Agent Report: Margaret in Maine
Late last fall, our President, Margaret, headed off for a family holiday to Maine, and she is sharing all of her favorite moments and hot spots with us.
Margaret & Mildred at The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, Maine.
There’s nothing quite like New England in the autumn: fall foliage, crisp weather, and leaves crunching underfoot on long walks to explore the beautiful scenery. Margaret experienced this for herself once again last year in one of her favorite destinations: Maine. Thankfully, she’s shared all of her favorite moments with us so that we can pass along all the intel to you.
Flight & Arrival
Margaret’s trip got off to a flying start as she flew to Portland, Maine, via Washington, D.C. She said all of the American Airlines aircrafts looked brand-new! All of her flights ran on time, and she enjoyed blue skies throughout for a calm and seamless day of travel. Portland Airport is nice and compact, which created a stress-free environment on the other side of their flights as well.
On arrival, the group picked up their rental car with Hertz and made the two-hour drive to Margaret’s very favorite inn: The Inn at Sunrise Point. That evening, they enjoyed a delicious meal at Primo in Rockland, which specializes in farm-to-table fare.
Hotel Spotlight: The Inn at Sunrise Point
Anyone who has spoken to Margaret about Maine will know that she loves this beautiful inn. It’s her absolute favorite and one that she has returned to multiple times. She hadn’t visited the inn in two years, however, so she was very excited to return.
Photo courtesy of The Inn at Sunrise Point
The Inn at Sunrise Point is located outside of Camden in Lincolnville. You’ll find the hotel down a gravel road and right on the water, providing guests with unobstructed views. Margaret describes it as “a little piece of heaven.” The hotel has recently come under new management, and Margaret was happy to report that Matt and MJ are lovely and have some wonderful ideas for upgrades to the inn, including giving some of the bathrooms a facelift!
Margaret reports that the daily breakfast at the inn is as delicious as ever, beginning with some to-die-for scones each morning. The scones, which come in several tasty flavors, are such a hit that you can even buy the Scone Goddess mix to enjoy them at home.
Margaret has visited the hotel several times, so she can make sure that any Poe Travel guests are given the VIP treatment from start to finish!
Rockland
The evening of their arrival, Margaret and family headed out to Primo in Rockland, where they enjoyed a fabulous farm-to-table meal.
If you’re visiting Rockland, there are many lighthouses to tour, which you will certainly want to see while you’re in Maine. The Farnsworth Art Museum is also worth a visit to see the Project Puffin Visitor Center. If you plan your visit for August, you cannot miss the lobster festivals—after all, Maine is famous for its lobster (and blueberries, fun fact!). Don’t forget to pick up some of Margaret’s favorite Frontier Maple Sugarworks syrup. It is 100% pure and a wonderfully dark amber color.
Margaret really missed visiting nearby McLoon’s Lobster Shack, which was closed because it was mid-October. However, she mentioned that this is just another reason to visit next summer! She warns that many websites will tell you about other places that are better for your lobster fix, but McLoon’s is her very favorite!
Camden
The next day was spent taking in Camden, Maine, and enjoying a little retail therapy. They headed to Glendarragh Lavender Farm, where you can find everything from all-natural soaps, lotions, and salves to handwoven Irish woollen throws and cashmere scarves. All of their products are synthetic-free and natural. Margaret popped into Jo Ellen Designs, a lifestyle, home accents, and gift shop in downtown Camden.
She also made sure to stop into Conklin’s Mercantile, where she picked up what she calls the “BEST” wooden spoons (by Jonathan). They are made out of cherry wood, and Margaret particularly loves the salad tongs!
For dinner tonight, they ate at Fresh & Co., a small restaurant down by the waterfront. This charming eatery, while cozy, serves up global cuisine such as Brazilian fish stew and moussaka, and the restaurant features some lovely local artwork to take in while you dine.
Hotel Spotlight: The White Barn Inn & Spa
The next day, the group bid farewell to The Inn at Sunrise Point and made their way to Kennebunkport, stopping en-route to the iconic LL Bean store in Freeport, which is open 24 hours a day and is absolutely enormous, featuring anything one could want for all things outdoors.
Their next home-away-from-home was The White Barn Inn & Spa, which is part of the Auberge Collection. This small, picturesque inn is located in a quiet neighborhood away from the main road and is only a ten-minute walk to the beachfront. Margaret loved the firepit surrounded by Adirondack chairs, which featured hampers full of all the fixings needed for s’mores! During the summer, they also do lobster bakes around the pool. Yum!
Margaret stayed in a lovely room on the third floor of the inn, which featured a spacious bath and a beautiful fireplace. Fortunately, the weather was still lovely enough that the fireplace was not necessary, but it still created a wonderful, cozy feel.
Margaret’s group enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting at the hotel, which was led by the hotel’s sommelier. You can’t go wrong when trying delicious wines and champagnes with only the best cheeses, can you? Margaret would highly recommend this experience and described it as “divine.”
Best of all, the hotel is part of our Virtuoso network of hotels, which means that we can offer some extra amenities to our beloved Poe Travel clients.
Poe Perks at The White Barn Inn & Spa include:
Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
Complimentary full breakfast daily for two
$100 USD hotel credit to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
Private kitchen tour
Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability
Complimentary Wi-Fi
Kennebunk & Surrounds
Margaret started her final full day in Maine with delicious lemon and ricotta pancakes at The White Barn Inn, which she says you must try when you visit.
Afterwards, the group headed out to Kennebunk and the surrounding towns and villages to explore, taking time to visit the seaside as well as the interior. She was charmed by the quintessential, picturesque quality of small-town America, with one town seemingly running into another. The Maps app on Margaret’s iPhone got a nice workout that day, as they did a lot of wandering around and stopping along the way, simply taking in the sights that took their fancy.
While Margaret didn’t have time to stop in during this trip, she also mentioned that some of her clients have raved about their meal at 50 Local in Kennebunk, where you can savor farm-fresh fare.
Returning Home
The group was up early the next morning for their 30-minute drive to Portland Airport, where they returned their rental car before hopping on their 7:30 am flight. Once again, they were blessed with an uneventful flight home, this time with Delta. Their planes seemed to be brand-new once more, and the onboard staff were nice and helpful.
Margaret only found herself wishing she had had a little more time in her favorite East Coast haven. Had she been able to extend her trip, Margaret says she would have elected to venture down to Cape Cod and stay at Chatham Bars Inn for a spectacular oceanfront view. But hey, there’s always next time!
If you would like to Go Away to Maine (or anywhere else in the world), simply contact us. We will design a customized itinerary to suit your interests and energy levels to set you on your way.