Grant's Kennebago Camps — Hotel in Stetsontown Township

I am an avid fly fisherman; I have been traveling and staying at Maine traditional sporting camps for over 40 years. I have stayed at well over 15 lodges throughout Maine. I have had many wonderful experiences at these camps and I have never had a bad experience with respect to hospitality or ownership ………..that changed at Grant’s Camp with owner John Blunt. ||||Grant’s is located on Kennebago Lake in the Rangeley area. It is truly a “traditional Maine Sporting Camp”. It has approximately 15 cabins with wonderful porches and wonderful views of the Kennebago Lake and offers terrific fishing on the Kennebago River. The cabins are cozy, the main dining room is delightful, and the office/lodge is equally impressive. ||||This September I traveled to Grants Camps for the 3rd year in a row to meet up with a group of friends that were staying at the lodge. I believe it was their 4th time at the lodge. During my last 2 times at Grant’s, I have stayed next to my friend’s cabin. I do not stay with my friends as I travel with my dog and I enjoy my own cabin. ||||Upon check-in I met the owner Mr. John Blunt for the first time. He informed me he didn’t have my reservation and that after one night “he was going to ‘probably move me into the cabin next door with my friends”. I informed Mr. Blunt that I had a copy of my reservation which confirmed the cabin next to my friends as well as the confirmation of my dog. I also phoned the lodge confirming their confirmation. Mr. Blunt had no interest in viewing my reservation, he did not offer an apology for the mix up or an explanation. I did not agree to move into the cabin next door with my friends as this was not a feasible option for me. Mr. Blunt “told me” to spend the night at the cabin next door and told me “something may open up”. I remained hopeful. I spent the first night in my own cabin next to my friends.||||The following day I had lunch with my friends in the main dining room, there were also 3 other parties within the dining room. Mr Blunt approached our table. To state it went sideways at this point would be an understatement. Mr. Blunt looked at me in an intimidating and demanding tone and said “I thought I told you to move your stuff next door!”. It is important to note that Mr. Blunt is a very large man. At that point I stated that I never agreed to his “demands”. Next Mr. Blunt raised his voice louder and postured towards me “you’re going to move next door!”. My friend was able to calm this argument down for a moment only to have Mr. Blunt in a louder and more aggressive tone tell me “I am going to need to see that confirmation in my office “. It was then in my mind I was checking out – it didn’t matter if Mr. Blunt could find an accommodation for me– I was certainly not going to give an owner or an establishment money for such abuse and incompetence.||||After lunch I went into Mr. Blunt’s office and showed him my email confirmation provided by the lodge which was dated and time stamped. I could see that Mr. Blunt did not have the skill-set to find the confirmation on his computer even when I provided my email address and the date in which he sent me the confirmation. ||||I returned to my cabin to begin my departure back to Boston. After packing I went to the office to pay for my short stay. Mr. Blunt took no responsibility for his mistake, his deplorable behavior (which was witnessed by more than 10 lodgers) and offered no apology. This was not just the worst experience I have had at a sporting camp but rather the worst experience in any hospitality business. ||||Lastly, my one night stay without the use of a boat came to be $320 which is the highest price I have ever paid at a Maine sporting camp.||||Potential...

I am an avid fly fisherman; I have been traveling and staying at Maine traditional sporting camps for over 40 years. I have stayed at well over 15 lodges throughout Maine. I have had many wonderful experiences at these camps and I have never had a bad experience with respect to hospitality or ownership ………..that changed at Grant’s Camp with owner John Blunt.

Grant’s is located on Kennebago Lake in the Rangeley area. It is truly a “traditional Maine Sporting Camp”. It has approximately 15 cabins with wonderful porches and wonderful views of the Kennebago Lake and offers terrific fishing on the Kennebago River. The cabins are cozy, the main dining room is delightful, and the office/lodge is equally impressive.

