photo by Chuck Anzalone.

What are the coolest surprises about Provincetown this season? 

Well, first it’s always a top award-winning resort destination because the local residents, business people and town hall have so much pride of place that P-town always gets better every single year.

For example, in these belt-tightening days, Provincetown has a really big surprise for visitors when it comes to the 2009 room rates and restaurant prices. 

It’s now possible, in high season, to find clean, comfortable and attractive accommodations from $109 per room with breakfast to luxury inns with all the finest features and amenities of four- and five-star properties from $128 per room.  Compared to Fire Island, South Beach, Manhattan, and Palm Springs, among other favorites, Provincetown is a bargain.

If you work weekends, mid-week rates are even lower and most inns - from basic to AbFab – are posting weekly and seasonal specials online.

photo by Chuck Anzalone.

Let your computer’s mouse do the comparison shopping and you can take virtual tours before booking directly online or toll-free. For rooms in all categories, go to the Provincetown Business Guild (an outstanding gay chamber of commerce) at www.ptown.org.  A free visitors’ guide is available online, toll-free 800-637.8696, or PBG, P. O. Box 421, Provincetown, MA 02657.

For sheer luxury, check out the Distinctive Inns of Provincetown, eight properties with all the finer things in life offered by professional hoteliers and trained staff to cater to your every whim.

Our top choice in this heavenly category is the Benchmark Inn and Central. The fourteen sun-lit guestrooms and penthouses feature fireplaces, wet bars, marble-tiled baths, fresh flowers and every amenity. Many rooms offer private outdoor space or entrance, Jacuzzi and stunning views. There’s an outdoor heated pool and a four-season spa and sauna room. The concierge will see to your entertainment and dining reservations.  Both gay men and women love this place.  If you mention us - Don and Tony – you’ll get a five percent discount by booking online at www.benchmarkinn.com.

Provincetown isn’t just for the guys, women have made a significant contribution to not only its civic life, but to tourism.  For a first-hand look at women-owned and operated inns, restaurants, shops, services, a lively arts and entertainment scene, women-specific events and festivals take a virtual trip and get details on www.provincetownforwomen.com and www.WomenInnkeepers.com.

We just got word that business in town has not been as affected by the current economic downturn as in other major tourist destinations. So if you’re going to Provincetown, book early at the current special rates.

Provincetown has a great restaurant scene from plain to fancy. This season’s top recommendations include the Mews (especially the grille room), Joy’s Lobster Pot for its new blue-plate specials, Devon’s (Benchmark Inn has tables reserved outdoors every night) Victor’s (tapas), Fanizzi’s (watertviews), Napi’s (Portuguese specialties), Townsend Fish Market (now on Shank Painter Road), Post Office (especially breakfast), and Bayside Betsy’s for great value and service under the watchful eye of Betsy. If you go, you’ll never forget her star-like presence and personality.

The popular Pilgrim House has been sold and renovated into 21st-century sophistication.  It’s a complex with an attractive inn, bar, Madeira Club cabaret and the Vixen nightclub. A few of the headliners this season are Paula Poundstone, Margaret Cho and Sandra Bernhard.

The Crown and Anchor, another popular complex, features six unique bar venues including the town’s largest nightclub, the Paramount - hosting the Annual Provincetown International Film Festival Opening Party; the town’s only video bar (Wave), a cabaret venue (Leslie Jordon, Kate Clinton); a poolside bar with heated pool, a piano bar and an ever-popular leather bar (The Vault). The Crown also features the Central House at the Crown—a year-round restaurant offering lunch and dinner - and the Crown & Anchor Inn—a waterfront hotel with eighteen rooms and luxury suites 

The Atlantic House, aka the A-House, is Provincetown’s legendary, year-round dance club. This complex has the Little Bar (cruise bar with juke box), The Macho Bar (Provincetown’s original leather and Levi bar), and the Big Room Dance Club!

Resident DJ and Billboard Magazine reporter David LaSalle embarks on his 29th season as Provincetown’s longest running DJ playing the most current music and progressive tracks in town.

And what a place to spend New Year’s Eve – everyone in Provincetown makes a least one stop here for a toast with David, the greatest host.

Although we’ve included a lot of essential Web sites above, here are two more that are well-organized and fun to surf:   www.provincetown.com  www.provincetowntourismoffice.org. And, believe us, P-Town’s one big party every month of the year.     

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