Ask anyone to recommend the best inn on the island, and this is the name you're most likely to hear -- not just because it's the most expensive, but because it's easily the most refined. Owners Gery and Paula Conover have been tirelessly fine-tuning this cluster of 18th- and 19th-century houses (five in all, counting the Carriage House, a replica) since 1971. Linked by formal gardens, each house has a distinctive look and feel, though the predominant mode is English country, with fascinating antiques, hunting prints, and quirky decorative accents. All but one room have televisions, and some have VCRs. Bathrooms are luxurious, and some are enormous (bigger than most hotel rooms). In the elegant 1860 Main House, the common rooms double as the Edgartown Art Gallery and feature Ray Ellis's wonderful oil paintings. This is one of only two Relais & Châteaux properties on the Cape and Islands (the second is The Wauwinet, on Nantucket) -- a world-class distinction that designates excellence in hospitality. On-site is The Terrace, a fine-dining restaurant.