1. The Belmont
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-8053 or (800) 238-80
Address: 6 Belmont St.
Description: A charming Edwardian inn on a quiet side street in Camden, this place has been providing lodging since the 1920s. Its six guest rooms are just perfect, with nice amenities like gas stoves, window seats, and views of Mount Battie. Try the Jo Spiller room with its big mahogany sleigh bed, loveseat, and Oriental rug. Rates include a full breakfast.
2. Camden Harbour Inn
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-4200 or (800) 236-42
Address: 83 Bayview St.
Description: Built in 1874, this big white inn commands one of the best views in town, set on a hill looking out across both the harbor and the mountains. There are 14 guest rooms, three suites, and a junior suite here on three floors, and they’re very tastefully furnished. Many feature fireplaces, patios, or decks, and all have private baths, TVs, phones, and dataports. The porch is instantly relaxing and the views to the bay and the mountains are extraordinary. Natalie’s, the inn’s French dining room, is an area favorite.
3. Hartstone Inn
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-4259 or (800) 788-48
Address: 41 Elm St.
Description: The dining room here draws raves, and the same attention to detail that makes it exceptional goes into the inn’s 14 rooms. Each of the guest quarters in the 1835 Mansard-style showplace is air-conditioned and furnished with heirlooms and antiques. Claw-foot tubs, down comforters, fresh flowers, rich colors, woodstoves, and chocolate truffles all make it a step up from your average B&B. Located a half block from the Hartstone proper is the new Hideway, seven more rooms in a neighboring white clapboard home. Breakfast is good, and the afternoon cookies are nice. Spring for a package that includes dinner. Open year-round.
4. Lord Camden Inn
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-4325 or (800) 336-43
Address: 24 Main St.
Description: This downtown favorite is a unique place with four floors of rooms upstairs above Main Street storefronts. It manages to do a nice job, though, of making people comfortable in nontraditional rooms among the hurly-burly. All rooms have air-conditioning, private baths, phones, and Wi-Fi, and several have big balconies. Whichever one you choose, you can give yourself an instant upgrade by laying down a bit more scratch for the “in-room extras,” which are gift baskets. (Wine and cheese, spa essentials, and champagne and chocolate are the themes for the $59-75 goodies.) You can’t get any closer to downtown.
5. Maine Stay
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-9636
Address: 22 High St.
Description: The Maine Stay has been the very definition of a bed-and-breakfast in Camden for years. The Greek Revival house is in relatively new hands now, but it remains a gem, the second oldest of all of the 66 homes in its National Register of Historic Places district. Built in 1802, the inn has eight bright and airy rooms, each with its own bath and decorating scheme. The Smith-Robson Room has an antique brass bed and was named in honor of the inn’s previous owners, who became well known for their hospitality. The two acres of grounds, with their blooming gardens, are pleasant to wander, and it’s an easy walk into town. You’d have a hard time finding a better B&B for miles.
6. Norumbega Inn
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 236-4646
Address: 63 High St.
Description: Europeans traveled up the Penobscot River in the 16th century looking for the mythical city of Norumbega, a place of gold and luxury. Today travelers drive up Route 1 along Penobscot Bay to lay their heads at Norumbega, where they’ll certainly pay a lot. The original owner of this big stone showplace traveled throughout Europe researching castle design, and he incorporated his favorite elements. There’s no question that the 1886 inn is striking and beautiful, but its 12 rooms and suites are awfully expensive for what you get. Still, it’s pleasant just to get inside this landmark to see the fancy design. Guest quarters have private baths, TVs, and phones, and they come furnished with antiques. A full breakfast is included in the price of the room.
City: Camden, ME
Category: Accommodations
Address: 52 High St.