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New England Travel
A historic Portsmouth, N.H., hotel steps from bustling Market Square just reopened after a complete redesign.
The Hotel Portsmouth is a 32-room hotel originally built in 1881 by wealthy ship merchant and businessman John E. Sise. The Queen Anne Victorian, formerly the Sise Inn, served as one of the city’s first independent lodging establishments and was acquired by Lark Hotels in 2014. Its recent redesign was led by boutique design firm Elder & Ash.
The getaway’s new look “combines modern sophistication with the warmth of traditional New England charm,” according to the design team.
“From original crown moldings and working fireplaces to meticulous woodwork around its central staircase, we have always been in awe of The Hotel Portsmouth’s architectural charm,” Rob Blood, founder and president of Lark Hotels and principal of Elder & Ash, said in a statement. “This new look honors the building’s innate beauty and celebrates the rich culture of the city and region in an unexpected way. We’re thrilled to unveil this new take on a quintessentially New England hotel.”
The hotel offers a variety of room types, from a petite king to a dual-loft suite and sprawling penthouse suite. There are also ADA-accessible and pet-friendly rooms.
Designers took inspiration from the surrounding city.
“We find the arts and culture scene of Portsmouth to be unique,” Megan Kennedy, creative director for Lark Hotels and principal of Elder & Ash, said in a statement. “Historic landmarks like the Strawbery Banke Museum are
met with more contemporary counterparts, like 3S Art Space. Venues like Jimmy’s Jazz Club, the Seacoast Repertory Theater and The Music Hall, just to name a few, give our guests an unparalleled opportunity for a cultural experience in this small city. We wanted The Hotel Portsmouth to emulate and
add to this experience. Instead of just a place to stay, we aimed for it to tell a visual story of its deeply New England roots, both past and present.”

The getaway’s interior is dominated by reds and blues with Americana patterns, geometrics, and touches of maritime history. The work of American photographer Slim Aarons is featured on the walls alongside contemporary street art, historic original landscapes, and portrait paintings.
“The bold and layered approach to the design is how we’re expressing Americana as a technique more so than as a visual picture,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Modern Americana design for this project was much more than stars, stripes and patchwork quilts (while there are still many of those), it was about noticing how multiple patterns and textures and colors come to feel like ‘Americana’. Tribal mud cloths work harmoniously with greek key motifs, and while some would argue about heritage — we saw it as an opportunity to emulate the melting pot.”
The bathrooms offer tubs and walk-in showers and guests use Lather bath products.
The common spaces “blend small town American charm with one of a kind furnishings,” according to the team.
Lucy & John’s is a bar area with a billiards table and group seating. The hotel now has a full liquor license, so travelers can enjoy batched cocktails and canned beer and wine along with light bites.
Guests can shop at the gift boutique located behind the reception desk, which offers designer vintage clothing, modern Americana home decor, and locally made items.
Travelers enjoy curated small bites for breakfast, a 24-hour concierge service, and several indoor and outdoor gathering spaces.
Families traveling with kids can ask for a kids welcome basket, complete with toys and snacks. Other types of baskets guests can order include breakfast baskets and a New England beer-tasting basket.
Room rates start at at $200 per night, depending on the room type and dates of stay.
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WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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Local News
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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Streets of Portsmouth after snow storm
The streets of Portsmouth are still in the process of being cleaned up, as seen the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, following a huge snow storm.
It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.
The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.
Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.
According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.
Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.
Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.
New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.
In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.
The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.
The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.
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