The Claremont Hotel — Hotel in Southwest Harbor

We just stayed at the Claremont for 3 nights after staying in Bar Harbor for the first 2 nights of our Maine trip. We had enjoyed the July 4th fireworks in Bar Harbor, as well as the wide selection of restaurants. However BH can get very busy and very touristy, so staying at The Claremont was a nice change of pace. We stayed in a premier King room in the Philips House 102P and had a lovely partial view of Somes Sound. We were very happy with our room, however the bathroom was pretty small, with one sink and zero storage / counter space. This is a historic hotel from 1884 so the small bathroom size is completely understandable, but worth mentioning. There was a chest of drawers in the bedroom which I fully utilized and it definitely helped with toiletry storage etc. We enjoyed the complimentary tea & coffee from the bakery each morning while taking in the views of Somes Sound from the dock. I got up one morning for sunrise (4.58am) and it was totally worth it. While the mountains don't allow for a perfect sunrise view, the stillness of the morning with the gently lapping water & bird chorus all around, was just wonderful. We enjoyed breakfast 2 mornings at Little Fern and the food and service were great both days. The pool area was really cute and we enjoyed that one afternoon. The Claremont also has a beautiful garden with plenty of places to sit and read or just observe the birds and the colorful blooms. On our last night, we had dinner reservations at Little Fern so we decided to enjoy a cocktail at Harry's Bar right before, which was perfect. However our dinner experience at Little Fern wasn't as good as the breakfasts had been. I would liken the food and the service at dinner to a catered event. The menu is varied, however when I inquired if I could change the grit cake that came with my pork chop to another starch, I was told by the server that the chef wouldn't do that. I don't think I've ever been in an upscale restaurant where changing the starch for another starch that is already on the menu wasn't accommodated. So, I unwillingly had to accept the plate as it came which was annoying as it was somewhere in the $60 range. When I told the server that I'd like the pork chop cooked medium well, he said "I'll try". That wasn't the correct answer and frankly, I was really taken aback as I wasn't expecting this rigidity from a restaurant of this caliber. My husband had the halibut and said it was delicious and our appetizer and dessert were also very good, so it was a shame to have this issue with my entre. |Due to our flight home being scheduled later in the day, we had requested a late (extra hour) check out the next morning, so when we walked into the lobby we were told that the manager on duty who is usually there for check out, had left and we were assisted by a young lady who seemed a little clueless. When I reviewed our bill, there was a charge for "Patio". We never sat on the hotel patio or ordered any food or drink there, so I questioned it & told her that I thought that was an incorrect charge. Instead of communicating with me and letting me know that she was going to check into this, she sauntered into the back office without saying a word. She came back out 5 mins later saying that they were checking on it. I would think that a hotel files receipt copies for any additional charge by room so that when a customer questions a charge, they can easily pull and verify. It seems that this isn't the case at the The Claremont as there was a back office manager going through ALL the receipts of the prior day! To cut a long story short, after standing and waiting for another 10 mins (with no communication to let me know what was happening or any kind of apology) I continued to wait while they went thru the receipts. It was then that I realized it was one of our breakfasts that they had mistakenly recorded as "patio" instead of "dining room". Our stay had been so lovely but the entire check out experience was frankly disappointing. It seems that they may be challenged with staffing issues but that final impression is as critical to a guest as the initial "check in" one (which had been great). We had enjoyed our stay but these issues with dinner and check out left us unsure if we'd choose to...

My wife and I stayed four nights here as a luxury home base for exploring Acadia. Our experience upon arrival was good. Kudos to the groundskeepers here. The flowers and lawn are gorgeous, as are the location and views you get from the shore side of the building. The amenities are for the most part nice. From the croquet lawn to the pool to the fire pit, there are certainly good places to relax (we did wish they had a hot tub, as the pool temps were too cool to enjoy in the evenings, which is when we were at the hotel).

One small complaint we had was the parking. It's insufficient for all the guests of the hotel and restaurants. I found myself having to circle the lot a few times each night we came back to find a spot. Maybe having a valet or at least dedicated spots for hotel guests would help.

