Refuge Inn, for spotting wild ponies

This family-run charmer has been with the Leonards since they first built it in 1973. Now the grandchildren of founders Don and Martha welcome visitors to an immaculate, 72-room timber inn amongst the whispering loblolly pines. Sitting just across the Assateague Channel from the National Wildlife Reserve, it’s ideal for spotting Chincoteague ponies from broad, salt-weathered balconies. The immaculately landscaped gardens contain a picnic area and hibachi grill, and there’s a pony pen where you can greet the islands’ star attractions.