Grand Harbor Inn — Hotel in Camden

To break up the drive from Portland to Bar Harbor, we chose an overnight stay here in the scenic and charming town of Camden. Originally, this trip was supposed to be a couples trip where I wanted to splurge and treat my wife to a luxurious waterfront hotel, but we ended up changing our plans by taking our teenaged son along with us. I booked our Waterfront Deluxe King room for a Tuesday in July back in March for $620.21 for one night ($569 rate plus $51.21 added with the 9% Maine State Lodging Tax). A 50% deposit was due at the time of the reservation. When we contacted the inn closer to our arrival to inform them that our son would also be staying with us, we had to pay an extra $54.50 for a grand total of $674.71. I wasn't happy with that rate increase policy, especially since we didn't ask for anything that wasn't already in the room from a two-person stay. If we were staying there two months before we did, it would have only been $35/night for our son. Too funny. Here's another policy: two dogs are welcomed at the same $50/dog/night fee. The $569/night price I mentioned is the standard two-guest rate during the peak season from June through October. It is much less expensive at all other times of the year where the fireplace may had been prudent for use.||Inside the room we found a comfortable California King bed with a plush top mattress and down pillows, full size sofa sleeper, leather chair and ottoman, desk and chair, gas fireplace, TV, mini-fridge, microwave oven, Keurig, safe, and bathrobes. The bathroom had a two-sink vanity, toilet, marble and glass enclosed shower with rain shower and body jets, and a separate Jacuzzi tub. The room included Wi-Fi and a private balcony overlooking the Camden Harbor. One of the special perks that we enjoyed here was the in-room breakfast served between 7:30am - 10am at the desired time of our choosing. After making all our selections on the provided breakfast card, we hung it outside of the room door in the evening. At 8:30am, we were delivered a couple trays that included orange juice, Carrabassett Valley coffee with cream and sugar, blueberry and chocolate chip muffins, yogurt and granola parfait that came topped with an assortment of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, and a chef's choice egg entree that reminded us of a quiche. All of the food and beverages we got were both fresh and delicious.||Check-in time: 3pm; Check-out time: 11am. Parking was FREE but was a little challenging. When I first drove down the narrow alley, I wasn't able to find any available parking spots. Luckily, one of the four limited 2-hour parking spaces along Bay View Street was available. After I walked down to the hotel to ask about parking, I was provided a parking permit and was shown a reserved parking space that they had blocked off by cones for us to use in the lot right in front. They had an elevator in the hotel. This intimate, boutique inn provided us with nothing but exceptional service throughout our memorable stay. It was easiest the best place we stayed at out of all three of the lodging accommodations during our trip to Maine. You get what you pay for and that is...

There are so many great things about this hotel that it's hard to know where to start. We stayed here on a whim and walked in to book a room. Our room (which I believe is one of - or even - their least expensive) was lovely. An incredibly comfortable king bed, with two - also incredibly comfortable - leather armchairs, a fireplace, TV with Apple TV, large bathroom with a luxurious multi-spray shower, and a balcony with a table, chairs and view of the harbor. It made me almost wish for inclement weather and the excuse to turn on the fire and spend the day in those chairs reading. The staff here is very friendly and accommodating. They definitely make you feel welcome. The hotel also includes a free breakfast (delivered to your room!) and it's wonderful. You make your selection the night before (including the time when you want it delivered) and leave the tag on your door to be collected. Everything was hot (if meant to be), super fresh, and delicious. We especially appreciated the entire carafe of coffee. Its location can't be beat. It's right in the center of town, close to everything. Parking is free (or at least it was for us when visiting in November). Finally, it's always the little things that catch my attention. They're little in that they probably don't cost an establishment much to offer, but yet so few do. The Grand Harbor Inn offers them ALL. For instance, the bathroom includes all the expected toiletries, but goes a step further by including a shower cap, q-tips, a nail file and cotton balls. Of course there is an ice bucket, but they also leave you a large bottle of water (free) and -again- they go a step further and also include a wine opener. Do any of these offerings cost the hotel much? Probably not, but then why don't they ALL offer such nice touches? So it's these little things that I always notice and what made me so impressed with Grand Harbor Inn. It's clear that they've really thought about their guests and how to make them feel comfortable and cared for. We will absolutely return to this hotel the next time we're...

My wife and I stayed here for four nights in the 2023 off-season (end of February, beginning of March). Overall would highly recommend it to anyone considering a place to stay in Camden.

The view from the room (we opted for a "Waterfront Grand Suite King") was fantastic: sliding doors facing the harbor, and windows on the adjacent wall facing Mt Battie. Great natural light. The bedding was very comfortable, loved the bathroom standup shower and heat, and everything was clean and well kept. Our only issue was that the gas fireplace was a bit finicky - sometimes it would start up immediately, other times it just wouldn't come until we tried multiple times over 15 or 20 minutes . Not a huge deal, but really the only thing we noticed that could have been improved.

A number of excellent restaurants, shops, and galleries within a 5-10 minute walk. The bar at 16 Bay View (Grand Harbor Inn's sister property) is where our included breakfast was hosted each morning, and we stopped on two evenings for cocktails before dinner. Cocktails were excellent - well balanced and reasonably priced. The breakfast was fine, but we did find that the hot food was lukewarm by 9am each morning (the heat lamps were inadequate, and there was one chaffing dish out each morning, but they didn't use a sterno can to actually generate heat). Given that it was the off-season and hardly anyone staying on property, I think this was probably not typical of how they function, but again thought it...