Shearer Cottages, Vineyard Haven

old, outdated. Never cleaner or linens changed. Only good thing was location. Too Expensive for what is provided.

I just finished my stay here. I outside of Shearer Cottage is beautiful. However, that is the only good point. The rooms are very outdated . The electricity went out several times in my room and others. All rooms had plumbing issues. Stayed at the Cottage for 8 days and the room was not cleaned once; was only given clean towels after 3 days. I concern staying at Shearer Cottage glorified camping. I would not stay here again.

I came to Shearer Cottage in 2000 by chance, having been encouraged to do so by a friend who lived in Los Angelos, and had stayed there in the early 90s. I spent four days there with a visiting friend, and fell in love with the gorgeous property, the neighborhood and its vibrant history, but most importantly Doris Jackson and her daughter Lee Van Allen. Descendents of the original owners/proprietors of Shearer Cottage, they have remained committed to maintain and move forward what Charles Shearer started a century ago. At the center of the Afro-American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard, Shearer Cottage has embedded in its soul, its soil a large and vital part of the fabric that is the history, the heritage of Afro-Americans on Martha's Vineyard. After my first summer as a guest, I came back to work with Ms. Jackson and Ms. Van Allen as their assistants at Shearer Cottage. It has been a labor of love. So much work to do, so little time and resources sometimes to do it, but there was a standard, a legacy there which emanated from the soil, the air, the stars at night. So getting up and going to work there was easy. A wonderful place to stay on Martha's Vineyard. Clean, comfortable, safe, and friendly. Nice people in the neighborhood. Families, reunions, weddings, all would be welcome at Shearer. This is my ninth summer there, and I could spend the rest of my summers forever, there.