{"id":10502,"date":"2015-03-27T13:14:17","date_gmt":"2015-03-27T17:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10502"},"modified":"2015-03-27T13:14:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-27T17:14:17","slug":"extremes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/extremes\/","title":{"rendered":"Extremes"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Of hospitality\u2013from the vast to the intimate.<\/h3>\n

By Kelsey Harrison<\/p>\n

\"Extremes-APR15\"<\/a>To get a feel for Maine\u2019s resorts, why not use a stadimeter as well as a microscope to discover the very largest and very smallest? In the simplest terms, which five Maine hotels have the most guest rooms?<\/p>\n

Bar Harbor Regency<\/strong><\/p>\n

With 278 guest rooms, the Holiday Inn Resort Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, also known as the Bar Harbor Regency, is the largest hotel in the Pine Tree state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi, putting green, lighted tennis courts, fitness room, and free local transportation on the Island Explorer,\u201d says general manager Eben Salvatore. There\u2019s a gated marina in Frenchman\u2019s Bay. On-site restaurants are\u00a0 La Bella Vita with fancy Italian and a Stewman\u2019s Lobster Pound for the shore dinner experience.<\/p>\n

800-234-6835, barharborregency.com<\/p>\n

Anchorage Inn, York Beach<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur outdoor pool is located directly on Long Sands Beach with a view of Nubble Lighthouse,\u201d says Caitlynn Ramsey. \u201cWe\u2019re family oriented,\u201d and quite near York\u2019s Wild Kingdom and Kittery Premium Outlets. \u201cRoom prices depend on the date range, but in-season August rates range from $207 to $605 per night plus tax.\u201d There are 202 rooms, suites, and lofts here; two indoor pools, a whirlpool spa; a children\u2019s pool; and a fitness center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most popular entrees at our Sun & Surf Restaurant are Maine boiled lobster, baked stuffed lobster with seafood stuffing, and a surf & turf of lobster and steak.\u201d<\/p>\n

363-5112, anchorageinn.com<\/p>\n

Harborside Hotel, Spa & Marina, Bar Harbor<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the only four-diamond [hotel in the area] directly on the water with a private beach,\u201d says general manager Chris Torrey. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a marina connected to the property. You can have brick-oven flatbread pizza delivered hot to your yacht, where you overlook the Porcupine Islands in Mt. Desert Narrows.\u201d There are 193 guest rooms here, a heated pool, hot tub, lighted tennis courts, fitness center, and full-service spa.<\/p>\n

“The historic Bar Harbor Club is part of Harborside, where all the events and weddings are held, overlooking Frenchman\u2019s Bay. We have our own shopping village\u2013quaint little shops. They lead to our pound, Stewman\u2019s Lobster Pound.\u201d And if you want to be out on the bay: \u201cWe\u2019re also partners with the Bar Harbor Whale Watch company, a few steps from the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Bella Vita serves a rustic stew of Maine lobster and seafood with grilled ciabatta and saffron rouille. \u201cMy favorites are the two-pound, butter-poached jumbo Maine lobster and the brick oven pizzettes,\u201d says Torrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a rustic Italian hand-cut pasta dish, Pappardelle Farnese,\u201d says executive chef Ryan Phillips. \u201cWe braise short ribs with Barolo wine, wild mushrooms, and veal stock to make a ragu for the pasta, and we finish the dish with unfiltered olive oil and shaved pecorino.\u201d<\/p>\n

288-5033, harborsidehotel.com<\/p>\n

Samoset Resort, Rockport<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur resort overlooks Rockland Lighthouse on Penobscot Bay and the 18-hole golf course is championship level,\u201d says Cornelius \u201cConnie\u201d Russell, general manager. The links attract celebrity athletes. \u201cWe\u2019ve had Bobby Orr, K.C. Jones, Pat Riley, Tommy Lasorda, and Ted Williams as guests. Also John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Stephen King, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Joe Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here you\u2019ll find 178 guest rooms,\u00a0 indoor and outdoor pools; a full-service spa; and an \u2018Ultimate Back Yard\u2019 with on-site Samoset Kids Club, offering morning and evening hours of child supervision. There are tennis and volleyball courts and a nine-hole disc golf course. The resort is in the same OPAL Collection of hotels as the Harborside.<\/p>\n

La Bella Vita is the on-site restaurant headed by executive chef Tim Pierce; there\u2019s also an Enoteca Lounge, and a Clubhouse Grille.<\/p>\n

