We booked to stay at the Homestead as one of our stopoffs whilst travelling around New England. As with other reviews we found the website and to say the least it looked interesting.
When we got there there was no one around first of all so we had a chance to have a leisurely stroll around the grounds out the back which is laid mainly to lawn with lots of trees with hammocks hanging from them, there is a pond at the bottom and all was very quiet and serene. The house is decorated to encourage you to sit and be comfortable and chill. All very clean and charming. Then we met one of the cats and then another and then another. We're animal lovers so this was great. We finally found Bill out by the annexe who was so welcoming and friendly that we felt guilty for not arriving sooner! We were shown to our room by Bill and had the zebra room which was really lovely, mainly blue with a big four poster bed and zebra animals, zebra pictures and just about zebras everywhere. This room is a corner room based at the front and especially nice it has three big windows, 2 at the front and one at the side which when opened created a wonderful breeze through the room. After having an explore of Hyannis, we got back in time for wine on the back porch and there we met all the other guests and all accompanied by their dogs. We were told that the Homestead is popular with dog lovers as it is the only place barring one other that you can bring your dog. We spent a wonderful couple of hours chatting and geting to know the other guests who were all really friendly and interesting. Travelling from England alas we had no dog with us and in fact felt slightly left out that we wanted to go and find a place that rented dogs to you! If you are not an animal lover then this place is not for you but we loved it. Yes there are lots of cats but they are not running amok, they keep very much to themselves either out in the garden somewhere or by the annexe where Bill resides. All the dogs were well behaved and the owners were very good at making sure they were not a nuisance to us or to any other guest. Whilst drinking your wine, it's a great time to sort out where you are going to eat. They have all the menus of all the reputable places to eat and you can then leisurely go through and make your selection. Kathy, one of the innkeepers is more than happy to make your reservation for you. Bill and Kathy were great in advising of places to go and what to see. In fact he has crib sheets about everywhere and other places surrounding Hyannis.

If you are interested in cars then Toad Hall is a must as Bill has collected so many interesting sports cars over the years that he can't actually get them out of the garage anymore because there are so many so he keeps a few outfront to use for picking up people from the airport and other places. I loved being there and I can't thank Bill and Kathy enough for making us feel so welcome. We would definitely go back.

When Bill says his place is "pet friendly", he means it! We felt totally at home (well, in my real home I have AC, but ya can't have everything!) to either hang out around the property with our two Shih-tzus (and his darling cats), or leave the pups in the room to explore the Cape. Our room was spacious , clean, and very comfortable.
Bill was able to answer any questions we might have about travel destinations on the Cape (or parts just beyond) and both Bill and his staff were dead on accurate about the quality of some of the eateries in Hyannis (several great choices by the way).
For my family and myself we prefer natural history to shops so I think whenever we return to the Cape Cod area, we now know where to go (and more importantly NOT to go). But we would not hesitate for a moment to stay at the Homestead Inn.
Oh, and for the record...those blueberry pancakes are wonderful, next time I'm gonna strongly suggest to Bill that he serves them at least two times in a row! :)

Wow is the only thing I can start this review with. We were looking for somewhere to stay in Hyannis and I came across Bill's website. I said to my hubby to be we are either going to love this place and never want to leave, or hate it, let's go and find out! We were on honeymoon and travelling around Boston and the Cape so we emailed Bill and asked about staying, well a few emails later he not only felt like an old friend, he had also persuaded us to stay for longer than we had planned, and travel out from England bearing some rare single Malts that aren't available out in the US (and yes, he did pay us for them!)

Both Bill and his home are amazing. I was at home the moment we got there (and Bill stopped in town and picked us up from the coach in one of his racing cars) We stayed in the cat room (or should I say rooms, we had a bedroom, another room and a bathroom). You do need to read his website before you go - Bill collects things. Cats. Cars. Single Malts. Signposts on walls. I could have spent the whole time there just discovering new things and not got bored. Bill rescue's cats, they are mainly orange, with some tortoiseshells, and I think we were on 27 (or was it 29) while we were there. The cats live outside in the grounds and over at Bill's annexe, and are the most friendly welcoming creatures - Astaire is by the door to welcome all the newcomers. For those of you thinking 'ugh, cats' - I promise you there is no mess, hairs, smells or anything of the sort. Heck, even dogs are welcome to stay there!

Then the cars. Bill collects cars. Red sports cars (plus a green one). I think there are 55 of them at the moment, but my jaw was too busy hitting the floor to count them all properly. They all have a little toad in (long story, go and stay there yourself and find out!) and most of them have a cat or two sleeping or walking on them. The only place you will see expensive top of the range sports cars with paw prints!

Then there is the Malt. Over 400 bottles I believe. And then wine time - Bill is a believer that about teatime is a good chance to relax with the other guests and wine (from a Simmons homestead all purpose drinking mug) so you can chat about what you have all been up to and where is good for dinner. There are copies of menus from all the local restaurants, and indeed, Bill has a handout of information for most everywhere on the Cape that is helpful.

We were unusual and didn't have a car while we were there, but every single day Bill piled us into a sports car and dropped us at various boats and airports for our days out, which was above and beyond the call of duty and there is no way we could possibly have expected that hospitality. It should be noted that Bill's place is a little way out of Hyannis, certainly not impossible to walk, but...

Breakfast is fun. Bill pretends he can't cook. He lies! There are two choices - take it or leave it! He cooks one breakfast a day, but you can eat as much as you like. It was certainly the best breakfast I had on the Cape.

And I should mention too the pond, the ghost, the bikes, the hammocks and porch out back, oh I could go on and on and on. You get the feeling we liked the place? We loved it!!

This place is handy for exploring Hyannis, it has beaches (and Kennedys) at Hyannisport, it is easy to search the whole Cape from here, and easy to get over to Nantucket and the Vineyard. And when you do stay here, check out the Brazilian BBQ in town - the nicest food ever.

Would I go back? You betcha!

We had the pleasure of staying at the Simmons Homestead Inn for one week in July 2004.
We were not sure what room to book since we travelled with our Pekingese and Shitzu. The Staff sayed with me on the phone for 10 minutes viewing and explaining each room. All rooms are decorated in a different animal theme.
We decided on the Cats Room which includes a separate sitting area and is
right next to the door to the great back yard and wrap around porch.

Pros: Clean, great staff, wine hour, great location peaceful yet 3 min from center of town. Back yard equipped with hammocks and plenty of chairs on the wrap around porch. Access to pool table room. Staff was more than willing to take care of our dogs while we were dining. One day we stayed out all day and when we got back found that our "babies" were dead tired from being walked twice - one hour each time - .Plenty of advice on excursions and things to do is available as well as beach items to be loaned.

Cons: No locks on the doors of any room. Early morning sun woke us up as bed is right under big window. Ended up with a towel over the bed to keep the light out. Bathroom window could have a better latch. Breakfast is included and it is indeed all you can eat but the fare is mediocre. The hot tub was not in service and had been closed for at least 2 years. Guests gather on the porch each night so if you are a light or early sleeper, choose a room upstairs. Plenty of advice on excursions and things to do is available as well as beach items to be loaned.

Items of interest: Bill - the owner - is an ex Nascar driver who collects red racing cars and rescues cats. He also has an extensive collection of malt wiskey. The hotel has a resident ghost, a little girl, who is rumored to occupy room 6, the "owls" room.
Our room sticker price was $260/night but Bill was nice enough to give us a 20% discount for staying a week.