The 30 Best East Coast Beach Resorts, From the Keys to Kennebunkport

Boston has summered on Pleasant Bay for generations, and 120-key Wequassett is where the money tends to land. The postcard casts Cape Cod as fried clams and mini-golf; this hillside spread of weather-shingled cottages, set on the bay in Harwich rather than crammed onto a strip, answers with something closer to a private estate. The kitchen leans hard on whatever the boats land that day, from the cozy tavern to a breezy poolside cookhouse. Guests work two well-regarded courses and a serious tennis operation, then swap the racquet for a Boston Whaler and the warm, protected water this crooked elbow of the Cape does better than anywhere.