Auberge on the Cove — Hotel in Ogunquit

Le Riverside Motel est un endroit propre et ordonné à Ogunquit, dans le Maine. Le personnel accueillant donne un excellent service et le terrain très bien soigné est idéal pour laisser s’écouler un calme après-midi. Les installations sont bien entretenues et les chambres sont spacieuses et confortables.||||Il faut concéder que le Riverside Motel est un peu à l’écart du village d’Ogunquit proprement dit ; blotti dans le tranquille Perkins Cove tout à côté. Comme le nom l’indique, le motel est situé sur la rive d’une crique où une petite flotte de bateaux de pêche aux homards vient se réfugier. On s’éveille aux chants paresseux des mouettes et aux calmes préparatifs des pêcheurs qui s’apprêtent à partir en mer. Si cela n’est pas la meilleure façon de s’éveiller, nous ne saurions en trouver une autre. Et si cela n’est pas la meilleure raison pour choisir le Riverside, nous ne pourrions en suggérer une autre non plus.||||On pourrait imaginer que le village miniature de l’autre côté du pont piétonnier est sorti d’un roman d’Herman Melville. Vous y trouverez de petites boutiques et deux des meilleurs endroits – côte-à-côte sur le quai – où déguster le fameux lobster roll de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Nous avons, bien sûr, notre préférence ; le Lobster Shack évoque Melville à nouveau et propose l’expérience de s’assoir devant un solide repas, au coude-à-coude avec un compagnon de table peut être plus tellement marin. Tout cela, dans la bonne humeur.||||La plage est plus loin sur la route quittant le « village ». On pourrait s’embarquer sur le trolley-bus, mais par belle journée, l’embouteillage est infernal et il serait préférable d’y aller à pied pour découvrir des endroits pittoresques et d’autres boutiques chemin faisant. Une flânerie d’une quinzaine de minutes – nous sommes en vacances, quand même – devrait suffire. À moins que vous n’empruntiez le spectaculaire Marginal Way qui se trouve aussi de ce côté de la crique. Un peu plus exigeant, mais la côte rocheuse vous récompensera pour les minutes supplémentaires.||||Il est peut être possible de trouver un endroit « mieux situé » ou offrant « une meilleure vue sur l’océan ». Ces promesses de vues sur l’océan peuvent être trompeuses si l’on est pas prêt à réserver deux ans à l’avance ou que l’on ne voit aucun inconvénient à payer des tarifs souvent extravagants. Nous en avons essayé quelques-uns. À notre avis, le Riverside est un établissement très fiable et représente un intéressant rapport qualité-prix. Nous le recommandons chaudement.||||The Riverside Motel is a neat and tidy place in Ogunquit, Maine. The friendly staff gives an excellent service and the grounds are well-tended and a fine place to loaf on a lazy afternoon. Everything is well cared for and the rooms are spacious and confortable. ||||Granted, the Riverside Motel is a bit out of the way of Ogunquit proper; nestled in nearby quiet Perkins Cove. As the name indicates, the motel is right by a cove where a little fleet of lobstering boats are harboring. One wakes up in the morning to the lazy calls of the gulls and the quiet bustle of the fishermen getting ready to go to sea. If THAT is not the loveliest way to wake up, we couldn’t possibly know what is. And if THAT is not a lovely reason to choose the Riverside, we wouldn’t know what else to suggest.||||One could imagine the pocket size village over on the other side of the footbridge as, perhaps, a fishing village out of a Herman Melville novel. This is where you will find little shops and two of the best places – side by side on the dock – to sample the famed New England lobster roll. We do have our preference; the Lobster Shack is out of Melville yet again and is very much worth the experience of sitting down to a hearty meal, knocking elbows with a maybe-not-quite-seafaring table companion. All in good cheer.||||The beach is up the road that leaves from the « village ». One could take the trolley, but on a busy day, the traffic is infernal and it would be a far better idea to walk there, discovering interesting places and more shops along the way. Ten to fifteen minutes at a leisurely pace – one is vacationing after all – will get you there. Or you could choose the spectacular Marginal Way which is also on that side of the cove. A bit more challenging, but the rocky coast makes it worth the extra minutes.||||It is possible that one could find a « better situated venue » , or with a « better view of the ocean ». Those advertised views are somewhat misleading if you are not willing to book a room two years ahead of time or do not mind paying the extra(vagant) cost. We have tried out a couple other places. In our mind, the Riverside is a reliable resort with the most interesting quality vs price value. Warmly...

Lots of small negative things add up to an overall not very good experience.

The good:

Rooms were mostly clean. Bed was very clean. The location is fantastic. There's plenty of parking. Friendly staff during checkout

The bad:

Unwelcoming and borderline rude staff during check-in. She gave us a series of do this do that orders, then got us out of the way. When we arrived, in the early afternoon, they had already charged my booking guarantee card without my authorization, so we couldn't split the bill for our two rooms. Rooms were small (but at least not tiny). The beds are much shorter than normal beds, so being 6'2 I didn't fit in them. The restroom door was loose, and didn't close. Found pubic hairs on the heater in the restroom. Found squashed mosquitoes on the roof. AC was so noisy we couldn't use it. The vending machine had no bottled water, and lacked several items (but can't tell that items are unavailable until you've already paid). No breakfast available. They of course claimed that this was due to COVID, but given that none of the staff ever masked up I think they're not all that worried, and instead saw a chance to save some money by providing subpar service. All other hotels on our trip in the area had no issue offering breakfast.

Overall, too many small things not done right. Will not return...

We stayed here after having driven by many times and commenting that we should book a room at this spot. The location is PRIME, the view of the cove is perfection and we loved being close enough to walk to restaurants and the Marginal Way (can’t recommend MC Perkins in the Cove more highly, the food was phenomenal).

The room was beautiful. The balcony was a fantastic spot to sit and have a drink. The whole place was very clean and the shower was delightful, as well.

We drove our 1960 f100 here and for the first time ever, it refused to start the day after we arrived. The manager, James, took pity on us after we asked about taxi services (there are none in the off season), and called someone in to cover the end of his shift so he could personally ferry us to the auto parts store in York. If that’s not 12/10 customer service, I don’t know what is. Thanks to James’ taxi service, we were able to get the truck started the next day.

I will end this review with complete honesty and say that if you like firm beds, you will love the beds here. If you’re like me and like something a little softer, you might be a bit disappointed. STILL, overall, giving this...