1. The Beach House Inn
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-3850
Address: 211 Beach Ave.
Description: Another luxury country inn owned by the talents behind the White Barn (they seem to be taking over), the Beach House gives them the beach site they never had. Kennebunk Beach is just across the way, and this place has the feel of an old beach cottage—if it were owned by your loaded grandfather. Supremely tasteful, with white-clapboards and a pretty porch, and its Pottery Barn-esque décor, the inn spares no comforts. Rooms came in a variety of sizes—”traditional” to suite—and some include whirlpools and magnificent views. The US Hotels group doesn’t do anything poorly, so you know you’re in good hands.
2. The Breakwater Inn And Spa
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-5333
Address: 127 Ocean Ave.
Description: Another in the mighty empire of the local US Hotels Group (the outfit behind the White Barn, the Beach House Inn, and the Yachtsman), the Breakwater is the inn of the future in Maine. It’s been in business for more than a century and a half, with the historic feel and seaside locale that visitors come to Maine for—check out that pebble beach. But it adds to that every comfort of a modern luxury inn. Accommodations run from the Inn rooms—with their sea tones and views—to the more contemporary Spa rooms to the waterside cottages. You won’t be disappointed in any of them.
3. The Cottages At Cabot Cove
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-5424, (877) 524-2004
Address: 7 South Maine St.
Description: No, this little inlet isn’t from the TV show Murder, She Wrote. The cottage campus hard by the shore of Chick’s Cove did take its name from the show, but don’t hold that against it. The 16 cottages here range from tasteful and traditional to great fun in a family-good-times-at-grandma’s-cottage-by-the-shore sort of way.. The April 2006 issue of Cottage Living magazine proclaimed them “the cutest cottages ever,” and one has to presume the magazine knows cottages. The grounds are fantastic with everything Mom, Dad, and the kids need for a week on the water—rowboats, canoes, badminton, croquet, horseshoes, a jungle gym, and a grill for cooking out. But you can also walk to Dock Square without too much difficulty.
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: 208 Ocean Ave.
5. Captain Jefferds Inn
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-2311 or (800) 839-68
Address: 5 Pearl St.
Description: We should all get wedding presents like this. This absolutely beautiful Federal was built in 1804 and given to Captain William Jefferds and his bride, Mary, by her father in 1805. It was converted into an inn in 1982 and has been lovingly restored by its current owners. There are 15 rooms, several of which—the Santa Fe, the Assisi, and the Chatham—outclass most everything else around. Many places claim to be decorated with antiques and reproductions, but the Captain Jefferds Inn truly is and puts them to fine, extremely tasteful use, placing four-posters just so on hardwood floors beneath high ceilings and before original fireplaces. Several rooms have claw-foot tubs or tile showers or even, in one case, a whiskey barrel whirlpool. Breakfasts draw raves. Highly recommended.
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: 140 Ocean Ave.
7. 1802 House Bed And Breakfast
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-5632 or (800) 932-56
Address: 15 Locke St.
Description: You could say that this classic 1802 colonial is away from all the action in Kennebunkport, but in this case that would be a very good thing. Rather than be in the midst of the madness that is Dock Square in summer, this graceful clapboard place feels more like a country inn, sequestered away in a residential neighborhood by the 15th fairway of the Cape Arundel Golf Course. The five guest rooms and single three-room suite here are all different, but each has a queen-size bed (most are four-posters), several have whirlpools, a couple have gas fireplaces, and some even have heated tile flooring. The Sebago suite has a private deck. Check out the big old beams in the house proper. The inn is open year-round.
8. Green Heron Inn
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-3315
Address: 126 Ocean Ave.
Description: One of the most pleasant things about a stay at the Green Heron Inn is that you get to wake up to breakfast here. It’s arguably the best in town. The 10 rooms in the inn are plenty cozy, though, not particularly fancy but with all the comforts you may want—from air-conditioning and private bath to TV. If you’re vacationing with your pet, you get a special room with its own entrance. Families like the little, two-bedroom cottage on the cove, which sleeps five and has a kitchenette and a tiny porch. The Green Heron is ideally located for exploring town because you can walk to both the beach and Dock Square. Open all year.
9. Kennebunkport Inn
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-2621 or (800) 248-26
Address: 1 Dock Sq.
Description: An imposing 1890s mansion in the heart of Dock Square, this sprawling old hotel has four different sections: the main house, the 1930s-era Riverhouse, the cottage-style Wharfside, and the 1980s Federal-style addition. Each of the 49 rooms offers something different, but all have private baths and are decorated with period antiques. (If you’re into history, you’ll appreciate the hallway downstairs where there are neat old photos of the inn and Kennebunkport.) All of the rooms, regardless of where they are, also have air-conditioning, phones, TVs, and Wi-Fi, and many have gas fireplaces and/or river views. From May through September you can take a dip in the pool and look out at the river; year-round you can dine in the Port Tavern and Grille, a steakhouse with a piano and bar.
10. Lodge At Turbat’S Creek
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-8700 or (877) 594-56
Address: 7 Turbat’s Creek Rd.
Description: A motel that’s just around a quiet corner from Dock Square, this 26-room hostelry has some surprisingly nice touches for what’s essentially a motor lodge. One example is the large, heated pool, another is the complimentary use of bicycles, which will get you quickly into town or to the beach without the hassle of using your car. Each room has a little deck, air-conditioning, cable TV, and Wi-Fi, and it is furnished with either one king-size or two double beds. Certain rooms are available to pet owners, with advance notice.
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: 34 Maine St.
12. Old Fort Inn
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 967-5353 or (800) 828-36
Address: Old Fort Rd.
Description: This 16-room inn on a quiet residential side street presents guests with an interesting scenario—it is far enough from the bustle to be serene and peaceful, sitting on 15 acres, yet it’s within walking distance of several good places to eat and even Dock Square, if you feel like strolling a bit. Very tasteful, very discreet, the former carriage house has all the comforts people have come to expect in a fine bed-and-breakfast—four-poster beds, whirlpool baths, heated pool, tennis courts, great morning eats—but it’s decorated with fine Victorian furnishings and has a relaxed feel.
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: Ocean Ave.
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: Goose Rocks Beach
City: Kennebunkport, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: 37 Beach Ave.