The Mercury — Hotel in Portland

I consider myself to be lucky enough to have stayed at the Mercury Inn pre and post renovation and I have to tell you, it was great then, but it is an even better stay now. All the elements that made the Mercury Inn perfect are still there - the phenomenal breakfasts (the yogurt is out of this world, and so are the locally sourced, home baked goods), the well appointed, cozy rooms with the most comfortable bedding and pillows, and most importantly, the most gracious hosts - Tim and Jake. ||||This time around, the rooms are now all suites, with a separate bedroom with ensuite bath (with excellent water pressure and hot water and eco friendly products) and comfortable living room, all with beautiful finishes and styling - the perfect place to rest and recharge or to just curl up with a book and cup of tea when Portland weather decides to throw you a rainy curveball. Wifi was fast. Check in was also extremely easy and contactless.||||I had the pleasure of staying in suites 3 & 4, both on the top floor, and towards the side/back of the house - both were quiet and were exactly what I was looking for in a quintessential B&B stay. Since they are on the top floor, there are areas that do have slanted ceilings however I did not have an issue with mobility nor did it affect my stay.||||Each floor has a kitchenette, where breakfast is served, and where one can get coffee/tea throughout the day or just lounge, there is also space in the fridge to store take out/leftovers, farmer's market finds, etc. ||||The location is also ideal and convenient, close enough to all the sites, but slightly off the beaten path on a residential street - it is a short walk away to downtown/arts district and Congress Ave, and about a 20 minute walk to Old Port. There is parking that comes with some of the suites if you need off street parking, but on street parking appears to be plentiful as well. For those who fly in, it's a quick, 10 minute drive from the airport.||||Tim and Jake are also spot on with their restaurant recommendations if you're at a loss! They've got the insider knowledge (not everything that's good is going to show up on yelp!) and will tailer their recommendations to your preferences. ||||A word of note - this B&B is a house with stairs - if bringing up your luggage 2 flights of stairs might be difficult, consider booking a 2nd floor suite (1 & 2).||||As a person who likes to support local small businesses as much as possible, both at home and when I travel, why have a cookie cutter, unmemorable stay at a hotel chain when you can have the most wonderful B&B experience at the Mercury Inn? I am so so glad that I was able to stay here during my time in Portland, thank you again, Tim and Jake! Looking forward to...

Breakfasts are great (another vote for the Greek yogurt with maple syrup and the local baked goods); the kitchen area on the third floor is large and airy and has a good view of the tree-lined street, with a full-size "Smeg" refrigerator that has a dedicated shelf for each Suite. PB&J fixings are provided at breakfast, should you want to make something to take with you. Check-in and check-out are easy and contactless. Location is sufficiently convenient to Congress and Commercial (we walked the approximately 13 blocks down to the Old Port with no problem in the August heat). Access from and to 295 is super easy; on-street parking was never difficult (we parked in the nearby park on a Friday night without issue and there were tons of spaces--otherwise, we parked in front or around the corner). Getting down to Cape Elizabeth was simple, too, as State street leads right down to the bridge to South Portland. The building has lots of funky charm. Yes, Suite 4 has a smallish bedroom with only about a foot of space on the left side of the bed (watch the toes and shins), but the queen was fine for this couple in their 50's, and the "living room" is large, albeit with a sloping ceiling on one side (3rd floor...which means stairs, of course). The bathroom is large as well, although the hot water can take a bit to get started. Rooms are only made up on request--which we didn't ask for--and you bus your own kitchen items. The A/C worked well in 90F weather. The only "view" is the small backyard--the other windows face out on the roof of the house next door--but that didn't matter to us. The front door, the door to the hallway on each floor, and each room all have keycode locks, so security is good. We had no issues with noise--Suite 3 kept to themselves and were quiet, and street noise was minor. The hosts are friendly and were quick to respond to our calls and texts. Most importantly, they had an available room at the last minute for a reasonable price relative to the sky-high prices of 2022. A pleasurable stay with...

My partner and I spent two nights in Suite #4 at the Mercury Inn. The room was large and nicely decorated, with a large bathroom. Parking was not included with this room, but easy to find on the street right outside. The location of the B&B is great and we could easily walk to any restaurant and bar.

Truthfully, the stay felt a little cold and impersonal. We understand the owners aren't always onsite, but we didn't get to see anyone during our stay. Entry is done via smartlock and there are cameras throughout the house and hallways so they know when guests come and go and where they are... but it felt a bit strange to always feel like someone could be watching. My partner and I like to stay at B&B's because we like the human interaction, and it would have been nice if the owners made the effort to meet with their guests at least once. Showing up for breakfast or when we leave to simply ask how our stay is going would have been nice.

We were also quite disappointed by the breakfast. Their website does mention "a light continental breakfast," but this was VERY light. The website bios talk about how one owner enjoys the culinary aspect of running a B&B and older reviews talk about grits and maple yogurt... However, all that was offered were coffee, tea, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, pre-packed overnight oats, and some snacks. You can see by the photos that there wasn't even bread (although they did have peanut butter, jam, and butter in the fridge).

Overall, the house is nice and so are the rooms, but this didn't feel like a B&B experience. It feels like the owners have been doing this for a while and aren't focused on hospitality or making it a welcoming and warm stay for...