594-2511, samosetresort.com<\/p>\n

Cliff House Resort & Spa, Ogunquit<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe views are fantastic,\u201d says general manager Gerard Kiladjian. \u201cEvery room [there are 166] has an ocean view\u2013our guests leave their balcony doors open at night so they can hear the waves crashing on the rocks. And the views get even better in bad weather!\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re perched on the edge of Bald Head Cliff on 70 oceanfront acres with two indoor and two outdoor pools; two hot tubs; fitness center; tennis courts; full-service spa; and a 150-seat amphitheater. Rates range from $150 in the off-season to $415 in peak season for a Spa room.<\/p>\n

The spa experience is a specialty. \u201cOur Spa rooms are the best, with a fireplace in every room,\u201d says Kiladjian. Guests may opt for treatments in the spa or schedule an in-room massage.\u00a0 Dine at the Cliff House Restaurant and Ocean Terrace Lounge, or head into Ogunquit and explore.<\/p>\n

361-1000, cliffhousemaine.com<\/p>\n

Wait a second. Shouldn\u2019t there be extra credit for cute and cozy? Let\u2019s look at three boutique hotels that are among the tiniest in the state.<\/p>\n

Belfast Bay Inn, Belfast<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the start of our sixth season,\u201d says Judy Hemmingsen, who owns and operates the handsome in-town Belfast Bay Inn with her husband Eddie. \u201cWe really love this building. We spent two-and-a-half years renovating it and turning it into a hotel.\u201d The six suites and two rooms are furnished with Sterns & Foster \u2018pillow-top\u2019 king beds, Bose radios, flat-screens, and WiFi; stays include breakfast served in-suite and optional massage services.<\/p>\n

“In summer, we serve breakfast in the courtyard\u2013guests love this. We make all the breakfasts\u2013we use local yogurt and farm eggs, and we have a baker for our breads, muffins, and scones. We do tremendous repeat business. When we first got here, a lot of the storefronts in town were empty. Now they\u2019re all full with a great mix of shops and galleries. And we\u2019re a two-minute walk to the town pier and the new walk that goes along the entire 1.1-mile length of Belfast Harbor. Guests usually start their day with a run or walk there. It passes through Front Street Shipyard, and there are fabulous yachts there in the summer.\u201d Accommodations run $258 to $398 during peak season, but spring and Mother\u2019s Day packages are available through May 21 starting at $178.<\/p>\n

338-5600 belfastbayinn.com<\/p>\n

The Pomegranate Inn, Portland<\/strong><\/p>\n

Innkeepers Steve Spampinato and Kaitie Welch run the inn, which is in the Lark hotel group (other Larks can be found in Camden, Kennebunkport, Portsmouth, Newport, and Nantucket). \u201cWe serve a three-course breakfast, all made in-house\u2013a fruit course, then pastry, and then something like an egg dish. Kaitie is really quite talented.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rooms appear to have the most fanciful wallpaper. But in fact, \u201cthe walls are all hand-painted by various artists,\u201d says Steve. \u201cThere\u2019s so much art here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re open year-round, so we see repeat guests. We get a surprising number of guests from Texas, and from England, for some reason. But the majority of our people come from Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eight guest rooms (including 1 suite). Rates, depending on timing, range from $149 to $399.<\/p>\n

772-1006, pomegranateinn.com<\/p>\n

Blair Hill Inn, Greenville<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s worth <\/em>the trip,\u201d says innkeeper Ruth McLaughlin, who with husband Dan has owned and operated Blair Hill Inn for 18 years. \u201cThe sun\u2019s out today, and I can see from Canada to Sugarloaf.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hotel overlooks Moosehead Lake; amenities include complimentary breakfast and in-room spa services. There are gardens, a greenhouse; and a catch-and-release trout pond on the grounds.<\/p>\n

Blair Hill is open from mid-May to the end of October. \u201cOur guests come for the beauty, and they come from all over\u2013England, France, Norway, Australia, Israel. We had two women walk in once\u2013as soon as you walk into the inn the lake is right there <\/em>in front of you\u2013and one of them said, \u2018Oh! I feel so ashamed!\u2019 I ask her what on Earth for<\/em>, and she said, \u2018We live in southern Maine and we had no idea<\/em> how beautiful it is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur guests like to hike; kayak; canoe; and take seaplane tours, pontoon boat cruises, and cruises on the historic Katahdin<\/em> steamboat. Moosehead is the largest lake east of the Mississippi that\u2019s contained within one state.\u201d The inn contains a fine-dining restaurant that opens in mid-June and welcomes the public Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.<\/p>\n

There are 8 guest rooms, 9 starting in July; $325 to $475 per night.<\/p>\n

695-0224, blairhill.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 2015
\nOf hospitality\u2013from the vast to the intimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-10502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-april-2015"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10502"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10530,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10502\/revisions\/10530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}