Issues → July/August 2007 → Travel →
Lodging in Maine: Sea Lullabies
12 Places in Maine to Sleep by the Ocean
By Wayne Curtis and Christina Tree
At these Maine properties, let the sound of the waves coax you to sleep and inspire your dreams.
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]
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