Living the American Dream: Local Lady Fulfilling a High School Dream
The Emerson Inn by the Sea is more than a historic oceanfront hotel in Rockport, Massachusetts — it is the realization of a lifelong dream.
In February 2021, the 150-year-old boutique hotel entered a new chapter under the ownership of Kimberly Voltero, a Burlington Massachusetts native whose vision blends historic preservation, thoughtful hospitality, and the timeless appeal of New England coastal travel. After an international career that included working for Microsoft in Paris, France for 10 years. Kimberly returned home to Cape Ann, with her husband from Belgium, Bart Troch, in search of a place where meaningful culture and history intersect.
Since working at a hotel in high school, this Massachusetts native, spent most of her career in technology (Product Management, Marketing and Business Development roles at EBSCO, WebCT/Blackboard and Microsoft). Using business travel as a way to search the the world to find a boutique hotel on the ocean having less than 50 rooms and that is less than an hour from an international airport to support her love of travel and ensure her international friends would visit. Moving from Paris to their summer home in 2013, overlooking Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA, Kimberly continued her search for her dream hotel. While searching and making offers on many smaller properties, Kimberly volunteered at the Chamber of Commerce, offered vacation homes for rent and started and operated a bus tour company that shared the love of the Cape Ann art and culture to curious visitors. Then COVID happened, and the Emerson Inn was again for sale (a place she spent special occassions, where her best friends Aunt was the pastry chef for 15 years, and the former owner Bruce Cotes served as a mentor and advisor). Knowing Rockport well, Kimberly was sure the love of Cape Ann would outlast the pandemic, and thankfully Cape Ann Savings Bank agreed, and interest rates dropped and the SBA offered a special loan rate for majority Women Owned businesses, and in February 2021, she was able to realize her childhood dream.
Kimberly’s goal has been to restore the inn to its glory of Roaring Twenties elegance, honoring its legacy as one of the last grand dame hotels on Cape Ann — once visited by Ralph Waldo Emerson himself. While enhancing the guest experience with updated rooms, adding more lounging areas with seaside views, polishing event spaces and insisting upon little welcoming details guests that the Inns guests now treasure. From the veranda overlooking the Atlantic to the historic parlor bar and locally inspired cuisine, every detail reflects a return to gracious, unhurried vacations by the sea.
Today, Kimberly is an active member of the Cape Ann tourism community, having served on the Board of the Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce for three years, and as a consistent member of the Cape Ann Tourism Council for more than 12 years. She is uses her background in technology to enable her engaging team to help craft timeless Cape Ann memories that include local art, music, and cuisine. By treating each visitor as a close friend, she and her team share a timeless New England hospitality experience on the rocky shores of Pigeon Cove- with the elegance and optimism of a new era.
When you stay with us, you’re not just booking a room — you’re becoming part of a story rooted in passion and perseverance.
Read more about the history of The Emerson Inn
See the North Shore Magazine's feature on the new ownership of the Inn.
Photo taken on February 9th, 2021 from the Parlor post signing the final purchasing paperwork.
