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Lodging in Maine: Sea Lullabies

12 Places in Maine to Sleep by the Ocean

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Tags: inns, ocean, seashore

Places: me

By Wayne Curtis and Christina Tree

At these Maine properties, let the sound of the waves coax you to sleep and inspire your dreams.

The Cliff House Resort and Spa

The Cliff House looks more like a cruise ship improbably beached on a rocky outcropping than one of the oldest family-owned resorts in the East. What hasn't changed since 1872 is the view. The ocean, stretching to and across the horizon, is center stage in all 194 rooms, each with its own balcony. Spa facilities include a heated clifftop pool with a "vanishing edge," creating the illusion that you're swimming out to sea. [DETAILS]

Dockside Guest Quarters

You'd expect to drive hundreds of miles farther along the Maine coast to find this kind of gracious, family-owned inn right on the water. Innkeeper Eric Lusty, a licensed sea captain, offers harbor tours to guests, many of whom also take out the inn's Boston whaler or explore the tidal York River in kayaks. Five rooms overlook the water from The Maine House, an 1891 home in which guests congregate for a hearty, buffet-style breakfast and plan their days. Five contemporary cottages, with rooms, suites, and a few full condo-style units, hug the shore. [DETAILS]

Tidewater Motel

The Tidewater is built on the pilings of an old bridge that once crossed an inlet to the harbor. The tides come and go, twice a day. So you're not imagining the harbor's dark waters swirling and eddying beneath your balcony—they are. The rooms are basic, but you'll enjoy the sounds of the tides at night and the other harbor sounds come morning: gulls and lobster boats and lobstermen shouting ribaldries at one another in the dawn light. [DETAILS]

Maine Windjammer Association

The Maine Windjammer Fleet consists of 12 ships, and while all are different, they all follow the same schedule, one dictated by the tides and the breezes. Once you pull away from the dock, it's up to the captain, the wind, and the weather to set your destination. Accommodations vary from ship to ship—from nearly luxurious and private to a youth-hostel-like spareness. But the operative word among all is "cozy"; you awaken as if in a cocoon, rocked by the sea. [DETAILS]

Hermit Island

For those who object to even a pane of glass getting between themselves and the sound of the surf, Hermit Island is the place to be. It's one of Maine's most striking campgrounds, with 275 sites spread across 255 acres of island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. [DETAILS]

Keeper's House Inn and Cottage Rental

You can recapture sensibility at the Keeper's House, adjacent to a lovely lighthouse, with just one guest room and two cottages. The owners note they have "no television, no fax, no e-mail, no Internet"—a list that falls somewhere between disclaimer and boast. The meals, which are included in the rate, are delicious, simple fare. And the soundtrack, always on, is that of the ocean persistently coaxing the island into sand. [DETAILS]

Inn by the Sea

These 43 spacious suites, cottages, and beach houses all have ocean views (some better than others), kitchens, and porches (some shared). This inn isn't smack on the water—you can't fish from your window. In some ways, that makes it all the more inviting; you have to stroll a couple hundred yards down a boardwalk to reach a lovely sandy beach. [DETAILS]

Eighth Maine Guest House

This quirky, old-fashioned coastal guest house was established in 1891 as a place where members of the 8th Maine Volunteer Regiment, veterans of the Civil War, could hold reunions. Rooms here are furnished like Grandmother's house, if you had the sort of grandmother who never threw anything away. Some guest rooms sit right along the rocky shore; expect the early sunrise to come glinting into your room before you're ready. That's OK, since there's plenty to do on a long island day. [DETAILS]

Driftwood Inn

The Driftwood is "Maine rustic," once understood to mean naturally air-conditioned, with shared living rooms heated by fireplaces (there are also electric heaters), and guest rooms with shared and half baths (some are now private). Breakfast and dinner (BYOB) are served in a pine-walled, multiwindowed dining room at time-polished tables. A saltwater pool is tucked into rocks above a sheltered cove. [DETAILS]

Gosnold Arms

Gosnold Arms has been an inn since 1925, rambling along the water with ample rainy-day space and 10 guest rooms upstairs, eight with water views. Many of the 20 cottage units overlook the water; six are smack-dab on the harbor. There's an informal, caring feel to this place, owned by the Phinney family for three decades. Pemaquid Beach and Pemaquid Light are an easy bike ride away. [DETAILS]

Shining Sails Bed and Breakfast

Shining Sails remains a prime vantage point from which to watch all comings and goings at this island harbor. John and Winnie Murdock have even improved the view for guests, adding picture windows and decks. After a day of hiking Monhegan's sheer cliffs, it doesn't get better than consuming steaming lobsters, watching the sun set and the sky fill with stars, and picking out the beam from Pemaquid Lighthouse on the mainland. [DETAILS]

Shore Oaks Seaside Inn at Oakland House Seaside Resort

Shore Oaks commands the wide sweep of Eggemoggin Reach, a watery thoroughfare between Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Isle. Often you'll see dolphins and seals, best viewed from the gazebo, suspended like a bowsprit above the water. The interior design is Arts and Crafts style, furnished comfortably in Mission oak. Rooms vary: Princely Room 7 has six windows and a working fireplace, but some of the longest views are from the third-floor rooms with shared baths. [DETAILS]