This September I traveled to Grants Camps for the 3rd year in a row to meet up with a group of friends that were staying at the lodge. I believe it was their 4th time at the lodge. During my last 2 times at Grant’s, I have stayed next to my friend’s cabin. I do not stay with my friends as I travel with my dog and I enjoy my own cabin.

Upon check-in I met the owner Mr. John Blunt for the first time. He informed me he didn’t have my reservation and that after one night “he was going to ‘probably move me into the cabin next door with my friends”. I informed Mr. Blunt that I had a copy of my reservation which confirmed the cabin next to my friends as well as the confirmation of my dog. I also phoned the lodge confirming their confirmation. Mr. Blunt had no interest in viewing my reservation, he did not offer an apology for the mix up or an explanation. I did not agree to move into the cabin next door with my friend’s as this was not a feasible option for me. Mr. Blunt “told me” to spend the night at the cabin next door and told me “something may open up”. I remained hopeful. I spent the first night in my own cabin next to my friends.

The following day I had lunch with my friends in the main dining room, there were also 3 other parties within the dining room. Mr Blunt approached our table. To state it went sideways at this point would be an understatement. Mr. Blunt looked at me in an intimidating and demanding tone and said “I thought I told you to move your stuff next door!”. It is important to note that Mr. Blunt is a very large man. At that point I stated that I never agreed to his “demands”. Next Mr. Blunt raised his voice louder and postured towards me “you’re going to move next door!”. My friend was able to calm this argument down for a moment only to have Mr. Blunt in a louder and more aggressive tone tell me “I am going to need to see that confirmation in my office “. It was then in my mind I was checking out – it didn’t matter if Mr. Blunt could find an accommodation for me– I was certainly not going to give an owner or an establishment money for such abuse and incompetence.

After lunch I went into Mr. Blunt’s office and showed him my email confirmation provided by the lodge which was dated and time stamped. I could see that Mr. Blunt did not have the skill-set to find the confirmation on his computer even when I provided my email address and the date in which he sent me the confirmation.

I returned to my cabin to begin my departure back to Boston. After packing I went to the office to pay for my short stay. Mr. Blunt took no responsibility for his mistake, his deplorable behavior (which was witnessed by more than 10 lodgers) and offered no apology. This was not just the worst experience I have had at a sporting camp but rather the worst experience in any hospitality business.

Lastly, my one night stay without the use of a boat came to be $320 which is the highest price I have ever paid at a Maine sporting camp.

Potential...

An honest review from a seasoned bird hunter with limited travel experience. The wife and I just spent 4 nights and 3 days at Grant's for their "cast and blast". To start the Rangely Maine area is beautiful and Grant's Camp is literally right on Kennebago Lake. It's an absolutely gorgeous area. We stay in the Harmony cabin. I would say the camp is rustic to a bit out-dated but the cabins have everything you need. Ours was right on the shore, had a nice screened deck, fireplace, small refrigerator, full (but small) bathroom, and decent bed. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore and Loons calling. Meals are in a dining hall with several tables overlooking the lake. The food is good! There is a small office with a sitting area and fly tying table next to the dining hall. The only internet I got was around the office and some places in the dining hall. No internet or tv in the rooms which is what I think they want to get away from everyday life. The staff is great. Fishing is not great in late Oct. Might be better earlier in Oct with warmer better weather but overall was not worth the "cast and blast" experience which is why I chose Grant's. For bird hunting we did use one of the guides with dogs but also ran our pup. Joe was a fantastic and has good dogs (Winston and Ivy). Joe worked hard to find us birds but the numbers were not as we suspected. We did have bad weather with lots of rain and this year was not great for birds so likely played a part but I think overall this area does not have the huge numbers you might expect. The terrain varies and you can decide how hard you want to hunt. There is everything from ATV trails, to logging roads, to uphill bushwacking. We did do more driving then expected so make sure your truck is fueled up before you get to camp. Overall a good trip. We wanted to experience Maine bird hunting and we did. Can't really recommend the "cast and blast" but was worth trying and maybe early Oct is better. I would go back to Grant's for the area but might try another part of Maine for a different...