Issues → May/June 2009 → Travel → Lodging in New England: Yankee's Best →
Maine Lodging 2009
LODGING
Best Place for Pampering:
MORNING GLORY INN, York
Say hello to your new best friends in York, Bill and Bonnie Alstrom, innkeepers at the Morning Glory Inn. They'll open their home to you, cook your breakfast, advise on sightseeing and activities, and keep the garden blooming, all for your comfort and pleasure. This small inn began as a historic Cape house--and has the low ceilings to prove it--but has expanded, thanks to a towering great room and three delightful guestrooms. You're off the beaten, bustling beach path. Instead, you eat your breakfast buffet on your own private patio near the pines, or on the common terrace by the garden. What's that sound? Peace. Rates: from $155 or $185, depending on season, including full buffet breakfast. 120 Seabury Road. 207-363-2062; morninggloryinnmaine.com
Best Family Ties:
SEASIDE INN & COTTAGES, Kennebunk
Few folks in New England reside on land that's been in the family since the 1640s; fewer yet are 12th-generation innkeepers on the same plot (since 1667). Patricia Mason and her husband, Ken, now operate a 22-room motor inn and 10 cottages on the beachfront property where her ancestors lodged travelers before ferrying them across the mouth of the Kennebunk River. Rates: from $120, including continental breakfast. 80 Beach Ave. 800-967-4461, 207-967-4461; kennebunkbeach.com
Best Place to Find Some Peace:
FRANCISCAN GUEST HOUSE, Kennebunk
The decor is vintage 1970s, but you can't beat the location and perks for the price. Guests stay in a converted high school and outbuildings located on the grounds of a 200-acre Franciscan monastery bordering the Kennebunk River. Rates include a buffet breakfast and use of the saltwater pool; dinner is often available for a reasonable rate. Even better: It's a pleasant walk to either Dock Square or the beach, eliminating parking hassles. Rates: from $69. 26 Beach Ave. 207-967-4865; franciscanguesthouse.com
Best Place to Check Into History:
PENTAGOEET INN, Castine
Although now well off the beaten path, until 1820 the Brits, French, and Dutch fought over Castine's strategic location at the mouth of the Penobscot River, and historic markers recount those struggles. Borrow a bike from the Queen Anne-style Pentagoeet, an anomaly among the town's Federal and Greek Revival architectural gems, and explore the area. Afterwards, soak up world history via the portraits displayed in Passports Pub (onsite). Rates: from $115, including full breakfast. 26 Main St. 800-845-1701; pentagoet.com
Best Artsy B&B:
ULLIKANA BED AND BREAKFAST, Bar Harbor
Only the sculpture garden outside the Ullikana hints as to the color and riches inside. Owners Helene Harton and Roy Kasindorf have enlivened their Tudor-style inn with a playful mix of vibrant contemporary artwork and eclectic antiques. And then there's the location. It's downtown, but tucked out of sight, between Main Street and the Shore Path. Rates: from $125, including full breakfast. 16 The Field. 207-288-9552; ullikana.com
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