NWR: Suggest place to stay in Maine?

KatelynnRose

We're going away Labor Day weekend with another couple (yes, I know...a little late to plan now) and were thinking of going to Maine, possible the Old Orchard Beach area. Can anyone recommend a place to stay and/or things to do in that area or another area in Maine to stay? TIA!!

october010bride

Southern Maine is FANTASTIC! I love love love the beaches, the shops and the restaurants. Old Orchard beach is in between Wells, Ogunquit, and Kennebunkport. As well, the Kittery Outlets are before these towns coming off of the highway. All of these towns are pretty much with in 15 minutes of eachother so no matter where you stay, you'll be close to everything. The problem is, the traffic. It can be terrible during the summer and annoying to get around. I recommend staying as close to Ogunquit as possible. There are some great hotels near the beach but they are costly during the summer. gunquit has trolleys so you can avoid the beach traffic and get around to all of the adorable stuff. There's Perkins Cove, the Marginal Way, and tons of cute places to eat and drink. If you check on ortibz or one of the other sites, you might be able to find some great deals.  If you don't mind being about 15 minutes away from the beach and closer to Kennebunkport, the Kennebunk Inn is very nice, affordable and historic. They also have an awesome restaurant attached to the inn called Academe. hth! 

alimcjohnson

Depending how much you want to spend, near Old Orchard I would stay either at the Black Point Inn (Scarborough) or the Inn by the Sea (Cape Elizabeth) (both $$$) or the Holiday House (Scarborough - $).  All of those places are right on the water.  I would avoid staying right in Old Orchard, as Old Orchard center really isn't that nice.  The Holiday House is just a regular motel type of place, but it's clean and inexpensive and right on a great beach - about a mile from the center of Old Orchard and an easy drive to Portland.  Inn by the Sea and Black Point are right on the water (though not the same swimming beach as Holiday House) and are both gorgeous.  There are tons of great bars, restaurants, stores and art galleries in Portland, so I would definitely recommend doing that for a day.  Have fun!

tinydancer5785

Do NOT stay in York...I repeat do not stay in York. FI and I just went for a little get a way. It was terrible. There was nothing to do, and the beach there was terrible. Go to Portland or Scarborough the beaches in Scarborough are beautiful! Have fun

october010bride

Me again... I feel like a Maine expert since I go there so often  :)So here's the thing about Maine.. where ever you go it can be boring or awesome, you just need to research. I second going to Portland for an afternoon, its a lot of fun. I also recommend taking the brewery tour at Shipyard Beers. Its free and they give you lots of yummy samples at the end. York is fairly low key but since its right next to Ogunquit and there's so much to do there you can just drive to places. Anywhere along route 1 will be fun and the closer you try to get to the beach, the more expensive it will be. It's also very close to Labor Day so there might not be many options for you to choose from.

spuccio

It depends what you are looking for. Portland area (scarborough, cape elizabeth, etc) is more lively, with nightlife and all that jazz. Ogunquit is a resort town with beaches. If you like poking around a sweet little village, shops, restaurants, and some peace and quiet, I highly recommend boothbay area. There are a million adorable B & Bs to stay and boothbay harbor is beautiful. Have fun!

MDalto421

Freeport!