chris's blog

Since purchasing Bayberry House a little over four years ago, we have been so pleased with the friendliness and thoughtfulness of our wonderful guests.  The amazing comments they have left on TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and other review sites have been extremely humbling.  The fact that we seem to be providing a guest experience that our customers appreciates has been one of the most rewarding things about being inn owners.

One of our favorite places to visit in the local area is the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.  Being only a little over a half hour from Bayberry House, its perfect for a rainy day, or anytime for that matter.  Most people know there are numerous exhibits tracing Maine's extensive history of shipbuilding, fishing, and maritime commerce.  But did you realize how many more things there are to do there than an informative stroll through the galleries?  Just some of the amazing other things to see and do are:

At last!  For those of you ready to put the winter behind you, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will be opening on the 1st of May, 2017.  With a later start this year, guests at the gardens are guaranteed to see a sea of spring flowers in full bloom.  The Garden's 295 acres will come alive with tulips, daffodils, rhodedendrons, azaleas, and many more beautiful flowers to numerous to mention.  No trip to Boothbay Harbor is complete without visiting the Botanical Gardens and the springtime is the best time of all to come.

So many of our first time guests say the same thing: If we would have known how much there was to do in the Boothbay area, we would have planned to stay here longer.  Too often, however, they plan their trips around a few days in the Kennebunk area (an ex-president lives there, you know) and an extended stay in Bar Harbor.  Boothbay Harbor becomes an after-thought, someplacce to spend a night to break-up the journey.  So they arrive at 5:00 pm, head off to dinner, then return for a good night's sleep and an early morning departure.

First, for those of you too polite to ask, what is a "windjammer?"  Well, according to the official definition, "A windjammer is a type of large sailing ship, with an iron or, for the most part, steel hull, built to carry cargo in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Windjammers were the grandest of merchant sailing ships, with between three and five large masts and square sails, giving them a characteristic profile."  So that's a windjammer, but what are "Windjammer Days?"

According to the Portland (Maine) Press Herald this past Thursday, there is a good chance the 2016 lobster season will start "extremely early."  

Researchers say warmer waters in the Gulf of Maine indicate that lobsters will arrive weeks sooner than usual, triggering the beginning of the season in June, rather than in July as is customary.  

We are happy to report Bayberry House has been recognized by Booking.com with its 2015 Award of Excellence.

Although most of our guests are perfectly happy with the extremely comfortable queen-sized beds in our rooms, we often do receive requests for a room with separate sleeping arrangements.  Two friends traveling together, a parent on vacation with a child, or just two people that for one reason or another would prefer to not sleep in the same bed.  To better accomodate these guests, we have now equipped our Lilac Room with two twin-sized SleepNumber beds.

Yep, I know its a little bit late (or a lot early, depending on your perspective) to quote a Christmas carol in the title, but nothing is more beautiful than Maine woodland in the wintertime.  Last night's five inches of powder snow quilted the landscape with easily negotiated brilliant white.  Even the temperature cooperated, hovering slightly above freezing.  So when our dog Banjo fixed me with his expectant stare, I was more than happy to oblige.

With the holiday season upon us, Karine and I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this year our best so far at Bayberry House.  Obviously, first and foremost we would like to thank our guests.  It was wonderful meeting so many nice people who made our job as innkeepers such a pleasure.  We hope to see all of you back in the near future.