talk you through all of these logistics, including where to park your car outside the city. Just send us an email.

If your plane or train arrives after 2:30pm EST, you may decide you want to come in the day before. If you are in town early, we can offer suggestions of how to spend your time. Or if there’s time, you can book a private session with Zandra for extra design consultation. If it’s not possible to arrive by 2:30, please let us know what time you will be in Boston so that we can assess where it’s best to meet up with you.

To give you maximum flexibility, you’ll be responsible for booking a hotel in Boston on the first night. This way, you’ll be able to choose according to your budget and accommodation preferences.

We highly recommend you choose something within the areas on this map to ensure you are close to our activities during your stay and so that we can pick up your luggage for you before heading to Rockport.

If you need further recommendations or assistance booking a hotel, we’re happy to help and offer this free concierge service. Just send us an email after you’ve registered for the retreat.

If you arrive in Boston before your check-in time at your hotel, please ask the hotel to hold your luggage for you behind the desk. If you’d like to check in after the museum but before dinner, you’ll have time to do so. (You’ll be responsible for the cost of taking a cab, the train or an Uber between the museum, your hotel, and the restaurant). The next morning, you’ll ask the hotel to hold your luggage once you leave to meet up for breakfast. After our High Tea and before dinner when you are enjoying some free time, we will go to each hotel and pick up your luggage for you. It will be secured in the van while we’re at dinner and be ready for you on the drive up to Rockport.

The short answer is no. One of the most wonderful aspects of these retreats is getting to know your fellow design enthusiasts. During our unscheduled times, we’ll be discussing our homes and getting insight from Zandra and each other about anything we may be working on or thinking of doing. Although participating in these discussions isn’t mandatory (and you may want to decompress in your room some of the time), we want to create an atmosphere that encourages us to be together. To achieve this, we are all staying at the same place (except for the first night in Boston). It’s a lovely boutique hotel in Rockport that has been thoughtfully designed with all of the amenities you’d expect in any hotel.

There is only 1 room in the Rockport hotel that has more than one bed, which consists of a queen and pull out sofa. We suggest you email us right away and let us know if you’re interested in this option. You would each save $785 off of the total price for the retreat. The pay-in-full, early bird rate for each of you would be $1261. If you are interested in sharing a King bed with someone, there are a few rooms available for this. Again, send us an email and we’ll set it up for you. These rooms will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. You will be fully refunded if it’s sold out after you’ve paid through us.

The plan is for the van to leave Rockport and take us back to Boston on the morning of October 12. We will do our best to schedule this according to everyone’s departure times so that we can drop you off directly at the airport or train station. Until we have everyone’s schedule, the exact time we’ll leave Rockport is TBD.

If you are vegetarian, you’ll need to let us know ahead of time. That way, we’ll make sure that every restaurant we go to has something delicious on the menu for you to enjoy. If you are vegan, we will make every effort to do the same. If we’re having trouble finding vegan options, we’ll discuss alternatives with you ahead of time.

Please let us know right away if you have food allergies. We will make every effort to accommodate you, and usually this isn’t difficult to do.

For the 3 breakfasts at the hotel in Rockport, you will come to the private cottage we’ve rented on the property. Breakfast will be out and available in the kitchen starting at 8am and will include yogurt, fruit, granola, hard boiled eggs and pastries. If you have a food allergy or are vegan, just let us know ahead of time and we will make sure you have something delicious to eat. Coffee will also be available in your room.

Unfortunately, this trip is not wheelchair friendly. If you don’t use a wheelchair but are uncomfortable with walking, please keep reading. Boston is an old city and some of the parts we’ll be visiting do have cobblestone streets. On the second day, the walk from Beacon Hill through Boston Common and the Public Garden to the library in Copley Square is the longest walk we’ll take in Boston. It’s pretty flat and takes about 20 minutes. You can skip this walk and take a cab or Uber if needed. Neither of the historic homes we’re visiting have elevators but you could enjoy just the first floors if you like. We’ll be doing some light walking in both Essex and Rockport for antiquing and visiting galleries, although in Essex, we will have the van available to go from one antique shop to another if needed.

If you have a registered service animal that you need to assist you in daily tasks, please let us know right away. It shouldn’t be a problem but we’d want to double check all of the places we’re going to be absolutely sure. Pets who are not registered as service animals are not allowed.