The Inn: Providing bed and breakfast lodging in South County, Rhode Island, The Kings' Rose is a beautiful Williamsburg Colonial-revival home, 75 years old, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Centrally located to several New England attractions, the Inn features 16 rooms, three fireplaces, and over two acres of gardens. The Inn and your hosts are pet-friendly -- bring your dog!

Your Accommodations: The Kings' Rose has seven antique-filled rooms with private baths. Each room is air-conditioned and includes a television and telephone. There is a fire-placed living room, library, and sunroom just for guests, or relax outdoors with the outdoor terrace, perennial gardens, rose arbor, grassy walks, and large shade trees. The Rose is protected by a class-A fire system.

Bedrooms: The Master Suite (#1) has a fireplace, double bed in each of the two rooms, and garden views. Rooms 2 and 3 have private baths and are located on the shady side. Rooms 4 and 5 share a bath and are just right for traveling companions. Room 6 has a country decor and a private bath. Room 7 has a double bed in addition to a three-quarter bed and an extra-large bathroom.

Dining In and Out: Breakfast at The Kings' Rose starts with home-baked muffins, fresh fruit, and Green Mountain coffee, followed by a large choice of entrees from the menu. Your hosts can guide you to a wealth of local restaurants. There are many seafood restaurants, a Cajun lunch cafe, and restaurant fare ranging from vegetarian to continental (especially Italian). Your hosts keep menus and help with reservations.

Your Innkeepers: Barbara Larsen-Viles is the Rose's chef and decorator, with a background in psychology, community service, and trauma-room nursing care. Her interests include quilting, animal care (two Corgis in her cottage), and antiques. Perry Viles, a former history professor, college dean, and library director, is the Rose's painter and gardener. His interests include historic preservation, books, and local government.

Outdoors in South County: The Rose is accessible to a half-dozen public sandy beaches and is a mile from one of several golf courses. One of the local riding stables is across the road.

Nearby wildlife and bicycle paths, a shooting range, salt-river kayaking, and hot-air balloon rides provide a variety of activities. The ferry to Block Island is a short drive away. Whale-watching and marine-life night cruises in a glass-bottom craft are within ten miles of the Inn.

Entertainment: Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos are less than an hour's drive from the Rose. Neighboring Kingston village and the University of Rhode Island provide year-round music and arts. The venerable Theatre-By-The-Sea is in Matunuck, due south from the Inn. Newport's waterfront and mansions are 20 minutes away. Providence, now a renaissance city with its spectacular Waterfire displays, is less than 30 miles distant, as are the historic seaport and aquarium at Mystic, Connecticut.

Antiquing and Museums: Wickford and Wakefield villages (ten and three miles, respectively) feature a half-dozen affordable antique shops as well as specialty stores. Both Kingston and Wickford have 18th-century village centers. There are two regional museums within five miles -- in the old Kingston jail and on a Narragansett estate. Gilbert Stuart's birthplace and the 17th-century "Smith's castle" provide Colonial atmosphere.

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