Murder Mystery Night Returns on October 29!

Join us on Saturday October 29 for an evening of mayhem and merriment as we recreate our popular Murder Mystery Night -- this time with a haunted Halloween theme.

We'll provide the refreshments and the backdrop and our guests play the characters -- just like the fun group in the photo here.

Call or email to reserve your space today and get a special weekend discount - book one night and get the second for half price.

And while you're here, why not plan a trip to nearby Salem and really get into the Halloween holiday spirit. Check out this Haunted Happenings link to the month of events planned for the city that many feel is the Halloween capital of the world.

A Look Across the Footbridge

Here's a second photo sent to us by Lee and Louise from Ottawa -- a shot of one of the most photographs spots on Good Harbor Beach, the footbridge. This should bring back memories for those of you who strolled across the way and over the bridge to the beach.

Another View of Good Harbor Beach

We've been reminding you all to send us photos taken during your visit to the Blue Shutters, and the response has been better than we ever could have imagined. Then again, it shouldn't surprise us given the beauty of the beach and its surroundings. Here's a new favorite shot -- the view from Widow's Walk at sunrise, sent to us by Lee and Louise from Ottawa.

It's Also a Runner's World at the Blue Shutters

Just as our hockey heroes were leaving the Blue Shutters, hundreds of runners began passing by our front door as the the Lone Gull 10K wrapped up by the Good Harbor Beach footbridge. Among the runners was our friend Joe, who's wife Collette works with Tony (when he's not innkeeping). Here's a shot of some the runners finishing up along Nautilus Road. A reminder: the Blue Shutters is the perfect spot if you're an athelete competing in events around Cape Ann -- whether you run, play hockey, cylce, surf or golf, there's no better place to get yourself prepared and then rest up after your big day.

Blue Shutters Becomes Hockey Town for a September Weekend

The Stanley Cup Champion Bruins have yet to take the ice for the coming season, but at the Blue Shutters Beachside Inn we already have hockey fever. Our resident Bruins legend, Matt Ravlich, was back again for a week with his wife Geri and her cousin Barbara. But what made the Shutters a real hockey town for the weekend of Sept 16-18: the arrival of the "Here for the Beer" women's hockey team. The girls -- who come from all parts of eastern Massachusetts -- were here for a hockey tournament in Gloucester, and fortunately this overlapped with the Ravlich's stay here. We couldn't resist snapping this photo of Matt with some of the team -- you'll notice Matt holding the Blue Shutters version of the Stanley Cup, which we presented to him earlier this summer. We're looking forward to having all these folks back again for more hockey fever at the Blue Shutters.

A 9 11 Tribute on Good Harbor Beach

One of our guests sent along this "America" photo, taken this morning on Good Harbor Beach. It came with two accompanying photos -- "God" and "Bless" -- make a fitting tribute on the 10th anniversary of the events of 9-11.

Sharing Photos of our Favorite Fishing Village

Every so often, we'll use this space to feature photos our guests pass along, and here we're sharing some shots from Peter, one of the first folks to stay with us when we took over the Blue Shutters in 2007. Those of you who have been here may have seen some of Peter's work, on the "photo wall" in our main room. Peter just sent a few more our way. We've always talked about Good Harbor Beach as a great place to shoot photos, but as this shows, there are other very picturesque parts of our town. This is a one of several Peter shot around Gloucester Harbor. Watch for photos from Peter and others -- on our website, in our newsletter and on our Facebook page...and in our Main Room. If you have photos you'd like to share with friends of the Blue Shutters, please send them along.

Our First "Blue Shutters Beachside Reviews & Comments Contest" Winner

A few months back, we kicked off an effort aimed at encouraging guests to share their thoughts about their stay at the Blue Shutters. Every three months -- at the end of the summer, fall, winter and spring -- we'll gather up TripAdvisor and Yelp reviews, notes from our guest book, comments from our blog and any cards and letters we received. We'll then pick one at random and give that person a $50 gift card good for a return visit to the Blue Shutters.

We have our first winner -- selected from the dozens of "contestants" from the summer of 2011: Lori, John and Connor of Rochester, NY. They stayed with us in early July and not only left a note in our guest book; they also posted a TripAdvisor review.

Here's a snapshot of what they had to say, first from the guest book:

We had the most amazing time. Thank you for the wonderful advice and hospitality. We are so happy that Connor’s first experience was at the Blue Shutters! We will definitely be back.

And this from Trip Advisor:

We just returned home from a wonderful stay in Gloucester at the Blue Shutters Beachside Inn. The proximity to the beach, the amazing view and spacious accomodations (we were in the Beachside rooms) made our stay so much fun. We have a 20 month old and we were nervous about traveling with him to the beach but it was a piece of cake! The beach was a very short walk away and was right near the calm tide pool and ocean.

The spacious yard and lawn games also provided additional entertainment. It felt less like staying at a hotel and more like visiting a good friend's spacious house. There was plenty to keep us occupied right at the Inn. We loved kicking back on the front lawn and enjoying the view during naptime and after our son went down to sleep at night.

We are already discussing our visit back next year...and family members that stayed elsewhere want to join us at Blue Shutters:)

Thanks to Lori, John and Connor -- and to all of you who shared your thoughts on your Blue Shutters stay. Keep those comments and reviews coming -- we'll pick another winner at the end of the fall, in December.