Another thing I didn't particularly like was the hotel's use of physical keys for the rooms instead of key cards. I'm sure this was an intentional decision because it's more charming to use the old door knobs and locks, but it is less convenient to carry around a key. Also, unlike basically every other hotel room I've stayed at, the door does not auto lock when you shut it, which can be a security issue.

Where the entire experience was lacking was in the service. This is the most I've ever spent per night on a hotel, and along with that price came an expectation of world-class service. But at the Claremont it felt as though not only did the staff not care about us as guests, but that they saw us as inconveniences. I interacted a couple times with the bartender, and each time she was cold and seemed annoyed. After getting some drinks we ordered from the bar that we were not happy with, no effort was ever made by management to try to correct it.

At luxury resorts I'm used to being greeted by every staff member I pass with a smile and "good morning" or "good evening". Here that might've happened once during my stay. The rest of the time I felt invisible and unwelcome by the staff.

Once, when we were leaving the hotel with an armful of stuff, my wife stopped by the front desk to let them know we didn't have a sign for our room door to tell room service to skip our room that day. Instead of saying "no problem, we'll handle that" and just taking care of it, the person at the desk hands my wife the sign, clearly with the expectation for her to go back and put the sign on our door herself. Sure, if we're staying at a Days Inn or something, that would be expected. But not at the Claremont, not at these prices.

Overall the value for what I got here was pretty awful. Sure the location and scenery was great, but I've gotten better service from hotels at less than 1/3 of the price of the Claremont.

When we checked out, the person at the front desk didn't ask us how our stay was. Maybe that was because she wouldn't know how to actually deal with any complaints or issues. Or maybe it was because she just...

My husband and I stayed here for two nights, mid week in June. It wasn’t planned – our nearby rental cabin ended up being too hot and musty when the temps hit 90. When I saw the pictures for this place, they said to me“ this is vacation”. And it was. We’ve been coming to the island for over 30 years and because we have always been focused on Bar Harbor, we never heard of this hotel before. We got a good price- about $500 for a king room. I noted that later in the year, it can be close to $900. I would definitely come again on the shoulder season. |What we liked.|• The view. Cadillac mountain and Somes Sound|• Attention to detail in the renovation. For example, my husband is into woodworking and he noticed that unlike other older hotel renovations we have seen (I’m looking at you Hotel Monaco in DC) either the door trim was new or had been sanded down to the wood and then painted. No just painting over old paint. |• The bathroom was small but immaculate. The marble floor was gorgeous and L’occitane toiletries are always a treat. The wicker and William Morris fabric evoked a gentler time but other details made it modern and unstuffy.|• Best moment. After dinner, sitting on the large veranda in the wicker seat, ordering some tea and watching the clouds roll by. |• Great HVAC, which can sometimes be an issue in older properties. |• The pool. Perfect temperature. Poolside lemonade service. |• Restaurant options. For such a small place, they manage to make sure you have a food option all day long. Breakfast at Little Fern was lovely and fairly priced.|• Books in the room, books in the public spaces.|Just meh. |• On some of our trips, we were in the Park all day, hiking, biking and kayaking. If I were traipsing through the lobby or restaurant all gritty and in tevas and t, I would feel a bit out of place. Bring one or two nice outfits. Think more Chatham Bars Inn, less Bar Harbor Inn. |• Music. Weird selection. Instrumental 70’s. Was that Dionne Warwick? |• Size of the room. Small, like Europe. Understandable but still, small. |• The bakery in the am. Poor selection of tea. The pastry selection was narrow. I can’t have dairy and every pastry but the savory ones had cream filling. There were no muffins. Luckily town is not far way.|• No way to venmo the maid. There is a nice envelope for maid service so bring some cash.||Didn’t Like.|• No tea or coffee service after the bakery closed in the am. With no coffee service facilities in the room, this meant that I couldn’t just make myself a cup of chamomile at 10pm. While the staff brought me tea on the veranda after dinner (which was delightful and the rose china was the perfect touch) I didn’t want to bother the bar at 10. Like a good inn, they should have service in the lobby 24/7 if they don’t have inroom service. |• $50...