William Gyles Guesthouse, former home of the Newport International Hostel
Walking along the sea at Fort Adams, Newport, RI
The Black Pearl Restaurant at Bowen’s Wharf, Newport, RI
Coaches at Chateau-sur- Mer, Newport, RI

The Newport International Hostel is now permanently closed.
This website is in memory of the Newport International Hostel - 2002-2019

Thank you to all our treasured American and International guests who passed through our doors over the past 17 years. We will reopen with private rooms during the summer, 2022. For more information and booking visit our other website www.WilliamGylesGuesthouse.com Hope to see you then!



The Newport International Hostel story (2002 - 2019)

Front of William Gyles International Guest House

During the time I was managing the HI-Boston Hostel in 1991, I was told I shouldn’t miss the Newport Jazz Festival in nearby Newport, Rhode Island. I had never been to Newport. I went to the Newport Jazz Festival that year and was inspired by the music, the beauty, and the history of the City-by-the-Sea. I realized immediately the problem people on a tight budget faced if they tried to experience this amazing city. I committed myself at that moment to return one day and start a hostel there.

Ten years later I arrived. I soon became a real estate agent (one of my former professions) and bought a multi-unit property in downtown Newport. After a major face-lift, the Newport International Hostel soon emerged from behind its historic walls.

My hat goes off to legendary jazz impresario and festival producer George Wein (1925 – 2021). His inspiration and talent were primary catalysts that brought me to this city, where the Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival which he founded many years ago, have become an institution. For a special photo tribute to George and the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals on this website, visit www.williamgylesguesthouse.com/festivals.htm

Since we opened the doors of the Newport International Hostel in 2002, thousands of people of all ages from around the world have stayed at the hostel while enjoying the music festivals and many of the other blessings this city bestows on its visitors. To see some of our intrepid hostel guests enjoying Newport, visit the guest photos page on this website.

Hostel guests skydiving over Aquidneck Island
Enjoying a day sail in Newport Harbor
Enjoying seafood at Flo's Clam Shack at Easton's Beach in Newport
Enjoying an evening on the Newport waterfront
Biking to the Newport Folk Festival
International solo travelers who bonded during their stay at the hostel

Our doors are now closed permanently as a hostel, partly due to the pandemic. The guesthouse is still open during the summertime with private rooms. For information and booking at the reinvented William Gyles guesthouse, visit our other website www.WilliamGylesGuesthouse.com. We hope to see some of our former hostel guests here in the future!

Thank you, hostellers, for your unwavering support over the years. You will not be forgotten!

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Merrilee, has traveled solo over the years all over the world and has related her adventures on numerous travel blogs. You can read about some of these adventures on her travel blogs.

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Written by founder and owner of the Newport International Hostel, Merrilee Zellner